bake a cake

I have always loved baking however I can't bake fancy schmancy cakes. I can bake a decent cake for a small party (or makan2) or to bring as a favour when visiting or just to simply eat. There are times when my cakes don't turn out as expected and there are times when my cakes turn out perfectly. It is never a 'sure case' because each recipe is different and sometimes things just don't go your way.

On Monday evening, as I was picking up Babycakes from the nursery, her sitter told me that they will be having a raya open house on Wednesday evening and she said parents are welcome to bring some kuih  raya. Irene kept on saying 'esok malam raya! esok malam raya!' Anyway, I thought kuih raya is a bit too boring so I opted to bring a cake instead. So on Tuesday I bought a box of Pillsbury Devil's Food cake mix. I don't think I want to bake a cake from scratch, on a weeknight so this invention comes in really handy.

That night, I set to work when hubby took Babycakes out to the nearby shop for a while. I get to bake in peace and not fear of Irene playing near the hot oven. After the cake is baked, I let it cool before I began frosting it with some homemade chocolate frosting. I have a bar of cooking chocolate and I used half of it mixed with some butter, icing sugar and condensed milk and melted it in a double-boiler (a bowl on top of a pan with boiling water- make sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water though).

I started frosting the cake past midnight when Babycakes has gone to sleep with her daddy. If I were to do this when she was awake, I bet the process will take much longer and messier. I don't need to deal with such thing on a weeknight no less. Past midnight, the house was quiet and serene and I get to work at my own pace. Btw, I read a tip on the internet to put some parchment paper below the cake before frosting so any frosting that drips will drip onto the paper. See the 1st pic, you can see strips of parchment paper below the cake. After you are done, remove the paper and you will have a clean, mess-free cake board. Thank God I found this tip on the internet. Why didn't I ever think about it before? *slaps forehead*

Once the cake was done frosting, I put it in the microwave oven (to store because the cake might invite ants) and the next day, I brought it to Babycakes' nursery. I wish I have some m&m to decorate but that will do.