Tuesday, September 4, 2012

TWD/BWJ: Nectarine Chiffon Cake


Of all times for me to decide to bake early...

Well, it was Labor Day. The King of the Castle and the Prince were both home. I blame them. TOTAL DISASTER! First, I should say that I was already making a pecan pie.  The King ordered a 6 pound box of the most beautiful, delicious pecans last week.  I think it was a Groupon or something. I've been nibbling them and dreaming of a pie. Today was pecan pie day.

I figured as long as the oven was hot I might as well bake the Nectarine Chiffon Cake. And could send at least half of each dessert back to school with the Prince. You know how much sugar college boys need.







Let me rewind for a second and tell you about Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. There's something for everyone. One of my favorite events is the Decatur Book Festival, the nation's largest independent book festival. Oh the joy of it! You wander from building to building, hearing authors talk about their books.  For two days you can do this, and it's totally free. Mind-boggling really.  This year, I could only make it on Sunday having previously signed up for a full-day quilt workshop on Saturday (which was awesome - some years there are just too many wonderful things). Still, on Sunday alone, I heard presentations about the dangers of prescriptions drugs, the development of the Lithium Ion battery , the stories held in our DNA, the similarities between writing a book and making music, and how creativity works. It doesn't matter who you listen to. When someone writes a book, they're passionate about the subject. It's always interesting!


And then there's DragonCon. Legions of people converge on downtown Atlanta dressed as everything from videogame characters to zombies to superheroes. My daughter's good friend said "I tripped on the steps and Captain America caught me!" Personally, I'm not interested in the convention activities, but one of these years, I WILL make it to the DragonCon parade on Saturday morning.

Oh yes, there were a few other events too.  Braves games (with Lynard Skynard afterward on Friday), a NASCAR race, a Hot Air Balloon Festival, and a Whiskey and Beer Fest. Like I said, something for everyone. And too much for any one person.

Back to the cake, er, disaster.  All went relatively well until the timer went off. Testing the cake with a toothpick, I determined that it was nowhere near done. Set the timer for 5 more minutes, twice. All the while my husband, the King of All Things Olfactory, announced repeatedly (and emphatically) that something was burning. The cake did look dark. I finally got tired of listening to him and removed the thing from the oven even though the toothpick never did test clean. Thought maybe it'd firm up as it cooled. NOT. More like some kind of lava cake.  The prince and I had a little piece anyway, with ice cream of course. But it wasn't good. I didn't care for the flavors or the streusel. Not even gonna try this one again.  On a brighter note, the pecan pie came out great! Oh, if you'd like to prove to me that the cake is wonderful, feel free to find the recipe here or here, and the blogs of other bakers here.  Good Luck!


This week's shoe showed up right down the street from my house. Not really a disaster, but it IS ominously black. 


14 comments:

  1. Sounds like a pretty full week. We have an amazing Storytelling festival in Utah over Labor Day Weekend. Storytellers from all over the wold come a tell a story or two. It is amazing. I had too much company this year and didn't make it but I will in 2013!
    Ah the cake--it did need extra baking for sure. The question is how long??
    Mine worked and it was delicious. But I would love a slice of your pecan pie!

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    1. Oh, I would LOVE a storytelling festival! As far as the cake goes, I know it was baker error. Or actually, baker-not-being-able-to-listen-to-frantic-whining error. One of these days, I'll remember to read the P&Q first. BTW, does anybody know what "P&Q" stands for? Q&A I know, but P&Q?

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  2. Sounds like good times in Atlanta! Wow, sorry about your cake! I thought it was pretty good, would be even better using apples I believe!

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    1. Yes, apples would be good. And I've got a loaded tree. Hmmm, maybe I will try this again.

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  3. Whew - I am tired just reading about everything going on...
    Sorry your cake didn't behave the way it was supposed to. I skipped the streusel part & loved the cake with the fruit.

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  4. Hi! First of all I must say I need to spend next Labor Day in ATLANTA! I love the idea of the book fair, and the quilting, and...
    I made the very best pecan pie of my life - by adding Turbinado sugar. Maybe you might like it too! http://praycookblog.com/2012/08/my-caramel-pecan-pie/

    Fun baking with you. I won't make the chiffon cake again. Too much work for too little return! :)

    Blessings, Catherine www.praycookblog.com

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  5. Wow! How many things happen in a big city -- the polar opposite of the small town where we live. Would have loved to attend the book festival though. Sorry your cake did not turn out the way you planned. Don't give up, just try the recipe again and bake it for a longer period of time. Ours took 63 minutes. It is delicious.

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  6. Busy weekend! Thank goodness for a perfect pecan pie!

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  7. That book festival sounds amazing! I'm sorry the cake didn't work for you, though.

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  8. Sorry that the cake did not work out. Well done on the pecan pie!

    Mine got a bit dark at one point so i wrapped it in foil and continued baking it for a while.

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  9. Hi Margaret, thank you for visiting my blog and for being my "sister-in-disaster-cake" :-)
    Your pecan pie is so beautiful... who needs then a nectarine upside-down chiffon cake?

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  10. Mine only cooked for 50 minutes and had a burning smell. Once out of the pan, no signs of being overcooked. I did not care for this cake either. Too bad too - it really is a beautiful looking cake. Now, pecan pie, that sounds good. One of my favorites!

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  11. Whiskey and beer!?!?? That's awesome!!! Sounds like you had a fun filled weekend. Too bad about your cake. Although, that pecan pie sure looks good. MmmmmMMMmmm

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  12. What an interesting post - these were a lot of wonderful activities to choose from. Your Pecan Pie looked so delicious, I would have loved to have a taste -we do not really bake a lot of pecan pies here but I love them and once in a while I do make one myself but it does not look nearly as pretty as yours! The Nectarine Chiffon Cake looks wonderful although it was not quite to your liking but who cares if you can have wonderful pie.

    Thank you also for taking the time to visit my blog! I really appreciated your kind comment!

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