Confessions of a Blogger

Some of you may be visiting my blog for the next installment of my I Dream of Ice Cream series. As previously promised, I made a delicious sounding cake batter ice cream. I took pictures and had a post all written up. All I needed was that final shot of the ice cream all frozen and ready to eat. Well, and to actually taste the ice cream. I had been dreaming of this, I love cake batter ice cream. I found a recipe on a website (not a food blog) and it boosted that it was a copycat version of Cold Stone ice cream. Delicious, right? Wrong!

Now here I was with this beautiful looking (and sounding) ice cream. I have to say that just for a split second, a thought entered my mind to go ahead and post this recipe. Now, before you think I'm too bad, it was just for a brief moment. Very few of us like to admit our mistakes or failures, but I think this can be especially true of bloggers. I know in reality there might not have been anyone rushing to the internet to check out the next post in my new series. But, it bothered me that I said I would post it and then would have to admit to not succeeding in making this ice cream.

I got to thinking, though, that this is hardly the first time this has happened. I tend to only post on here when everything goes well. What you don't see are the cakes that stick to the pan, the cupcakes that flop, or the first attempt at some of my fondant creations. You don't see our small kitchen looking like a tornado ripped through it (I strategically position my pictures to avoid the mess from all the baking). You don't hear my husband trying to console me from a cake I'm convinced I've completely ruined. Trust me, there is a lot to my baking/cake decorating adventures that you don't see.

I think, as a blogger, it is important to try to be "real" and honest with your readers. It's just too easy to post recipes that don't taste good to try to meet the posting schedule you set for yourself that week. But, do I really want to share something that I don't think is any good? I'm sure we have all made something from Pinterest (or a blog) that didn't live up to its hype or claim. Now to be fair, this recipe may have been perfectly great for someone else. It could be a difference in taste (though I've had my fair share of Cold Stone cake batter ice cream). Or, it could be that I didn't execute the recipe properly. But, as a blogger, I think we should always try to present our readers with something relevant, creative, and (for us food bloggers) delicious - to the best of our abilities. I've read a lot of blogs lately that have talked about being upfront with their readers, I love that! They shared some of their secrets and failures that get glossed over with their photoshopped pictures and amazing creations. Whether it's with baking, cooking, sewing, or crafting - nobody is perfect!

So...here's a list of my 10 biggest flops from baking/cake decorating so far. Hope you have a laugh and enjoy my mistakes!

1. Not spraying the cake pan enough and having a smash cake rip in half when getting it out. Of course, this was at night and I ended up staying up late to get the cake ready.
2. The time I tried to recreate a Samoa cookie in popcorn form. I'd seen similar ideas online and had it all figured out in my head. Somehow, though, the idea did not translate well from my head to the oven. It was ok, but nothing resembling a Samoa cookie.
3. My first apple pie, it was just bad. (Wrong type of apples, too few apples, not peeling apples, etc)
4. Exploding cupcakes. Well, not exploding, but they were crazy looking - pouring over the side of the wrapper. I was using a different type of cupcake wrapper and didn't pay attention to how much shorter they were.
5. My spicy red velvet cake - you'll have to check out the post to read all about that one.
6. Starting a cake and then realizing you don't have one of the key ingredients. Ok, it's not that bad. Except, we are talking about this happening many times.
7. Wilting sunflower cupcakes...I had to scratch them and start over.
8. An attempt at a checkerboard pattern cake, disregarding the fact I was using two different types of recipes, one which was much thicker than the other. I was sure I could make it work. Nope!
9. The couple several fondant creatures that were made before I finally made something that resembled a horse.
10. My first apple pie. I'm mentioning it again, as it was just that bad!
11. After reading this, my husband had to chime in with one. Emergency run to a store to buy a replacement tip after having one fall into the garbage disposal...

Hope you had a laugh and enjoyed this post! I'm sure all of us bloggers could learn to laugh at our mistakes a little more. Have a great weekend!