Even though today is April Fool’s Day (Happy April Fool’s Day!) I am not fooling you when I say I baked up a little bit of a disaster two nights ago 😛
I am serious, I was almost cringing but in the end, masked it real fine 😀
It all began like this…
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Meet my subconscious mind. Most of the time she is a happy person but has a tendency to get a little temperamental when it comes to things I really adore, such as chocolate (I think you got a little whiff of her dangerous side here)
The cake I was planning was to be a graduation present. I mean honestly, that is awesome right? Graduation and cake go together like apples and pie, chocolate and peanut butter, just as much as birthdays and cakes 😀
So while my conscious mind was getting all excited, I have come to believe my subconscious mind got pricked in the wrong spot.
“If this cake is a gift, that I means I do not get to eat it. Not happy. Not happy at all”
Churning out angry vibes…
Meanwhile, I am happily planning an extravagant over the top deal filled with deliciousness. So I come up with this plan
- A Bundt Cake
- A Chocolate Mudcake in a bundt tin
- A layered chocolate than white chocolate mudcake in a bundt tin
- A tunnel of strawberry jam running in between the two layers
- Final thought: Tunnel of Jam Neopolitan Bundt Cake – yay, woohoo, yea 😉
“Nooooooooooooo… I will not let her give away my cake, no, I want it. Two types of chocolate – NEVER!”
I collect ingredients, organise the bench and get to work…
“Eureka…..”
Ruins my cake – pre baking…
I do think now my subconscious mind thinks she is cleverer than my conscious mind. What she does not realise is all that bombardment of English analysis on my conscious mind does help in thinking outside the square when it comes to cooking… and now mistakes 😉
Back to the story…
I am happily making my chocolate batter, mixing melted butter and chocolate, attempting to not eat the packet of choc chips and fiercely keeping a spoon away from the batter.
No problems? Check
Beautiful devour-me batter? Check
Moving on to the white chocolate batter my subconscious mind comes in for a chinwag… not a jolly one either 😉
“You will add 2 eggs, not one”
I was making half of both mudcake recipes to layer them. The chocolate cake had 4 eggs. The white chocolate cake had 2. And I added 2 eggs to the batter made for 1 egg. And it got liquidy. Very very liquidy.
Before adding eggs…
I begin freaking out. Silently in my head while keeping a cool composure 😉
“Mwah hahahahahaha. Now the chocolate mudcake will be baked and all for me…”
So I work quick and randomly add in an extra 1/2-3/4 cup flour into the batter.
“What is going on….”
Dump in a couple of extra tbs caster sugar. Taste the batter and although I have no idea what the consistency should be like, I give it a shot anyhow because it tastes alright 🙂
In a greased-sugared Bundt tin, I pour the chocolate batter, add a tunnel of jam and then pour on the white chocolate batter.
The white chocolate batter engulfs the dark chocolate batter and I know there will not be any layering. And that the ‘natural’ swirling will not be a pretty sight.
“It will look too ugly to give… and I get a full cake – could this day get any better”
This is how my cake comes out. A patchy marbled mudcake complete with a jam swirl. Oh dear… My cake is bleeding…
Post refrigeration: The final step
Icing – I use white chocolate icing and drizzle it over. Ok not absolutely ugly anymore. Popped in some strawberries. Hmm…
“You are a perfectionist U, you won’t give something that looks so blah to anyone, save it for yourself [me] and relax…”
I needed some green – the strawberry leaves were pretty average and brown-green. No thanks. And then mummy dear swoops in for the win. “Why not colour some icing green and do a design on top of the white?”
“No, no, noooooooooooooooooooooooo” – Defeated subconscious mind…
And that is what I did. And it actually made a very, um, mistakable cake, quite presentable as a graduation cake. Taste? Obscenely delicious reviews all round 😀
Conscious mind: Uno
Subconscious mind: Zero
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Honestly here is what I learnt from all my baking mistakes
- Keep the recipe closer to you at all times
- Do not try a new idea for something so big
- Cake layering is not the same as cheesecake on top of brownie batter layering
- The subconscious wants are not stronger – learn to control oneself consciously 😀
Always into self improvement my friends!
Marbled Jam Swirled Mudcake
Anyhow, so you know what this cake was meant to be all about. Here is how I would make it now if I wanted it to look pretty sans icing 😉
To swirl
- Pour in batters and jam alternating to each other till they are finished (roughly go for 1/2-3/4 cup jam)
- Swirl gently and you are good to go 😀
Sorry I took a bite out but just look at that crumbiness!
This recipe was a keeper – it was soft, moist and the two mudcake flavours complement each other considerably while the jam surprise in some bites is awesome! Of course the icing too is a killer 😀
Enjoy mes amis! I look forward to properly trying this cake again one day 😉
P.S Thank you Heidi (@ The Young Grasshopper) for awarding me with the Versatile Blogger award – it is much appreciated 😀 – I will be posting about it next time 🙂 – Thanks again my friend!
Go Bake Yourself 
