Cooking, Old School

I missed my DH's birthday this year. We were separated and I had to trust other family members to make a fuss over him and give him cake and ice cream. When we got back together in Dubai, we agreed to celebrate our birthdays together this year. Since our birthdays are about 6 weeks apart, I suggested we pick the day that hits between the two dates. He laughed at me, I guess it was already past by that time.

I was still insistent that we share a birthday and have a cake together. So, this weekend, I crawled the stores looking for measuring cups, spoons and cake pans. Today, I pulled a recipe off the Internet (all my stuff is still in a container in Tunisia) and decided to make a cake from scratch.

I've never liked box mixes as much as cakes made by hand. Something about the texture and density, I think. Anyway, my favorite birthday cake has always been a carrot cake. Today I decided to make one from someone else's recipe. I've made mine often enough to recognize most of the ingredients, so the recipe I selected was close to the one I was used to.

But let me say one thing: don't underestimate your labor saving devices.

Case in point, the hand mixer. Holy cow. Until you have stirred a cake batter and then whipped up a frosting by hand, you don't realize how convenient a mixer can be. My arm is still aching. Creaming butter, cream cheese and sugar into frosting is hard work when all you have is an eating fork.

I managed to find all the conversions. That's right. It took MATHEMATICS. You see, a stick of butter is a standard measurement in the US (in recipes). It is not a measure that is easily translated when your butter comes in a 500 gram brick. I also had to figure out how to set the oven in Celsius. A lot more conversions than one might think.

I pulled it off. I baked a carrot cake. Not the best looking cake I've ever made, but I'm sure it will taste good. My right shoulder is aching. I think I'll wait until my household goods arrive before I try any more baking.

--Sandee Wagner