Chris and I had a birthday party at our home tonight for two dear friends who both turned 60 this month. In preparation for the evening I called and asked what their favorite dessert or flavor cake was. Lucy said her favorite dessert was blackberry cobbler. Gary said he liked any pie, carrot cake, or anything with white chocolate. I had just seen a blackberry cobbler on line by the Pioneer Woman Ree. It looked simple and delicious--- done. I started looking for something pie or carrot cake or white chocolate. I looked and looked and couldn't decide on anything, nothing looked good. Nothing looked right.
I finally decided on carrot cake, with a white chocolate cream cheese icing. I found a recipe and started putting it together. In about 30 minutes I had the cakes in the oven. I was exhausted and decided to sit and find an amazing icing recipe while they baked. I sat down to my computer and there was the cake recipe--- still on the screen. My eyes fell on one ingredient.... salt....I had left out the salt!!!! ERGGGGGG. I ran to the kitchen tried to put some salt in the batter in the pans that were already in the oven.
I sat back down defeated. I could just imagine how those cakes were going to taste blaaaaaa. They were going to be terrible. I almost called Chris and asked him to buy a cake, but I couldn't have a homemade dessert for one guest of honor and a store bought dessert for the other. What to do?
Chris came home and I was going over my options with him. I suggested trashing the carrot cakes and starting over. I could make a pie, or a bread pudding--- Oh Oh wait-- I had seen Giada De Laurentiis just that morning on TV make a berry strata with ricotta that looked amazing. I was describing it to Chris and he reminded me we had left over Ricotta from our brunch that needed to be used. It had orange zest in it so he thought it would be good in the strata. Then I realized I didn't have good day old bread for the strata. Then the idea. Use the cake and make the strata, add some chopped pecans, and white chocolate chips. Then instead of white chocolate cream cheese icing I would make a white chocolate cream cheese sauce. So I started cutting up the cake, made the custard mixture, added the ricotta, salt, nuts and white chocolate chips and let it bake. It smelled wonderful.
Lets just say it turned out delicious. You would not know it was a disaster, a failed attempt at cake, a mess up. I think I can even say it was better-- perhaps more fun--- or interesting. I don't know if I will ever make it again, but it was lovely and worked well for tonight. We even managed to put 60 candles on it! It was great!
The evening was a success-- plenty of food-- good friends--a fun time and Carrot Cake Strata with White Chocolate Sauce and Blackberry Cobbler for dessert with vanilla ice cream.
Tonight a failure, something that was supposed to be a tall and elegant cake, was chopped up, smothered in stuff and baked again. Put back in the hot oven and it came out completely different, but delicious. There is no question I have failed at many things,--I had hopes of being something lean and elegant at the end of this journey, but instead this blogging year has in a way broken me, I have been put back in the fire, but the outcome is perhaps more interesting than what I had originally set out to be. I may have hoped to be a three layer cake, with beautiful frosting, but instead I'm a delicious strata and I'm happy with that. Tonight I was reminded that sometimes my intentions, what I set out hoping will be, is not really the best idea anyway. How much more important that I continue to walk with Christ and let him add whatever ingredients, whatever flavors he sees fit. It will for sure be better than my ideas anyway.
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