My self-appointed job in the game group is the designated birthday cake baker. I gave myself this exclusive role because I have the strictest dietary need, and I didn't want to pass on the responsibility of making safe cakes to anyone else. Sometime last year, I made a cheesecake with GF brownie crust and a compote made with cherries from our tree. (I wrote about it then, and called it "Schwartzwalderkirchkasetorte.") Our college roommate, who has been a rockstar member of this game group for years, specifically asked me to make this cake again when his birthday rolled around.
Well, that was supposed to be a few weeks ago. Stuff kept happening, and the game kept getting pushed out. In the group text, we promised that the cake would still get made, and it became someone's suggestion that for every week we get delayed, we would add a layer to the cake. So far, I've promised the original three layers, plus chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and a layer to be determined. The choices are between toasted pecans, chocolate shavings, and sprinkles. At this point, I'm kind of considering all of them, and making a monstrosity that is taller than the length of my hands.
Something happened to my oven a few weeks ago, and it stopped heating up all the way, and it takes an hour to get even vaguely close to regular baking temperature. I'd been using my toaster oven for most stuff while we waited to see whether we repair or replace. That wasn't an option for a cheesecake, so I packed up everything I needed and took it all over to the kids house to make the first two layers. It ended up taking up a solid five hours. I partially baked the brownie crust, and had to wait for it to cool before putting the cheesecake batter on it, and after it baked an hour, I waited for it to gently cool in the oven. Then I had to pull it out of the water bath, to learn I still have the worst luck (soggy bottom yet again). By the time I finally got to go home, the all-day rain had turned really cold, and it was just unpleasant getting my stuff to and from the car.
Now the first two layers of the cake are in the fridge, I'm in warm jammies, and I'm about to go save the photos of Valerie discovering brownie batter, so I can post them here. I hope I can get all the other layers done in time for tomorrow's game. Photos of the Abomination Cake to come later.
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