Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Daring Bakers May challenge- why you should never leave your challenge for the last day

First I would like to say that this month's challenge is dedicated to Barbara of WinosandFoodies.

Okie so let's start at the beginning... it came as a shock to me the fact that we could not use chocolate or coffee... you heard me... when I saw we were making L'Opera cake I dreamt of chocolate and lots of coffee.. however my dreams had to be redirected to visions of fluffy vanilla buttercream and strawberry mousse and glaze.

YES!.. I had a vision, but it was just that, and I slacked off ALL month long.. I KNOW!! how could I do that??!!! (trust me I'll never do it again) I left the making of the cake until TODAY.. the posting day of the challenge.. oh I know I've been bad

and... what happens when you leave your challenge for the LAST day?? well.. YOU ANGRY THE BAKING GODS!!! that is what happens.. trust me Daring Bakers out there.. never do it, the wrath of the gods is mighty and to be feared I've experienced it first hand... and I nearly wanted to cry. My buttercream curdled.. I tried it a second time.. it nearly curdled again, I made my mousse and it did not work as expected ....it did not set and I ended up not being able to do my glaze (which was what I had look forward to the most).. OH!! what I would give to go back in time in order to do my cake waaay in advance.


Here are the pictures..




My variations to the original recipe: I used pecans instead of almonds for the joconde and I used strawberries on the bottom layer as well as an strawberry mouse on the top.

And now I cordially invite you to look at all of the other Daring Bakers wonderful creations

20 comments:

Joshua said...

/droolz

You forgot to mention that it was my LOVE that kept the buttercream from curdling the second time!!!!


...can I has some cakes?

Anonymous said...

I had the same thoughts when I read Opera cake, I had visions of dark chocolate and coffee. We'll leave that version for next time ;)
I'm so glad I didn't wait till the last day.
Despite it not having a glaze it looks delicious!

Christine said...

Your cake looks delish with or without the glaze!

giz said...

Thanks for stopping by our blog and your very kind words. Don't you hate when you have something in your mind and then have to turn on that dime.

The whole thing was quite the challenge but what a great feeling on the finish line.

genkitummy said...

you waited to the last day and were able to finish it in a day? good job!!! i like your addition of the strawberries!

Natalie, aka "Sheltie Girl" said...

You did a wonderful job on your cake. It's beautiful.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Anonymous said...

Aww... I think that persevering and actually completing a cake on the last day of the challenge should appease the baking gods. I bet next challenge will go off without a hitch... but I do love your flavor combo and I'm sure your cake tastes yummy!

Dolores said...

Your mousse alone looks like it was worth the effort... even at the last minute. But then "last minute" is my special gift. :)

Half Baked said...

Your cake looks yummy. Using pecans for the cake part sounds like a great idea!

Anonymous said...

Did it taste good? And I completely agree about the baking gods!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

I know how miserable one can get when just about everything goes wrong. But I'm sure it tasted good.
Now here's what you can do. Take time and plan it out and then make this cake in coffee and chocolate. Because that's what I'm going to do.:)

Jaime said...

great job! weren't the strawberries good? :)

Anonymous said...

I, too, was jonesing for chocolate as I ate my opera cake. This was a good cake but just not opera if your eyes were closed while you ate.

Anonymous said...

I waited til the last day, too. Shhhh! Looks yummy, though!

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks delicious! - vanilla and strawberry is a delicious combo, love the strawberry mousse, the colour is awesome! :)

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

Doing this in one day is very commendable! Well done! It looks delicious.
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

Suzana said...

I love the addition of fresh fruit between the layers, and the strawberry mousse. It must be delicious that way. Great job on the challenge!

Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a nice note. :)

- - MayMay - - said...

Aw! I'm sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted! Nevertheless, I'm sure it still tasted good ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm more amazed that you got this one done in one day and in a frenzy yet! And it looks good. No one can call you a quitter, that's for sure! ;)

Anonymous said...

I too wish we could have use dark chocolate, but I think everyones cakes still came out great looking. You are either brave or truly daring to leave the making of this cake to the last day, wow. It took me 3 days to make mine.