the UGC: If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd've Baked a PIE

If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd've Baked a PIE
December 16, 2009

You know the phrase "Easy As Pie"? After this weekend, I feel like I can relate to that a little bit more. I made a cake on Sunday, and oh my god did it stress me out. I already know some of you think this is going to sound crazy, but cake is hard to make! Specifically, layer cake is hard to make!

Okay, so getting the batter together wasn't hard (though I did have to grease two cake pans, make wax paper rounds and put those in the pans and grease those too). Then I've got to divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. I ended up using my kitchen scale to do this, but it took some transferring batter back and forth with a spoon to get everything even. Then they bake, and come out of the over to cool a bit, and then I've got to get them OUT of the pans. So I have to flip them on to a cooling rack. But now they're upside down, so I've got to flip them back over. There is so much potential for one of these to just flop in half in this process (which almost happened). Then they have to cool.

And we're still not done...now we have to frost the darn thing! Which isn't that bad, but crumbs get everywhere, and some of the raspberry filling was mixing in with the frosting, and I felt like I was never able to get the frosting as smooth as I wanted. Eventually I had to wave the white flag and just give in to the fact that the frosting on this cake would never be smooth. Now we've got a lumpy white frosted two layer cake. Sounds spectacular, right?! Not so much. So I've got to get out a piping bag and pipe some of my left over icing on there to make it look pretty. Or I could have gone the super easy route and just bought some fresh raspberries to stick on the top (of course I didn't think of that until it was too late). I know in the end that nobody really cares that much what it looks like, but still.

Compare this to pie? Make crust (which is not always easy, but if you have a good recipe I find it's not that bad). Let it chill, roll out and get into pie plate (no greasing or wax paper necessary!) Make the filling and pour into the pie crust. Top with another crust (depending on the pie) and bake! Remove from the oven, let it cool a tiny bit, and dig in!

EASY AS PIE.

I do realize that in the past few years, I've made WAY more pies than cakes which could contribute to my opinion on the subject. Also, I think layer cakes are particularly tricky because of...the layers. Sheet cakes and bundt cakes, almost as easy as pie.

Also, I'm kind of prejudice. I just like pie more.

$\"Cake$ \n\n\nYou know the phrase \"Easy As Pie\"? After this weekend, I feel like I can relate to that a little bit more. I made a cake on Sunday, and oh my god did it stress me out. I already know some of you think this is going to sound crazy, but cake is hard to make! Specifically, layer cake is hard to make!\n\nOkay, so getting the batter together wasn't hard (though I did have to grease two cake pans, make wax paper rounds and put those in the pans and grease those too). Then I've got to divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. I ended up using my kitchen scale to do this, but it took some transferring batter back and forth with a spoon to get everything even. Then they bake, and come out of the over to cool a bit, and then I've got to get them OUT of the pans. So I have to flip them on to a cooling rack. But now they're upside down, so I've got to flip them back over. There is so much potential for one of these to just flop in half in this process (which almost happened). Then they have to cool. \n\nAnd we're still not done...now we have to frost the darn thing! Which isn't that bad, but crumbs get everywhere, and some of the raspberry filling was mixing in with the frosting, and I felt like I was never able to get the frosting as smooth as I wanted. Eventually I had to wave the white flag and just give in to the fact that the frosting on this cake would never be smooth. Now we've got a lumpy white frosted two layer cake. Sounds spectacular, right?! Not so much. So I've got to get out a piping bag and pipe some of my left over icing on there to make it look pretty. Or I could have gone the super easy route and just bought some fresh raspberries to stick on the top (of course I didn't think of that until it was too late). I know in the end that nobody really cares that much what it looks like, but still. \n\nCompare this to pie? Make crust (which is not always easy, but if you have a good recipe I find it's not that bad). Let it chill, roll out and get into pie plate (no greasing or wax paper necessary!) Make the filling and pour into the pie crust. Top with another crust (depending on the pie) and bake! Remove from the oven, let it cool a tiny bit, and dig in!\n\nEASY AS PIE.\n\nI do realize that in the past few years, I've made WAY more pies than cakes which could contribute to my opinion on the subject. Also, I think layer cakes are particularly tricky because of...the layers. Sheet cakes and bundt cakes, almost as easy as pie.\n\nAlso, I'm kind of prejudice. I just like pie more.

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