If at first you don’t succeed…

Three years ago I attempted to bake a Black Forest Gateau. It didn’t go well.

I tried to bake it with no preparation. How hard could it be? Well...I didn’t line and grease my tins and each cake came out a sloppy mess. Presentationally I threw it all together slap dash and, it didn’t taste good at all. And to top all that, because I stupidly left a slice out unattended on the kitchen counter, resulted in an emergency visit to the vets (mid lockdown) as cats, chocolate, boozy Kirsch infused cherries, combined with the hottest day of the year don’t play well. (The cat was fine but still hasn't forgiven me).

I think about that particular cake (top left). I was never happy with it. Today I attempted to bake one again. This time was different.

I researched it, took over a month to plan what I wanted to do. I probably overdid my thinking. I switched down a tin size to make better to handle, listened to the cakes to check if they didn't ‘hiss’ when they came out of the oven to be certain they were done, levelled the 3 cake layers to create an even structure, crumb coated and fridged it, covered the outside in Kirsch cream with an offset spatula, learnt how to pipe properly and then decorated it with chocolate tree shards by tempering chocolate to represent a forest. I’m happier this time around and it tasted better. I've put the cake in a cake box to protect it from little furry, gourmand visitors. I didn’t know any of these techniques three years ago. Same cake, different approach.

Every Christmas film has a central meaning, (apart from Die Hard and the Channel 5 ones) with an element of the hero/ine getting the chance for a do over, it made me think of a small Christmas themed transformation connection to this post…

Sometimes, like Ebenezer Scrooge, you may face a bit of a challenge in some form or other to make something better. Like my gateau, you just need time, step back and reflect on the past on what you could possibly do differently (and transform) next time around, and if it feels right, put it into action and then just let go of the past. Like remembering cats, alcoholic cherries and chocolate don’t mix!

Wishing everyone in my network a very Happy Christmas and New Year, I am grateful and fortunate to be connected to such nice people. 🎄🎅🍰 🍒