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Dear Reader,
* I'm on holiday the next two days. If you're looking for a great recipe for a cake for Easter Dinner, try this one. Even though I had a few problems the last time I made it, it's still one of my favorites. Hopefully you won't make the same mistake that I did. But not to worry, if you do the remedy is in the recipe too.
Dear Reader,
Two little eggs. Who would've dreamed what a difference they could make. I was mixing up Grandma Hale's Red Velvet Cake recipe for Easter dinner, but when I poured the batter into the pans, it was stiff. Granted, I hadn't made this recipe for a few years, but something didn't seem quite right.
Hmm, shortening, sugar, vanilla, eggs--whoops--I forgot to add the eggs. I knew it was too late. The old adage "better late than never" does not apply to baking. I was amazed at what two little eggs could do (or not do) to a recipe.
A pastry chef on television the other night was going on and on about how you should only use large-sized eggs in a recipe, "Remember that you're adding liquid when you add eggs. A large egg is about 1/4 cup. Don't use jumbo, or extra-large..."
And she continued her egg sermon with what I thought was hoity-toity, trying-to-impress-me advice. Well, okay, so now I'm impressed. She's right. But I thought I might as well bake the cake and see what I ended up with.
Two, dry, 9-inch round cakes--one with a bunny-hill ski slope on the left side--that's what I ended up with. But I decided to push forward anyway and frost the darn thing. I used Grandma Hale's frosting recipe and followed it to a tee. But after I filled in the ski slope, I ran out of frosting.
Okay, let's take inventory. Company's coming in one hour. There isn't any time to mix up another cake. The stores are closed, so I can't buy a replacement dessert. Presentation counts a lot in how food tastes, another quote from the friendly pastry chef. Well, she was right about the eggs, I hope she comes through with this advice, too.
So I set the layer cake on top of a white paper doily, added some colored sprinkles and jelly beans, stuck three pinwheels on the top and then turned the cake around so the bare backside--where I ran out of frosting--didn't show.
Presentation does not make up for lack of taste. We all took a couple of bites, agreed that it wasn't my best work, and decided the rest should go in the garbage. But when I was just about to toss the cake in the trash, my 85 year-old father-in-law, bless his heart, insisted that he wanted to take the masterpiece home.
If you'd like to see a photo of my "masterpiece," and get a copy of the recipe--really, it is a wonderful cake but don't forget the eggs--go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cake3.html
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com
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