i mean it.
day after day after day,
there have been complications, cancellations, and aberrations
in most aspects of my workday studio life.
the scheduling is problematic.
the keeping of appointments is even worse.
and of course,
the tattoos that do show up?
mostly dudes, dudes.
damn,
it's nice to know that the cake situation is handled, at least
i can't cancel cake, even if i wanted to-
it's baked, and it's decorated,
and it's ready to take good care of me.
....a nice slice, neighbors.
yup.
that's all it takes to turn a turd of a day into a totally expert one.
simple.
and luckily, i've got a whole lotta slices,
enough to last me through the weak weekend,
so i can overcome the doldrums of these dark days,
and show up all caked-out and ready to rock all these tattoos exxxtra hard.
that's practically professional planning.
i owe it all to the cake, obvi.
yeah.
that's right.
another 'nother cake.
what can i tell you?
i like cake.
i need cake.
i'm a cakey baker's kind of man,
and man, oh man, oh MAN, i have a good one right here and now.
check the teleport:
CHOCOLATE AND ALMONDS AT THE SAME TIME!!!
mmmmmmmmm.
chocolate cake can be tricky.
that's no joke.
if you're going heavy in the cocoa zone,
the crumb can get a little dry-
but if you add too much liquid, it bakes unevenly,
the edges getting crispy but the middle staying batterish.
we don't want that.
nope.
we want moist, springy, soft sensuality in our crumb.
right?
heck yes we do.
what's the solution?
better flour.
huh?
no, for real: almond meal is pretty moist stuff.
and there's almond everything in this one-
-
*
CHOCOLATE-ALMOND CAKE!
-
preheat your oven to 360F.
grease and flour two 9" rounds.
in your trusty stand-mixer, cream together:
3/4 cup sugar;
1/3 cup raw sugar;
1 1/2 tsp almond extract;
2 tsp vanilla ;
1 stick + 2T (10T) vegan butter;
1/2 tsp salt;
add and whisk on high:
3/4 cup non-dairy yogurt.
-
to that sloppy mess, you're gonna wanna include:
2 cups flour + 2 T cornstarch;
1 cup almond meal;
1/2 cup coarse-ground toasted almonds;
2 tsp baking kapowder;
1 tsp baking soda;
1/3 cup cocoa;
and 1 cup almond milk.
-
whip that up into aerated fluffy cakey batter,
divide it evenly,
and bake for 30 minutes.
when it's cool, but naked,
y'gotta get activated on some frosting styles.
yes, you do.
-
in your freshly cleaned stand-up motorized mixin' bowl-
whisk together:
1/2 stick vegan butter;
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar;
almond extract;
vanilla extract;
almond milk, added one T at a time,
until it whips up all floofy and light.
the center and the top are the two most important parts.
if there's extra, skim-coat the sides too.
i still had chocolate frosting from my graham squares left,
so i used that on there, too.
...it looked good, but something was missing-
and that's when i noticed the absence of sprankles.
jeez.
almost made a rookie mistake there,
but, rules is rules,
and too much is the right amount,
and MORE hottness is always a good idea.
hence, a dash of toasted almond slice spranks.
mmmmmmmmhmmmmmm.
that's the way it was s'posed to be.
and that's the way it is.
***********
maybe today will bring some new hottness with it-
i mean,
the sun has been obscured for three days,
and the rain and wind haven't really allowed for much in the way of warmth,
but,
the downhill downstream waterfalls around the neighborhood are lookin' really fresh!
crabtree likes to drink the mountain-cold water,
and i like to rest for ten seconds by the brookside babbling of the rushing current.
that'll most likely be followed by a full day of zappy zips and tatty 'ttoos,
but afterwards,
it's dinner and dog excitement until whenever sleep hits,
on an all-the-way-live but unsurprisingly solo saturday night.
fresh baked bread?
i got that.
galettes?
i got them.
pie for your eye?
rolling dough between sentences.
i'm making things.
i should be making pictures.
maybe i will.
i mean,
there's enough cake to last a day or two,
and that should see me through to monday.
maybe that'll buy me an evening of art?
i guess we'll know within 48 hours;
never quiet, never soft.....
No comments:
Post a Comment