Angela's (Mis)Adventures in Baking!

I love cake mixes.  I really do.  It's so easy.  Throw in the mix, add a couple of wet ingredients, maybe a little flour, and you're good to go.  Baking cakes from scratch?  Are you kidding me?  Okay, I do have one exception to the scratch rule.  I will make my Grandma's Chocolate Cake.  We are STILL trying to replicate it exactly, but so far I've failed.  This last time (a week ago), I came close.  But it's just not the same.

So today, I made a Sacher Torte.  This is a famous Viennese dessert.  We are having a German/Austrian Themed dinner for Easter, and I was volunteered to make the Sacher Torte.  Not being the most prolific baker in the world, I did a test run today. 

Oh, if you're interested, visit this site to learn about the Sacher Torte:  http://www.sacher.com/en-original-sacher-tart.htm

So this was seriously the most labor-intensive cake that I have ever made in my life.  Heck, it was the most labor-intensive ANYTHING that I have ever made in my life.  I seriously needed 3 hands a certain times, just so I could follow what the directions were telling me to do!  CRAZY!!!  I did the best I could, so we'll see what happens.

Here's a couple of pictures of the finished product:

And now...the verdict:  Craig approved the cake with some minor changes.  For the record, it has been 10 years or so since he had an ACTUAL Sacher Torte in Austria.  Everyone liked it.  Guess I'll make it again next week and not order it in from Austria.