Have you ever approached a situation in life with a pit in your stomach, a feeling like something bad is about to happen? That’s probably how I should have felt before making this week’s cake.

I’ve made several bundt cakes in this challenge and have never had anything go catastrophically wrong, so heading into this week’s recipe I had zero apprehensions. Last week, I made the comment about being excited for upcoming cakes and making sure to pick projects that inspired me creatively.

I was definitely inspired when I went to flip the bundt pan after allowing it to cool for a bit. When I pulled up the tin, with heart stopping resistance, I sucked in two words, mother f****r. 

And then I started laughing.

I laughed because after last week all I wanted was to make something that spoke to my type A personality. I wanted it perfect. I laughed because, well, it was a better option than crying. And finally, I laughed because it actually was a funny situation. Staring back at me was the crumbled remains of a soft lemony buttermilk bundt cake dotted with strawberries and blueberries.

The texture reminded me of moon sand, dense when squished between your fingers, but crumbling elusively to the counter when prodded at. After I cleaned up the crumbly mess, my mind raced, trying to think of ways to spin the situation. Cake pops?! No, I hate cake pops so that would be moot. Trifle?? All my bowls are metal…

And then I decided. The best thing to do was to share with you that sometimes these things happen. Sometimes your cake comes out perfectly and your glaze drizzles exactly how you want it, but sometimes it comes out in a big mess, and that’s not worth crying about.

Retrospectively, I know where I went wrong. I’ve been making cakes for 31 weeks now and I know that you should always line or grease and flour your cake pan if you want stress free flipping. The recipe didn’t give this direction, so I skipped it, knowing all to well I was going to pay later.

Mishaps aside, I’m doing pretty well statistically. Out of all 31 cakes this has been my biggest misfortune, and it still tasted damn good! Instead of busting my ass to try and pull something together mid-week from the crumbs, I woke up the next morning and styled the cake to photograph, just as I would any other. The morning light captured the crumbs perfectly…

Final thoughts on Triple Berry Something:

• Always, always, always grease then flour.
• Keep and eye out for the crumbs second appearance…