Read Sitting in Bars with Cake: Lessons and Recipes from One Year of Trying to Bake My Way to a Boyfriend for Free Online Page B

between the prepared pans.
    Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, then loosen the sides with a knife and invert onto wire racks to cool completely. Peel off the parchment and transfer one cake layer to a serving platter.
    To make the frosting : In a chilled bowl, using a chilled whisk or electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cream, gin, tonic, lime juice, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread some of the frosting over the bottom cake layer, top with the second cake layer, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides.

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    The Guy Who Criticized the Cake
    It’s only about once a year that I become deeply, unreasonably enraged. My blood gets hot, my thought process turns hazy, and I feel like taking a baseball bat to something and destroying all the goodwill I’ve built up during two decades of otherwise benevolent behavior.
    This was a really close call.
    The guy seemed nice enough in the beginning; he’d even offered to buy me a drink. He had just started eating the cake when I did something odd, which was ask him how it was. I never did this. Usually, people knew to say something positive about the cake almost immediately after accepting it; it was the unspoken understanding that came along with eating homemade dessert in front of the person who had slaved over it.
    “The frosting is good,” he said. “But the cake is a little dry.”
    I thought maybe I should set down my cake knife and walk away. I thought maybe I should dump a glass of ice water on my head to prevent an outburst. Perhaps it was my duty to pull this guy outside and gently break it to him that this was the absolute worst thing you could tell a baker, that he and his friends should probably leave now before things got ugly. But I didn’t say anything.
    I managed to change the subject and keep myself from breathing fire, although anything else we talked about that night has been completely forgotten in the aftermath of that dry cake comment, a real culinary affront after all the hours it took to bake the cake, frost it, and strategize the serving of it to people like him.

People who say your cake is dry are dead to you.

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    Olive Oil Cake with Sesame Seed Frosting
    For people who don’t appreciate your job performance, housekeeping, or toils in the kitchen. On second thought, don’t offer them cake at all.
    For the cake:
    1 cup (200 g) sugar
    3 large eggs
    ¾ cup (180 ml) olive oil
    ⅓ cup (75 ml) lemon juice
    2 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    ½ teaspoon salt
    For the frosting:
    1½ cups (360 ml) sour cream
    2 tablespoons tahini
    Pinch of salt
    2 teaspoons honey (optional)
    ¼ cup (35 g) sesame seeds, toasted and cooled
    To make the cake : Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour a 12-cup (2.8-L) Bundt pan, tapping out the excess.
    Beat the sugar and eggs together until foamy. Beat in the oil and lemon juice.
    In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    Working in batches, stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and stir until well-combined, then pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
    Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, then loosen the sides with a knife and invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Transfer to a serving platter.
    To make the frosting : Whisk together the sour cream, tahini, salt, and honey, if using, then stir in the sesame seeds. Spread over the cooled cake, or serve on the side for dolloping onto slices.

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    CAKE FAILS AND FIXES
    From One Scattered Baker to Another
    (1) Crumbly cake?
    Transfer cake to a lasagna dish, patting down evenly, and spread frosting over the top when cooled. Pretend this was your intention all along.
    (2) Frosting melting off your (still piping hot) cake?
    Throw cake in the freezer until