The Ups and Downs of Cake

I had hoped to make chocolate cupcakes for my first toaster-oven attempt; however, I discovered that the 6-cupcake pan I purchased was just too big for my tiny oven. Since I didn't want to give up, I decided to go ahead and bake in the larger 9" cake pan I'd purchased earlier in the week. I used a basic chocolate cake recipe (listed below), which filled the pan halfway.

During the baking process, the cake batter completely overflowed the pan and spilt on the oven's bottom. Then, the cake collapsed and fell back onto itself. Although the end result is not the most beautiful cake I've ever produced, it did at least taste good.


Basic Chocolate Cake Recipe:

½ c butter
1 c sugar
1½ t baking powder
2 eggs
½ milk
a pinch of salt
1¼ c flour
¼ c cocoa powder
½ t vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Gradually beat in eggs one at a tme. Stir in milk. Mix flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder and combine with wet ingredients. (Batter will be the consistency of thick pudding.) Bake at 350°F (180°C) until a knife comes out clean.