Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Not Your Typical Bundt Cake

I love to bake. I lose myself in the kitchen and become fluid as I gather ingredients and tools then measure, spoon, whip, and beat flour, butter, eggs, and sugar into lovely things that you can eat while drinking coffee.

And sometimes, I bake cakes. It took some practice to make good cakes. Most of them were dry and cooked a little too long around the edges. Nothing that a lot of icing couldn't take care of, but still, I had some practicing to do.

And I got better. I made a chocolate cakes for my hubby's promotion party. One of the young airmen came up and said, "Ma'am, this is the best cake. It's like my grandma's cakes when I was a little boy, and she made the best cakes. And I want to thank you for making this cake." I got all teary-eyed.

But I will not be making this cake.



This is the latest novelty bundt cake pan from William-Sonoma, and they actually think it will look like that when you're done.

There is no way on God's green earth that I could butter that pan well enough to have all those details and shapes come out! I couldn't even make that in sand, let alone cake batter. Oh sure, "its premium nonstick interior provides quick release and easy cleanup" but I just wonder. But for $30, I think I'll just stick with my old classic bundt pan.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even if you could get it out, where would you put the frosting?? LOL

F&W said...

Looks like it's supposed to be frosting-free (yum! I hate icing on a cake). Anyhooo...that is one scary cake pan.

Kudos to you for finding a niche of yours in baking. Anything that involves being in the kitchen for more than 15 minutes a day is pretty much torture for me. :o) I am, however, always willing to do the eating of the cake.

Your story about the airman and his Gma's cakes got me all teary-eyed too.

Newt said...

Ok, I would have teared up too if someone had said that about my baking. I would have even been able to forgive him for mamming me.
I like that bundt cake pan. I may have to get that for my hubsters 40th birthday. And hey, it's either a castle if it comes out, or it is castle ruins. Which, could be just as fun to decorate right?

Jay said...

Newt's right .. castle ruins would be pretty cool too. And we all know that is exactly what it would be if I tried. It would look like it was bombed during WWII.

At first I thought it was going to be one of those silicone pans that are so bendy and you can just pull them off of stuff. I'm not sold on those though.

Betty said...

I'm sure glad I won't be greeted with a castle cake when I come to visit you. You can make much better cakes than that. You sure didn't get your interest in cooking from me. lol

F&W said...

Speaking from second-hand experience (watching Mom and Sis cook), those silicone baking "pans" are totally AWESOME!!

Kell said...

Chelle p.--Do you like those silicone pans? I've never used them, but several of the big cooking stores love them. I'm very curious. Actually, my big question is are they kind of floppy when you put them in and take them out of the oven? I can be a little klutzy, and I thought since they are light, then might be easier to handle sometimes.

Anonymous said...

hi, i just came accross this site and probably wont find my way back again. but just wanted to say i have baked with those fancy W/S pans and the secret to getting the details without the cake tearing apart is to heat the pan in the first, when its nice and hot, spray the non=stick oil or whatever really good , then pour inthe batter, then put back in the oven to bake. you could probably use a guache(sp?) icing or glaze. i also saw the stadium shaped pan. looks like a lot of fun. i would think this would be great for bakers/caterers with home businesses.

Anonymous said...

Hiya - just a note for those who might want to try this: the "sand" in the photo is actually brown sugar. Don't know about the shells, but you can get white chocolate seashells in many gourmet shops... And speaking of brown sugar, a sugar glaze with brown sugar sprinkled over it makes a great "frosting" for this cake... AND, this makes a great pirate themed party cake - just stick pirate flags in the towers. Arrr!