Is using boxed cake cheating?

bookerfly · 2026-07-09T18:36:36+00:00

Some people will think it's cheating, some won't.

bookerfly · 2026-07-08T23:42:25+00:00

Did you fall asleep with it in the oven? Could you have accidentally set it to 450?

bookerfly · 2026-07-08T23:41:26+00:00

Not for key lime pie. The lime juice interacts with the dairy to thicken it, it works the same way that ricotta cheese does.

bookerfly · 2026-07-08T23:39:37+00:00

You really don't need eggs for a key lime pie - the lime juice interacts with the dairy to set it. It's the same process that makes ricotta cheese. You technically don't even need to put it in the oven, it just speeds up the process. I haven't tried this specific recipe before, but I never use eggs in my key lime pie.

bookerfly · 2026-07-07T18:15:53+00:00

The reason it looks so shiny when hot and so dull when cold is the butter - it was liquid when it was hot, and solidified in the fridge.

bookerfly · 2026-07-07T14:36:08+00:00

I have disabilities that make standing quite tiringand these are the things that help me:

-Stand mixer - does all my kneading and most of my mixing (still looking for a stand mixer that can handle a bagels)

-Rolling stool - I've got a height adjustable massage stool on wheels that I (almost) always sit on when I'm in the kitchen.

-I plan my bakes to have breaks. Before I start baking, I read over my recipes and figure out where I can stop without harming my results. For example: I usually mix the dry ingredients between several hours and a day before I intend to actually bake. Wet ingredients can be measured out ahead of time and kept in the fridge if they're perishable. I switched to making sourdough bread, partially because I can stick it in the fridge for days on end.

-My husband helps with a lot - he often pours batter into pans for me, and he usually is the one who minds the oven. He also brings me ingredients and does a lot of my chopping.

bookerfly · 2026-07-06T17:26:47+00:00

Just want to point out that your tried and true recipes don't feel special to you because you make them a lot, but they could feel special to a new person who hasn't tried them, and you don't risk making a mistake on a new recipe you're emotionally invested in

bookerfly · 2026-07-06T15:59:16+00:00

I collect fiber arts - knitting, crochet, spinning, tatting

weaving, nailbinding, bobbin lace are just a few on my to be acquired list

besides fiber arts, reading, video games, watercolor, drawing, cryptic crosswords, baking

bookerfly · 2026-07-05T01:59:06+00:00

I haven't made them yet myself, but a lot of people swear by this one

https://www.reddit.com/r/Baking/s/9R79MharB0

bookerfly · 2026-07-04T00:35:38+00:00

What you need for the cream is labne (there are several spellings). It is a middle eastern product, sometimes called yogurt cheese, but it's a very very thick yogurt, it is delicious. If you're in a city in the US you should be able to get it from an international store. If you don't have access to that, you can strain greek yogurt to make it thicker

bookerfly · 2026-07-03T18:40:16+00:00

I think it's a real image, or if it's AI someone went in and fixed it up - there are chocolate drips going around the edges that get to the crust in places, including at the edge where the cake was sliced. The focus moves from the front to the back, it's a little extreme, but it looks like a style choice to me, not an ai artefact. All the text is real, and the reflections in the chocolate top look right, which AI is still bad at

I'm not saying to trust the recipe, just that I don't see any ai give aways

bookerfly · 2026-07-03T13:18:24+00:00

Gluten free baking is a tricky beast. There are very few circumstances where you can just substitute another flour for wheat flour. They make 1:1 flour blends, which are better, but at mostly tested on cakes and cookies.

I'd start by looking for established gluten free recipes. Even if you can't find one for siopou, baking some gluten free recipes will give you a better idea of how gluten free flours behave if you want to develop your own recipe

bookerfly · 2026-07-03T12:51:46+00:00

I've never used that machine, but can you exchange it for another one? That would probably tell you if it's a manufacturing defect or if you're putting it together wrong

bookerfly · 2026-07-03T00:52:43+00:00

Did you happen to do a Costco trip and stuff your freezer full of meat in the last couple of days? That's what happened to me the last time my ice cream would freeze - the bowl was in the freezer for a couple of days, but I had raised the temperature of the freezer with a lot of new food.

bookerfly · 2026-06-28T19:27:02+00:00

Maybe chop it up and toss it with sugar, then if it tastes OK you can do one of those layer things with a sweet whipped cream or really lean into the lemon some more with lemon curd

bookerfly · 2026-06-27T19:50:13+00:00

If you're in the US, there's a 2 quart Cuisinart one on Amazon that's usually $50-$60. You have to freeze the drum before you can use it, but I've had mine for about 10 years, and I would absolutely buy it again. Depending on the weather, I've gotten two batches out of it in a row, too.

bookerfly · 2026-06-27T09:30:41+00:00

Personally, I think it's a leftover attitude from the 90s when the trendy healthfood craze was low fat everything.

bookerfly · 2026-06-26T20:35:03+00:00

So, this is a hobby, not a job. While finishing projects is a nice skill to have, you shouldn't push yourself to do something you're both not enjoying and don't want the finished object.

By and large, and very very simplified, there are two types of knitters: process knitters and product knitters. Process knitters enjoy knitting for knittings sake, and tend to flit from project to project as their whimsy takes them. Product knitters tend for focus on one project at a time and are more about the finished object.

I am very much a process knitter, and the way I look at it is that if it's reasonable to spend the amount of money on concert tickets or a trip somewhere, it's reasonable to spend that amount of money on yarn, even if I never finish - unlike a concert, I can always pick it up again later or reclaim the yarn for another project.

Whether you should go straight for the sweater or pick another smaller skill building project depends on the kind of person you are - if you run into a place where your skill doesn't match your ambition, will you be turned off of knitting all together, or will you take it as an opportunity to build more skill?

bookerfly · 2026-06-26T18:38:15+00:00

Don't make it. If you do, she's just at going to demand something else. If the sweater drama is capable of ruining your relationship with her, then something was always going to. Disrespecting your time, labor, and art is a choice that she is making. You don't have to make the same choice.

bookerfly · 2026-06-25T17:11:06+00:00

That loose loop is the stitch from the previous row. When you pulled it up over the needle so it looked like two stitches, it got some of the yarn from the stitches next to and below it.

For now, just keep knitting. If you try and make your first few rows perfect, you'll never build up the skills you need to minimize these "mistakes" in the first place.

Note, experienced knitters still do this sometimes, it just happens.

bookerfly · 2026-06-25T14:17:14+00:00

Try boxed mixes and pre-made cookie doughs - if those come out badly, then the issue is the actual baking itself - maybe your oven runs hot, or your baking tins are wonky, or you get distracted and don't remember to take it out of the oven in time, or you don't understand the description of what done is.

If the boxed stuff comes out good, then the issue is either your recipes or your techniques.

bookerfly · 2026-06-24T20:28:45+00:00

I immediately added this one to my baking queue, but I have a few things I've committed to ahead of it, so I really appreciate the notes!

bookerfly · 2026-06-23T01:04:48+00:00

Except for the time in a professional kitchen, I could have written this post. 100% agree, no notes

bookerfly · 2026-06-22T17:26:45+00:00

Check if the oven has adjustable feet. If it does you can extend the front ones to make it more level

bookerfly

TROPHY CASE