Oh, dear. I did it again.

Yeah.  I did.  I gave up on my blog for a little while.  Psh.  Little while?  It looks like it has been six months since I posted anything.  Yeah, well.  I've been busy (like no one else is, right?!).  Major changes have occurred in our lives over the past six months, not the least of which is that I have taken on *another* job.  In August of last year (2013 - I almost typed "this year".  Geez.), I got my certification to be a Les Mills BODYPUMP instructor.  (BODYPUMP is a weight lifting and strength training class with fantastic music and choreography that gets great results - I love it.  Obviously.)  Then, I got hired on at my local YMCA to sub BODYPUMP classes for other instructors, which I have been doing on a semi-regular basis since October.  That, plus my family, plus my cake-making business seemed to equal "no desire to blog".  I am going to try to get back into a fairly regular routine, but I think I should not make promises to any readers or to myself as I am also working on acquiring a standing class time for me to teach BODYPUMP on a regular basis. 

In any case, I am here right now and today's subject is: cakes.  Yes, cakes.  Even after that paragraph detailing my new identity as a fitness instructor, because, as I said, my "day job" is making cakes.  (You can check out my work on my website at www.threemonkeysbakery.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/three-monkeys-bakery.  *cough* shameless plug *cough* So, cakes.  Cakes, cakes, cakes.  They are on the brain because I just pulled my younger daughter's birthday cake out of the oven.  Homemade strawberry cake (plus the bonus of creating homemade strawberry syrup (?) with the leftover berry puree).  It smells heavenly and tastes pretty good, too (little "tasting bits" being the only up-side to the freaking cake sticking to the sides of the pan, despite greasing and flouring the thing).  It does not, however, "look" like strawberry cake - there is only a scant rosy hue about the interior of the cake.  No florescent pink fluffiness peeks out to identify it as quantifiably and "naturally" strawberry flavored.  Don't get me wrong here - I typically use a box mix to create all of my cakes, with exceptions to that rule when specialty cakes are requested (dark chocolate, in particular).  For my time, money and *most* of my clients' taste preferences, box cakes are hard to beat.  The other part of that equation that is hardest to beat - they work every, single time.  I have never had a box cake fall like scratch cakes are wont to do.  I have never had a box cake dry out like scratch cakes are wont to do.  I *usually* (unless I completely mess up loosening the cakes from the sides of the pan) do not have box cakes lose huge chunks of themselves when turning them out to cool...like scratch cakes are wont to do.  So, business-wise, box cakes work for me.

I don't know - obviously, I feel the need to keep experimenting with scratch recipes.  Currently, I have one amazing scratch chocolate cake recipe, one incredible scratch Italian cream cake recipe, one decent scratch white cake recipe and....maybe...one okay scratch strawberry cake recipe.  I experiment when I have time and especially when we have family birthdays.  Until I find recipes to replace all of my tried and true Betty Crockers, well, then...those are tasty, fail-safe, trust-worthy cake mixes.  For today, my fingers are crossed that my soon-to-be 8 year old likes her strawberry cake real and barely rosy.