On Saturday afternoon I made the Malted Milk Cupcakes in the heart-shaped bakers. It was kind of fun to follow a recipe that was written as a paragraph. For the sour milk I just added a teaspoon of lemon juice to the cup and let it sit for a few minutes.
I looked in one of my other cookbooks to see what temperature to bake them at, and popped them in for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. The batter was this really pretty sort of brownish pink and it tasted really good.
Andy was out playing pinball with a friend so I puttered around, thinking of different icings that might work with malt. I thought I might just whip up some cream and add some powdered sugar and a little more malt to it, since it was getting late to mess with buttercream and I knew I should be going upstairs and getting ready for Stars on Ice (more about that later).
I took them out of the oven and they looked great. Nice and poofy and they didn't even fall. I ripped the top off of one and tasted it to see if I could actually taste the malt. Munch munch. Munch munch. Munch munch. What is that. . . . Is that . . . Munch munch. . . .
Crap . . . it's . . . soap.
I was upstairs changing when Andy came home. I could hear him downstairs with the dog. Then it was quiet for a while and after a few minutes he said, "Do these cupcakes taste like soap?" And I said, from above, "That's what I thought!"
Durn it.
My baking record is taking a serious beating this winter. Only the gingerbread worked out. I'm not gonna count the bread either way, you know? I think I need a plan to turn this around!
Oh, no. I'm not sure what else to say. How frustrating to spend the time baking something and then have them end up being, well - not good. Bummer.
I will send you my recipe for easy one pan brownies that are so yummy it will turn your baking mojo around.
Soap!? Now that is random ...
Soap. Well, at least we know they were sanitary :) I'm sorry - I hope your next baking project goes well. For the record, they are real pretty!
Thank you for sharing. I have to say it makes me feel good to know even my idols have bad baking days, or seasons. However you want to look at it *smile*
Well at leaste they are pretty & clean!
I would suggest the BEST MALTED MILK IN THE WORLD. It's called Horlicks and it will redeem your next batch for sure!
http://www.amazon.com/Horlicks-Plain-Malt-Mix-400g/dp/B000JMDH8Q
Why would they taste like soap... that is interesting.
I think it's cause there was soap left on the silicone bakers after I washed them in the dishwasher. Cause I tasted the batter and it tasted fine. But I think that not all the soap got rinsed out of the liners when they were washed. Ew.
Loved reading about your smocking since my Mom was a smocking teacher. She used to have a hand cranked machine with about 10 rows of thread that would put the pleats in for her and that's how she started every project she did. I always wondered what happened to that gadget. She was a beautiful smocker and I have dresses that my now 26 yo daughter wore and lots of Christmas ornaments and Easter eggs she smocked. Good luck.
How disappointing. Soap? Wonder where that came from? I hate when i brush my teeth and someone (sometimes me) has dripped soap onto my toothbrush from washing hands . . eeew.
Try try again.
Blech! How disappointing. See - that's why I use Betty Crocker *grin* I truly admire your fortitude with baking. I hate it. I LOVE to cook, but with the exception of a killer chocolate chip cookie my baking all comes straight from a box.
Better luck next time - I'm sure it will turn out great!
So sad. But, ah, the kind of sad we can giggle about... so nice.
Bet it was the combination of dishwasher soap and the silicone: I had a terrible experience with a silicone pan and brownie batter, and ended up tossing out the pan. I still have a bunch of silicone spatulas (which I love) but now I hand wash them with Dawn.
Man, that sux! And they looks SO great too! Can't win 'em all so at least the pics look great! :)
oh dear, this reminds me of a chocolate chip cookies present that went so sadly awry. They too tasted like soap. It was too much baking soda for me...
Now this is my excuse for always "testing" the batter:)
I'm jealous of those sweet little bakers!
About the soap and silicone... I have had that problem with spatulas, I thought I was the only one!! Ewww when your eggs taste like dish detergent. In my dishwasher I use about 1/3 of the recommended amount of detergent and my dishes turn out fine and it seems to have taken care of the soapy taste.
I bet it was the baking soda. It can taste nasty after baking if there is too much of it . . . maybe it didn't react fully with the pseudo-sour milk?? If you want to attempt the recipe again, maybe try using self-rising flour, regular milk, and no salt or leavening.
Oh, how sad! Keep baking, though! You are an inspiration to us all.
Alicia, why don't you have children?
Oh, too bad about the soapy cupcakes. I'm just wondering if I can turn a muffin recipe into a quick bread because my toaster oven will only bake six at a time and I just can't be bothered with that (instant-gratification girl apparently).
Love the new pic of Clover and the lovely Holmes quote too, but I miss Audrey and Dorothy Parker. Sigh. I'm just not good with change, though I love new.
My sister and I tried the Sticky pear and walnut gingerbread in Sticky, chewy, messy, gooey last weekend, and it's the best cake I've ever had! We almost burnt down the house, but the cake was brilliant!
OH! So disappointing! I forgot to put the butter in a batch of brownies the other day, slipped the pan into the oven and there on the stove was the bowl with the melted butter. I stirred it in, but they ended up taking twice the amount of time to bake and were burnt around the edges. I can totally relate.
So sorry about the flopped baking. I just pulled a cream of wheat custard pie out of the oven and it is so good, and easy, too! I thought about you eating cream of wheat for breakfast while I was making it. The recipe is from the book Sweety Pies. You should give it a whirl and I second the pear and walnut gingerbread. Good luck with your next attempt!
Hello, Dear,
I just gave you a little award . Just because …
http://kariola70.blogspot.com/2008/02/you-make-my-day-award.html