the undomestic goddess

It's ironic that the book I'm currently reading has the same title of this post. Ironic because I like to think that in the area of baking I am a domestic semi-goddess. I'm not a perfect baker, but I'm pretty good, better than most (well, all) of my friends, but not better or anywhere close to my sister-in-law. The point is is that tonight, a Friday night, I stayed in. I stayed in to bake a repeat of a cake I made a few weeks ago for a friend. The idea was to "bake and take" because when you're single you don't need to be baking a whole cake for your lonesome. So, I thought I'd whip up a simple white cake with caramel frosting to take to my bro's on Sunday to share with the tots. And of course I'd make a few mini-cupcakes for myself because I can. So, here is what the cake I made a few weeks ago looked like.

I know, you're salivating. And you should be.

Up close and personal because caramel should runeth over. I think, anyways.

So, tonight, this lonely Friday night by my lonesome (did I mention that one) the baking was not so good. First I didn't realize the crowding in the oven and when I shut the door the batter splash all over the oven and almost burned down my apartment. Then I tried to salvage the slopped up cake which made one of the cake layers not the same as the other one. So, I let the cake bake and when I got it out to flip is over, part of it stuck to the bottom of the pan. This NEVER happens to me. Then one layer of the cake was a teeny tiny bit darkened, not burnt, darkened. And well, then it was like my hands were covered in oven mitts even when they weren't because things were slipping and sliding and I just couldn't get a handle on it. The baking gods were so not smiling on me tonight, this lonely Friday night. In fact, I think they were throwing daggers. And maybe, just maybe, baking immitates life a little. I'm just sayin'.