Disappointing Results

I am sad to report that I am waving the white flag on this month's challenge. I tried, I really did. This cake just did not like me.

Let me preface this by saying that I never complain about recipes that I am making and I am usually very good about figuring them out if they seem confusing. This one is a completely different story. I found the structure of this recipe to be a mess. After reading the recipe several times my friend Chelle and I attempted to tackle this recipe together early on a Saturday morning. We both had disappointing results. Better grab a beverage, here is my side of the story...

My first challenge was trying to figure out what got folded into what and in what order it happened. I figured that out and went on and started my cakes (I used 2, 9" pans since I didn't hae a 10"). I used almonds instead of hazlenuts since hazlenuts seem to be a seasonal item. The process of making the cake went well, it baked wonderfully and inverted onto the rack like a champ. I let the cakes cool, as per the directions, wrapped them up and put them into the fridge.

Sunday came along and I was anxious to tackle the rest of the cake. I read over all of the remaining parts of the recipe and instantly got confused. The apricot glaze directions states, "with a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm." Well wait a minute, the cake directions said nothing about applying the apricot glaze to the warm cake. I figured that was just a small hurdle and went ahead and applied the glaze to the cooled cakes. They became pretty sticky, which seemed like a problem if I would have had to cut the cakes in half.

Ok, on to the next item, the praline paste. Maybe I was impatient or using the wrong kind of pan but there is no way that plain ole sugar was going to melt in a saucepan on my stove over low heat on that day, it just wasn't happening. I tried this twice, the first time I turned up the heat a little and ended up with burnt clumps of sugar stuck to my pan. The second time I switched to another pan with no luck once again.

I then decided that I would just make regular buttercream, no such luck. I was having a horrible day in the kitchen on this particular day and nothing wanted to work right. I wrapped the cakes in plastic wrap and tucked them away in the freezer. Maybe someday I'll take them out and try to finish out the challenge.

Thank you to Mele Cotte for hosting the challenge. I gave it my best and had high hopes for a wonderful cake but the stars were not aligned for me on this day. I am glad I had the opportunity to attempt this cake.