TWD - Berry Surprise Cake

I wouldn't say I had the best cooking weekend I've ever had. Friends came Friday night for dinner and I served chicken spaghetti. It was delicious except it was not warm enough from the oven. Everyone was very gracious about it, but being the perfectionist that I am, I was frustrated with myself. I'm sure you have all been there, right?

Then came Saturday and more friends were coming for dinner. I decided to make this week's TWD cake to serve them as dessert. I got all my ingredients together. Thankfully, my good friend Cathy of The Tortefeasor had given me some Chambord last summer to use in another recipe so I was prepared liquorically speaking for this one.

I had heard horror stories about how this cake was turning out or not turning out and I was determined to have mine work. The first mishap of the day was discovering I needed an eight inch pan and all I had was a nine inch one. So it was off to the store to find the right pan. Found one at T.J. Maxx. You gotta love that store!

I ended up making this cake TWICE.

The first time I proceeded to follow Dorie's instructions as closely as I could. I put the eggs in the hot water, timed them three minutes, then transferred them to a nice cold mixing bowl where I proceeded to whip them at a low speed. After five minutes, they had not tripled in size, nor did I have a ribbon that would hold for ten seconds. Finally my brain kicked into gear and I cranked up the beater to medium speed (where it should have been in the first place) and pretty soon the eggs looked okay. So I cooked CAKE NUMBER ONE.


The cake did not rise much and when I took it out of the pan I knew it was too dense and too shallow to try and cut a pocket out of it. Determined, I proceeded to wash all the dishes and start again.
This time I heated the eggs in the same mixing bowl I would use to whip them. I whipped them on medium speed for five minutes and they fluffed up perfectly and held a nice ribbon for at least ten seconds. I carefully added the dry ingredients and barely folded them in. I baked the cake and it looked great. I used strawberries for the berries because they did not have any fresh looking raspberries (which is what I really wanted to use).


My friends came, we ate, and everyone could not wait to taste the cake. I must say, the cake was beautiful. As I was cutting it, I explained to them that it was not normal cake. It was diva egg cake. We all took our first bite, and the silence in the room was deafening. It had a coarse consistency and was flavorless for the most part. Again, I'm thankful for gracious friends who ate without complaining and even asked for a second piece. I personally could not even taste the filling that much. I'm curious to hear how everyone else's turned out.


The next day, the yankee and I sat down to watch a movie and decided to try another piece with a cup of joe. I will admit we both liked it better the second day.


I'm glad I made it, loved the challenge, and thanks to Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen for choosing it. Get on over to her blog and check out the recipe. Don't take my word for it - try it for yourself. maresfoodandfun.blogspot.com


But for me, I would give it a C+ and probably never make this cake again. If I am going to put time and effort into it, I prefer something with a bit richer flavor.