When experiments fail, you are still learning. So don’t fret if you have an occasional bright idea that goes dim. I was making truffles for a friend when I wasn’t paying attention and used the wrong chocolate for the ganache.  I meant to grab the bag of 60% cocoa nibs and instead took out a bag of milk chocolate baking chips. 

This wouldn’t have been an issue if this brand wasn’t notorious for seizing and I adjusted the amount of cream.  Seizing is where the chocolate cannot melt, usually due to introduction of liquid during the melting stage, which leaves chunks of unmelted chocolate no matter how much you heat or stir it. 

So, I set the chunky, not setting chocolate into the fridge overnight and started over.  Thankfully, the second batch set and I had two levels of 16 truffles ready for my friend in a DIY candy box by the end of the morning.

After I finished with the truffles, I turned my attention back to the ganache.  I tried to whip it into a chocolate mousse, but gave up when I realized the seized chocolate never dissolved. Secretly hoped this would magically happen overnight. 

Instead of throwing it out, I decided to see what I could make with it.  I decided to add 1 part butter, 2 parts sugar and 3 parts flour with some eggs and see what would happen.  I had three eggs left, so I decided to use them all on a whim. 

Unfortunately, the cake ended up being a bit on the dry side because I baked it too long.  Or perhaps there wasn’t enough liquid or the seized chocolate came into play once more.  It was 94% humidity today.  Perhaps I’ll blame the weather while I’m at it.

However, this dry cake base could have be a good thing to use for drizzle cake or a liqueur soaked trifle.  I’ll never know because the cake went into the trash this day. Being chocolate, it wasn’t safe to share with animals. Somedays, you have to remind yourself: you are still learning. It’s okay to mess up.

Are you ready to try some baking now that you see we all make mistakes in the kitchen? Get out there and start trying! You can only improve as you go!