Happy Birthday, Babycakes! Eat, drink, and be merry! Also, please cut me a slice.
Hey, guess what I did last weekend? I bought a kitchen scale! Not terribly earth-shattering I know, but I’ve been having too many butter-related incidents with my baking recently (this one, for example), so I thought it was time to invest in one (read “spend $20 at Walmart”).
I used my scale for the first time today, when I was making this week’s recipe for my bake-a-long group: Odile’s Orange Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking Chez Moi cookbook.
This is basically a simple one layer sponge cake, with flecks of orange zest in it. Once out of the oven, it’s brushed with a simple syrup made of sugar, water, cinnamon, and orange slices. Finally, one arranges the poached orange slices on top, and finishes the whole thing off with a glaze of orange marmalade!
At least, that’s what the recipe says. What did I do? Well, remember I call myself the Queen of Substitutions!
- I ran out of white sugar (How does this happen? It’s a baking catastrophe, I tell you!) so I used brown sugar in the cake. Also in the simple syrup. I considered using icing sugar, but thought brown sugar was the closest in texture, even if it changed the colour and deepened the flavour a bit. (Random Kitchen Hack: run out of icing sugar? Grind some regular sugar in your spice grinder! Not perfect, but close enough in a pinch!)
- Also, I had no orange marmalade. I also had no inclination to buy a jar of orange marmalade in order to use maybe two tbsp. glazing this cake. So I used the jam that I did have in the fridge…triple fruit strawberry jam! Same thing, right? Eh, it works as a glaze. So it gives the cake a bit of a ruby colour — that’s a good thing, right? Dorie does say that one can use blood oranges to top the cake with, so really, I’m just using her colour scheme, albeit slightly differently than intended.
- And…just to top things off, literally, it’s the DH’s birthday tomorrow (technically today, since it’s past midnight as I type this), so I cut out some letters from fondant and stuck them on top. Two birds, one stone, bam! I shall do a super-duper fancy-pants cake for this coming weekend, when we’re celebrating with family, but I thought two cakes in a week was enough so this cake is now his birthday cake. You’re welcome, honey!
I eyeballed the butter to within 3 grams of the weight needed. *does victory dance*
But back to the recipe. I measured the butter very carefully, even making sure not to measure the weight of the bowl that held the butter. I was only 3 grams under Dorie’s recommended amount. So if this cake doesn’t turn out, it’s not because I added the wrong amount of butter! (It may be because I didn’t let the butter get to room temperature, or the eggs for that matter, but really, who has time for that?)
Is the scale worth it? Well, the proof shall be in the pudding, er…cake! I haven’t actually tasted it myself, because I’m waiting for the DH to wake up and cut a slice. (What’s that? Cake for breakfast? Don’t mind if I do!) But as soon as he cuts a slice, I’ll update you all with his reaction!
Want to see how everyone else in the bake-a-long group made their cakes? Check them out here! Truly a great group of bakers.
Edited to say: The cake! It was a hit! It was eaten with great gusto, and I’m saving one of the last slices to eat after my evening workout. Workout + cake slice = null calories, right? Mmm…cake!
Next Post: I’ve been busily writing up draft posts and then not getting around to posting them, so I’ve got a backlog. First up, the Dinner Roll Odyssey I’ve been promising. The result will be worth the wait!
You are the queen of improvisation – I salute you! And happy birthday to DH.
Aw, thanks!
Love your cake! Hope your DH has a great day!!!
Thanks, Sanya!
I cannot live without my scale and suspect that if you do a lot of baking you will soon grow to love yours too. Cake for breakfast sounds wonderful!
Cake for breakfast can only be a good thing, amirite?
Also, I look forward to being a scale-a-holic soon!
Welcome to the world of weighing ingredients! You’ll love it! Also, not job of being so resourceful making this cake!
Thanks, Ryan! And yay, up with scales!
Your post is hilarious, can’t stop laughing. I don’t care what color anything you used, be it sugar or jam, it
looks fantastic.
Aw, thanks, Nana! Your kind words mean so much!
Congrats on the kitchen scale. I can’tell even remember life before one! No more kitchen mishaps and inconsistencies! Also, I totally used half of a jar of marmalade. So there is that.
Half a jar of marmalade? Good to know for the future, thanks!
Congrats on the scale acquisition ! I am happy to hear of any kitchen procurements (someone likes shopping over here……) but a scale really does come in handy for baking. Heck for lots of stuff. And love that cake. Hats off for all the substitutions, which resulted in an amazing looking cake and love those fondant letters. What a fun presentation
Thanks, Tricia! The DH got me a fondant letter set for Christmas, so this was a perfect reason to use it.
Enjoy your scale. I can’t do without mine. What a lovely birthday cake? It put a smile on my face as the page showed up on the screen.
Thanks, Shirley! The DH liked it too, which made me happy!
I love my kitchen scale – when the battery died, I had a bit of a panic. Your cake looks delicious, substitutions or no. And happy Birthday to your husband!
Thanks, Teresa! I’ll tell him and that’ll make him smile.
your posts always make me laugh! so, how was it? i’m sure all your tweaks made it even more delicious! and a kitchen scale is pretty life altering, if you ask me…you’ll find it very handy.
Aw, thanks, Steph! It was pretty good! The DH liked it, and that’s all that matters.
Congratulations on the scale – and a lovely looking cake – I don’t know how I ever baked without one.
Thanks, Zosia! Am looking forward to seeing how my baking skills improve with this scale!
I love all the substitutions. They make me smile and bring back great memories of cooking with my Grandma. Hope you enjoyed the cake.
Thanks, Amy! The cake was demolished rather quickly, I have to say.
That’s a cheerful looking cake and only you could have conjured it up Margaret! I’m really impressed by your ability to substitute, I’ve managed to sub a bit when cooking but with baking? Not so much…
Congratulations on the kitchen scale, mine is $20 too and I love lit! No more worries about whether I leveled my ingredients or packed them. And the false sense of security from measuring everything down to the ounce? That’s bonus.
Aw, thanks, Summer! I shall look forward to a sense of security, however false it may be!
So funny…I ran out of sugar too!! Didn’t think about substituting with brown sugar so yay for you on the improvisations!!
Thanks, Kim! And yes, TWINSIES!
Your comment on my blog about directions made me laugh this morning. Thanks for starting my day off right. I love my kitchen scale and use it all the time:)