Unfolding the baker in me :")

You know, it was one of those days where I wanted to do something. Something I'd never done before. Something that I could do without anyone's help. Something that would give me a sense of accomplishment! ..

and just as I was thinkin, it occured to me that my mum baked a million cakes for Sam & me when we were little (not that we're too big now!).. but yeah, i remember one cake she baked and she put my doll on top of the cake as a decorative piece -

So I thought - maybe I should 'start baking cakes? And then I thought of the cocoa smell fillin' up the kitchen and dining area of my home! - that sort of egged me on to do this 'something' - i'd been thinkin of for months! - Besides, dad kept telling me.. "Joy, since you spend so much time on the internet- Why don't you check out some recipies and do some cooking!" -- Voila! what better than to start off with Cakes! :D

So it was August 1, 2010..
One morning I looked for the perfect recipe among a zibillion that were available in a heap of websites! Tada! - I found that ONE recipe for an 'Easy Chocolate Cake' - read through, asked mom to 'check' if the ingredients were different from what she used to put - Took her 'Okay!' - unplugged my laptop from the charger, disconnected the internet cable, and placed my lovely macbook on the dining table - where i'd 'Unleash the Baker in Me!' - Played some songs on iTunes - Katy Perry's 'Hot n Cold' reminded me of Master Chef Australia! - and to be honest, i felt like a little master chef too :D :D & so it began...

1 + 1/2 cup (170 g) all-purpose flour - (so that's 1.5 cups, right mom?)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (dutched/dark) (what the heck is Dutch/dark? )
2 teaspoons baking powder (Mom said, "powder right, no baking soda?")
2 pinches salt (Salt ? what ? im baking a cake brother! - its supposed to be sweeeet!)
1 cup (220 g) sugar (Ground in the Mixie!)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence (& do I love the fragrance or what!)
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) milk or water (Milk? Water? I mean is this recipe correct? - Mom said, "water is used sometimes!" - relief!)
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) vegetable oil (flavorless) (flavorless? ehh, whatever!! oil is oil! :P)
2 eggs (Sure! )
Took this Yellow bowl - a wooden mixing spoon (australia special!) - and mixed the eggs with the sugar, in went the cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder little by little - and as I was mixing the batter - my arms felt like it was the toughest and the hardest exercise ever ! - It made me wonder how mom could do it so briskly! I guess Im talking experience here! :) You know its fun when music is playing and you're mixing cocoa along with the other stuff - and then the home begins to smell of cocoa - all chocolatey! Ah, I'm at a loss of words to express that aroma that fills up the home! - So yeah, just when the batter was about to be done - I greased the baking tin - a wide round aluminum tin! - sprinkled some flour to prevent the cake from sticking to its base - mixed the batter for one last time, ofcourse taking breaks in the middle ! :) - poured the yummmm batter into the baking tin! - and put the baking tin into the oven, after pre-heating the oven for 10mins! Wound up everything off the table - wiped it clean and waited patiently for the next 40 odd minutes to pass by!

Gradually, the smell of Cocoa filled up the home! - Rich Chocolate flavor - and I made 'on-purpose' trips to kitchen only to see the lovely cake rise to its best! 40 mins were done, the cake was left to cool - and around 5:00pm, just before mom woke up from her afternoon nap, I placed the cake onto a plate- cut it into small square-ish pieces - and set them in a blue-lid rectangle box! Mom came to the dining room - we made some tea - and I heard her say, "Its perfect!" after she bit into one of those delicious looking cake pieces! - What else could I have asked for than two little words from 'my master baker!' This was the something I'd wanted to do - Something that definitely made me feel on top of the world & gave me the feeling that I can do better! - So next up was Marble Cake :)