1-2-3-4—FAIL.

(Failed Attempt No. 1): Tue, 01/19/10
1-2-3-4 Cake
from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

Well, this sucks.

Here we have the dried up remains of what could have been tonight's completely gorgeous cupcakes:


(Sorry, eggs; sorry, butter.)

Everything was going PERFECTLY— I was all set to make Alice's 1-2-3-4 cake into cupcakes for a coworker's birthday, and the batter was beautifully formed—right down to my first soft-peaked egg whites— but then an evil moron twin dug her way into my head and forced me to:

a. not grease the inside of the cupcake liners, and
b. completely crowd the oven.

I'll name my twin Tracey. WHY did Tracey talk me into setting both tins into the oven: not only at once, which I guess was probably not a great idea, but on the same rack?? Tracey, you're SO STUPID!!

After 9 minutes, I smelled burning. ("It's nothing!" Tracey reassured me.) And after 17 minutes, all was lost: all 24 cupcakes had turned black and smokey.

Here are the survivors:




So now I think I know what to avoid next time. Until then, I wonder if there's a recipe or some home-thrown dessert that can be made with the sad remains? Maybe something along the lines of a bread pudding? God, it sucks that I used up 2 whole sticks of butter for this sad mess.

Oh well—better luck next time. Tracey's staying out of the kitchen from here on out.