1 cake, 2 cake, 3 cake... i bake

I'm always a little trepidatious when it comes to trying new cake recipes. I like using the tried and true, whether it be for taste or texture, and don't tend to vary from the usual vanilla or chocolate. But my repetoire is getting a little narrow. Sure, I can decorate like a fiend, but I'd love for my cakes to taste amazing as well. It's not enough that they LOOK good, but they have to TASTE good, too.

But here's my dirty little secret.

I. DON'T. LIKE. CAKE.

If I can help it, I don't eat cake. I'm not crazy about sweets in particular (some exceptions may apply... i.e. pie), and cake has got to be on the bottom of the list of things I'd willingly put into my mouth.

There's no rhyme or reason behind my dislike. I just don't. I used to like cake. I don't anymore.

So when I bake a cake, I try a piece to check that I didn't inadvertently use salt instead of sugar and baking powder instead of baking soda, that's about it. I rely on everyone else around me to tell me if it tastes good (or bad). But like everyone else, I'm finding that people's opinions vary from night and day. There's the "too sweet" people and the "too rich" people to the "not chocolatey enough" people and the "omg, this is the best damned thing I've ever eaten" people. Thus, it's really hard for me to judge what recipe is worthy of repeating.

Today, I tried a new recipe for chocolate mud cake that I have been eyeing for a few weeks now. At first, I was intrigued by the white chocolate version, but hey, I don't like white chocolate very much, and Wednesday's birthday boy is apparently a chocolate fan. Done.

Only, halfway through the baking process I got distracted by something on television and forgot to add some ingredients. Key ingredients such as SUGAR and COCOA POWDER (oh my!). And me being forgetful me, I didn't double check the recipe and popped the whole thing into the oven at 160 degrees C. Whoops.

An hour and a bit later, the kitchen smelled heavenly. Aroma de chocolat filled the air and everyone else's taste buds were watering. The cake smelled fantastic... and tasted... not bad.

It was more of a dark chocolate souffle. Very light and airy and not sweet at all. It would have been a perfect recipe for a molten lava cake, and amazing if paired with ice cream and a light drizzle of raspberry coulis.

So what am I saying with all this? Nothing really. Only that sometimes accidents are a good thing.

Oh, and btw, I made another cake following the recipe to the "T" that somehow, it doesn't seem quite as good. But we'll let the birthday boy be the judge of that recipe.