Quite a Cake

This weekend I was swamped with a big list of things to do. I asked the Artist for help with making a birthday cake for the Quipper's party. She had made cakes under my supervision before, and she always wanted to be a baker. And this time, I had a cake mix. What could go wrong?

I learned not to confuse the desire to be a baker with baking experience! With recipe books it usually works out well to follow the directions listed and add the ingredients in the order they are listed in the instructions. Not with this box! The poor artist put the cake mix, eggs, and then the butter into the mixer.

Let the experiment begin!

After enough beating, it looked all right, and it poured all right. The volunteers who licked the beater the spoon and the mixing bowl all gave their approval. But when it came out of the oven and cooled we had a problem.

The cakes did not want to come out of the generously oiled and floured pans. One submitted to coaxing and the other rebelled. So we had this:

The Quipper was very kind about it and did not seem to mind. Was it the fresh half layer of chocolate cake he and the kids got to eat as a surprise snack that eased the pain? Or was it the promise of pineaple and shrimp kabobs for dinner -- two of his favorites served with honey ginger sauce.