My 1st attempt at butter cake

The recipe was simple, the ingredients were minimal... It was just music to my ears. I have done cheesecake before in a class and boy, that was too much work. Now butter cake was a lot simpler. I got the recipe from my dear aunt. I have made it twice now but it wasn't perfect. It didn't flop but it wasn't perfect enough for me. The bottom got burnt but the rest is edible and it was a tad dry. Probably the temperature was too high and i placed it to low on the rack. Nevertheless, I think I would be able to improve it after a few more tries and knowing the right temperature for my oven. Now I am by no means an expert in this, I still need to try it out few more times before it becomes the soft, moist cake that I love.

All I needed was :
250gm of salted butter (preferably Golden Churn or SCS)
220gm of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
5 eggs
220gm of self raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 tablespoons of milk
1 tablespoon of milk powder

My first comment when I saw this was... Hey, so I just dump all this in a bowl and beat it up? The laughter I heard next proved I was totally useless at baking. Ok, the answer is no. I have to first mix the butter and the sugar. Then add on the vanilla and eggs one by one. Beat them till they are white and fluffy at high speed.
The first time I did it, I dumped all the flour into the mix after that and beat it well and fast (after sieving of course). Wrong again... I have to put the sieved flour in and fold it bit by bit. So what I did the second time was sieve the flour, baking powder and milk powder in a separate bowl. Once my butter and sugar mix is well beaten with egg and all, I put the flour into the mix bit by bit. No hard and fast mixing now. Just fold it slowly. Apparently it has something to do with folding and air getting into it that makes it fluffy. Finally I add in the milk, fold a bit more and voila. Time to bake.

I guess 180C would be the right temperature for 45 minutes. I need to experiment that a bit more.
Anyway, it was interesting baking that, it wasn't perfect but for a first timer...I think I did OK! It really cheered me up and distracted me from something that was bothering me. The process isn't fun nor is the cleaning but the end result was satisfying.

The hidden meaning of revamping

Revamp - An act of improving the form, structure, or appearance.

I've revamped the look of my blog. Whether that is an improvement or not, I frankly don't give a crap as long as I like it. I do little things like this every once in a while. Change what I can change in my life eventhough it is a trivial thing. There is not much I can change for a majority of my life but this...this I have control. This I can do..

People revamp their image, their belongings, their house, their car, their blogs, their hobbies..whatever it takes. Not because I have too much time on my hands (yeah maybe I do sometimes but I still have a job). These little things help me get through my days. When I was younger, when things get me down, I re-organize my bedroom to make it look different, to make it feel newer.

As I get older, things change, circumstances change. Sometimes I can afford to revamp something different, sometimes there are constraints. Whatever it is, when life gets too routine, I need to find something to redesign. Little things such as changing my handbag, changing phone cover, getting new cushion covers, trying to discover a hidden talent which in fact I don't have. It is a cheap, temporary thrill that makes me feel fresher. It could mean re-arranging my books or changing my wardrobe. I may take up learning something new such as baking a cake. Never in my life have I baked a cake until a couple of months ago. Now I'm attempting to successfully bake a butter cake. I was going through some hiccups and worries recently and what gets me through was finally baking a butter cake that didn't burn beyond recognition - it was quite an achievement. It distracted me just a little enough to cheer me up! Desserts are miracles, don't you think so? Stressed means desserts.

My point is, things are just blah now so I'm getting a cheap short thrill from changing the look of my blog. The feeling will probably last till tomorrow, whatever it takes...There's not much going on in my life so I'll top it off now by kicking back and watching some Modern Family in a while.

Maybe I'll change my iPad cover tomorrow...