Cakes, bother them

[adaeze]

Oh wise and talented flist,

Why is it that *every single time* I attempt to bake a cake, by any variation of the "cream butter & sugar, then add eggs" method, the wretched mixture always always always curdles?  I did *everything* by the book this time, eggs out of the fridge last night to be sure they'd be room temperature, butter & sugar creamed till they were as light as a feather made from hydrogen, and as fluffy as Exceptionally Cute.  And yet still, at the first hint of egg, it curdled.

I know it's not the world's greatest disaster, and I know the Christmas cake will taste just the same.  But it's the principle of the thing - just once in my life, I want to make a non-curdled cake!

Comments

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Cakes are perverse and evil things. I do absolutely everything by the book, and follow every tip and instruction given by all the wise cake-makers of yore, and mine always end up awful. Pellinor guesses the measurements, throws the ingredients together casually with his eyes shut, bakes it for a totally random length of time, breaks every single cake-making rule ever written, and produces wonderful, moist, amazing cakes.

My only explanation is that cake mixture senses fear.

[adaese.livejournal.com]

This makes a lot of sense. It also explains why my mother, in every other way an excellent cook, simply cannot make gravy.