Newtonian Physics and Chaos Theory...
Apr. 17th, 2005 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthie...can all be demonstrated and observed when attempting to frost a bundt cake with cream cheese frosting.
Did you know this? I found this out today.
Seriously.
There I was, looking at the Guinness Stout Ginger Cake I'd baked in the bundt pan the night before, with a bowl of neufchatel frosting in one hand, a spatula in the other, time before tea growing short, and a growing realization that there was no earthly way I was going to be able to neatly frost the lumpy, curved, and ridged form of the ring cake.
Being the hostess of this month's tea, I had no recourse but to forge ahead. I quickly discovered that slapping on dabs of frosting was the way to go, without much care to the overall aesthetics, because those aesthetics changed with every addition of more frosting. Gravity definitely assisted in the process, and fluid dynamics came into play, but not entirely or always predictably, because every new dollop of frosting remained a discrete entity for an unpredictable amount of time before finally absorbing into the whole field of frosting. It was quite fascinating, really. And the cake looked and tasted fabulous.
If you decide to try the recipe yourself, I strongly advise you pay attention to using a LARGE saucepan for the boiling, as the bubble-up when you add the baking soda is spectacular. Fortunately I followed the advice on the recipe, or I'd've had Guinness and molasses everywhere!
Did you know this? I found this out today.
Seriously.
There I was, looking at the Guinness Stout Ginger Cake I'd baked in the bundt pan the night before, with a bowl of neufchatel frosting in one hand, a spatula in the other, time before tea growing short, and a growing realization that there was no earthly way I was going to be able to neatly frost the lumpy, curved, and ridged form of the ring cake.
Being the hostess of this month's tea, I had no recourse but to forge ahead. I quickly discovered that slapping on dabs of frosting was the way to go, without much care to the overall aesthetics, because those aesthetics changed with every addition of more frosting. Gravity definitely assisted in the process, and fluid dynamics came into play, but not entirely or always predictably, because every new dollop of frosting remained a discrete entity for an unpredictable amount of time before finally absorbing into the whole field of frosting. It was quite fascinating, really. And the cake looked and tasted fabulous.
If you decide to try the recipe yourself, I strongly advise you pay attention to using a LARGE saucepan for the boiling, as the bubble-up when you add the baking soda is spectacular. Fortunately I followed the advice on the recipe, or I'd've had Guinness and molasses everywhere!
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 06:51 am (UTC)I'll vouch for that. Should I expect another piece tomorrow? ;-)
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Date: 2005-04-18 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 05:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 09:00 pm (UTC)