25. Devils' Food Cake

I was really excited about baking this; it looked fairly straightforward and was bound to be tasty. The only challenge I envisaged was the frosting: never made 'frosting' before, and it looked fraught with hazard potential! Unfortunately my fears were realised, and this has been one of the few bakes I've done thus far which I've felt genuinely disappointed with. The cake itself was very easy to make, but one of few deviations from the 'all-in-one' method Mary seems to favour. It involved creaming the butter and the sugar together first, before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Also, the cocoa powder was mixed with water before adding to the cake batter; this made for a very wet mixture which would inevitably turn into a moist, fudgy-textured cake. I gave the cake 32 minutes in the oven; it was well-risen and a great colour. When I turned the sponges out of the tins, they were both very dark and sumptuous, and smelt lovely. I then had to leave them to cool right down before preparing the frosting. As it turned out, the art of making the frosting wasn't a difficult one to master, although I did resort to using the electric mixer towards the end as my hand whisking was feeble to say the least.

The mixture consisted of caster sugar, an egg white, a pinch of cream of tartar and some hot water. It had to be continuously whisked over a pan of 'hot water', and here's where the trouble began. For precision baking (such as it is), I need clearer instructions. I used my own judgement and set a pirex dish over a pan of boiled water, set on a medium-low heat. I thought if I retained the 'hotness' of the water, things would be ok. The recipe said nothing about 'boiling' or 'simmering'. So, whisking away to very little avail, I used the electric mixer to get the 'firm' texture described, thinking that the desired texture would be the only issue. It was only when I'd finished whisking that it occurred to me that there might actually be an issue with me testing it, and indeed eating the cake. Being pregnant, raw eggs are an issue, and I wasn't sure if the light 'heating' method was sufficient to constitute cooking the egg white! Otherwise, I'd have tested the frosting at this stage. Anyway, I spread a small amount on to sandwich the cakes together, and then got to work covering the cake all over. I was quite pleased with the end result; there was no picture in the book to work to, but I managed to create the desired 'peaks' and thought it all looked very appetising.

We didn't sample any of the cake until later in the day (after having decided that the egg-white issue probably wasn't anything to worry about) and were met with immediate disappointment. Chocolate cake = lovely; everything it should be. Frosting = shambolic. The sugar hadn't dissolved properly, so the end result was a very grainy and very soft frosting, which didn't match the description of a meringue/marshmallow texture. I'm now left with the dilemma about how to get the cake eaten. Husband and I will have a few slices sans frosting, but to inflict this on colleagues...?

Baker's verdict: I was so chuffed with my efforts here, and subsequently gutted that it didn't turn out so well after all. I'll master this frosting one day: sugar thermometer will be the next investment!

Husband rating: 7/10 for the cake - lovely bit of chocolate cake; 1/10 for the frosting - didn't like it at all because it was grainy - like eating raw sugar!

24. Classic Apple Pie

I'd been putting this bake off until a suitable occasion presented itself, not because I anticipated that it would be a difficult one. I think pies need guests, so I made it last weekend when my parents were visiting and a pudding was required after the Sunday dinner. It wasn't particularly challenging, but this is probably the last time I'll bake and make dinner at the same time, as I couldn't give it my full attention. It was a pretty basic recipe; I chopped the apples into thick slices and put them into some lemony water to stop them browning, while I made the pastry.

The pastry was a funny one; the first time I've used vegetable fat (like veggie lard) in any recipe. It was the usual case of rubbing the butter and fat into the flour and then binding it all together with water, but it was a bit of a sod to roll out. I couldn't do it without it tearing, but it didn't feel either too dry or too wet to me. It was a faff getting it on top of the apples (which had been sprinkled with sugar and cloves), so I called on the expertise of Mum to help! It then had to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. Once in the oven (40-45 minutes given as the baking time), it seemed to cook too quickly. After 20 minutes, it needed covering with foil as it was already starting to brown at an alarming rate. I was determined to stick to Mary's instructions, so I left it in the oven while we ate our roast and removed it on the bleep of the timer.

The final result was a bit disappointing. The pastry had held (even the patched-up bits), and was nice and crispy. It tasted very good too. However, the 'thickly-sliced' apples had turned to mush, which I hadn't expected. I don't know if this is how Mary's pie turns out, but the object of slicing the apples in that way was defeated, I feel! A collective theory was that baking the pie in the top oven rather than the larger fan oven meant that it was too close to the heat and cooked too quickly and for too long. I hardly ever use the top oven; on this occasion the chicken was occupying the fan oven (another contributory factor in my decision to keep meal preparation and baking separate).

Baker's verdict: nothing wrong with the taste, and lovely with custard; good pastry, but mushy apples didn't quite do it for me.

Husband rating: 6.5/10. Tasty, but it was a bit like an apple puree with a thin bit of pastry on top (and some burnt bits).