Recently, I attempted making what I call "Annie's Apple Cake". This would have been the third attempt at making it, and to my relief, it was a success (read: not a flop!). Not blowing my own trumpet here, but if you knew about or were there when we tried making Annie's Apple Cake the first and second times, you would have rejoiced with me when the cake came out of the oven looking simply delectable.
This is how the cake turned out.
This is how the cake turned out.
The reason for its name is actually quite simple. It's Annie's recipe. Years ago, after a worship practice, a few of us on the team were sitting around a table in the FBC cafeteria when Annie, the pianist, appeared, bearing an apple cake. It was so yummy that Lainey and I asked her for the recipe! Annie said it was really easy, and proceeded to give us the recipe - I can't remember if we wrote it down or tried to memorise it. Or did we call her later to ask for the recipe? So one afternoon, we decided to try it out. We bought the ingredients and sat around the huge dining table measuring them out. This was during the time when TA, Jacq, Lainey and I were staying in Section 17. We were real baking newbies, which will explain the little situation we encountered a bit later.
Into the oven went the cake mixture, and we sat and waited until the appointed time. Ding! went the oven and we peered expectantly through the glass. To our disappointment, the "cake" looked exactly how it did when it went it: mixture in a tin. Reckoning it was something to do with the oven (sorry, Jacq!), we turned the dial and gave it more time, which eventually passed, and still no cake.
At this point, we rang Annie and asked her to recite the recipe again. As she went through the list of ingredients, we realised that the recipe called for two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. No wonder the cake didn't bake! Fortunately, we still had quantities of the ingredients, and plenty of determination, so we were still able to mix another portion of the cake mixture. While doing so, we rummaged around the bottles in the basket that sat on top of the microwave and unearthed a bottle labelled "Baking Soda".
"Is that the same thing?"
"I think so."
So into the oven again went another cake mixture, this time, we were optimistic.
Ding went the oven and to our sheer disappointment, the cake looked nowhere near like one. We gave it more time (tsk, the oven!) and eventually all we got was a soggy-looking stodgy mass and diminished self-esteem where our baking skills were concerned. We decided to give it a taste anyhow - and it was quite disgusting if I remember correctly. I distinctly remember one word that came to mind: alkaline. We disposed of the evidence and felt sorry for our cake-less selves. It was only later when we found out that baking soda is NOT the same as baking powder, in fact baking powder is baking soda plus something else (like cream of tartar) to offset the alkalinity and produce the rising, cake-like effect. Novices we were...
Back to the present (last year to be precise), Annie had kindly written the recipe (plus a few others) and placed it in a box she'd given us as a wedding gift. I finally got a chance (with a bit more confidence after a few successful baking attempts) to try it out, and this time I added BAKING POWDER, and it worked like a charm. Like how it was supposed to :) The home group members loved it (or they were being polite :)).
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haha that was funny - i mean u and ur ex-housemates' attempts to bake the annie-cake. but hey, this latest one looks really yummy! wish i could taste it! ;)
Yeah - back then our stomachs had to go without too!
*laughing* i still remember the yummy smell of the cake and annie carrying it in one hand as she waltz into the sanctuary!!! please please send me the recipe! i can't believe we how persistent we were - actually i can ... it THAT good :P (i also remember googling baking soda/powder on your old laptop computer)
is dis d kek u bek and den get bek ek and nek ek?
Lainey: Will send you the recipe! it's really easy! hey .. i just remembered, after the whole fiasco, didn't we say "nobody must hear of this" or something? a bit too late for that now, oops! :p
Lynn: it's the very cake!
May: haha, no point having a recipe and filing it away. you have to try it. provided you use baking powder instead of baking soda, sure guarantee successful one and it will give ur baking confidence a boost!
was I there??? I have no (maybe, vague) recollection of this fiasco!
jacq: you weren't there... it was me and Lainey. But we used your orange oven ;)
who is this annie person? how come I've never tried? psst, give recipe can ah?i love apple cakes.
by the way girlies, tsk tsk, not to know the diff b/w baking powder and baking soda???? tsk tsk tsk...
fatboy: you dunno annie? she's one of only 3 fbc pianists...