* Failed! Failed! Failed! *

I was approached awhile back to bake a cake for Family Day at our church today. It was for the 'Guess the Weight' contest and I agreed. As friday came, I reminded myself to get bananas for the intended cake.


Went to the market and got my bananas, took my butters out and waited till I felt ready to start. Finally I started and everything was going well until I tipped it upside down to release from the pan.
"Oh no! What?? Why?? Huh?!" I started to panic as I saw the cake separate halfway from the bottom. The pan did not feel much lighter and my heart dropped. The bottom was stuck to the pan and the rest were out on the board. "NO!" It can't be happening......it shouldn't....please, please, please..........

The top was beautiful but without the bottom, how was i supposed to frost it etc???  No repairs could save it but it tasted really good. Sigh.... so I did the next best thing, bake another. As I had no more bananas and butter cakes are so common, I decided on a butter lemon cake which I had done before.

By 0015hours, it was ready but after flipping it out of the pan, there was a mini sink hole in the bottom!!! OMG! Not again?! Ok ok, go to sleep, wake up early and try to frost it then....I told myself. It took me an hour to unwind from the calamities before I slept off. Jumped up at about 0509hours in fright thinking I'd overslept but I was an hour ahead of my alarm....gosh!

Checked the second cake and was very disheartened to see it did not set well. The sink hole was annoying but the cake texture had a weird smoothness that just wasn't right and it was slightly damp...which was not how it was supposed to be. Into the bin it went! Now I was pissed off and already feeling the prickly signs of panic onset...

It was not even 7am and I had to decide fast! Bake another and I started getting out my stuff. No time to thaw the butter so had to use a different recipe and decided on the mud cake. Note, it's been a long while since I last baked this and I could not exactly remember but when I got to the bit about melting the butter and adding to the batter with chopped chocolate....I stupidly melted both of them together! MISTAKE!!! Too late. Set aside and did a new batch and soon in they went into the oven. Crap! Things were not getting better....seriously.

What to do with melted butter and chocolate with the oil staring at you on the top? Mmm....ok maybe I can put it on the fire and make the ganache. It wouldn't settle until I later thought of throwing the top layer of oil and added a bit of water and stirred over the small fire. Perfect!

Now I was running out of time and I was not confident with cake number three currently in the oven. So I dashed out to the market, bought a cake which was the best I could find but ridiculously small - approximately 6 inches in diameter! Placed it on a cake board, soaked the top and sides with melted chocolate and topped it with cream cheese frosting and decorated with sugar flowers. It was nice looking but sadly small. Dashed to send it and came home to clean up the typhooned kitchen.

Thank goodness  I did not wait for the third cake cos when I turned it upside down, it shared the same fate as cake no one! I honestly cannot understand what had happened to all three cakes. Seriously, there was no reason for any of these to happen and they did and I was so upset and stressed out! What was going on???

Did not do anything out of the norm, kept my mind focused and stress free but the final results have torn a big gap in my confidence. Earlier this week I had tried to make jammy bodgers but the dough had not turned out as it was supposed to and I had to do it another way. Did not add the jam in the end but cookies came out nice anyway.

Now these cakes...... I feel terrible at letting mum's friend down today but it was way out of my control. To think the loss of my precious expensive butters and ingredients..... I am too drained right now to investigate anymore. Only thing I can say is I failed terribly this week and I can try blaming on the weather or my moods.....I know I have lost my baking mojo BUT I hope to get it back real soon. SIGH....

On a final note....Cakes one and three are edible, delicious but bottomless rendering irreparable presentation. Now I am stuck with loads of ugly but delicious cakes. Anyone? Sigh........