h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The cake is a success. Inasmuch as it came out of the fiddly case without falling to pieces or sticking.

I'd like to thank Vip, Kjeld, Mags and 2legs amongst others, for offering advice and encouragement.


The trick was to let the cake go *completely* cold before removing the baking tray. For which we have Vip to thank

Photographs may be available tomorrow. Icing may be applied.

and.... I'm sure you forgot to add, you'll be sending it to us as a gift... I must* make a cake... not made cake since... err... long while ago and well done for figuring out the silicon did you use any oil too, or just the letting it cool entirely first?

Did you grease and flour?

Hurrah! I was useful! *does the happy dance*

Well done, happy cake!

Just goes to show that between hitchhikers anything is possible. Today a cake - tomorrow the universe

with my baguettes, and your cake, we can take over the world!

I fear however that we would be distracted by the and the s

In particular if the s are properly buttered

Oh well, who needs the world if you can have and well buttered ?

I agree Pierce, life should be counted by small blessings.

The camera needs charging, but I've planned the icing and told mum not to interfere! I want to take a photo before the icing covers over the surface, so you can see the details.

This definitely needs a Guide Entry, as there is very little help out there on the web, and what there is is missing Vip's marvellous insider trick.

If we have cake, and buttered baguettes, we do* have the world.... well, maybe with a bit of bacon, some decent cheese, and perhaps eggs...

As Magwitch said - did you grease and flour? I really would like to know how much, if any, oil, butter, flour were involved in the clean turn-out.

So would I!

I just used sunflower oil, but as it was an intricate mold I rubbed it very carefully into all the crevices. Then I poured out the excess. I didn't use flour, as you will see when I put photos up, flour would have obscured the surface details, even though I'd poured out the excess oil there were still drops of it pooled into some of the dents and the flour would have formed blobs there.

The recipe I used was an English sponge cake. I daresay that other cake batters would need different treatment. I'm thinking of the mixture for Angel food cake, for instance, where you are told not to grease the special mold (the one with the centre funnel) to aid rising.

I also cooked the cake slowly, in a fan oven, without the browning part turned on, so the top of the cake was as pale as possible. Mind you, this is now the bottom! but it meant that the centre was allowed to cook thoroughly and hold together when cool. It's a huge mold and took a 4 egg mixture, 8 oz of butter, sugar and flour.

Deb

Taking over the world is a game for young people, or for older people who have reliable servants to help them. I belong to neither category, though I stand ready to offer a wealth of suggestions, some of them valid . As Howland Owl used to say, I have answers for everything except questions .

I also have a lot of clever quips to insert wherever they would be relevant .

Anyway, congratulations on the cake.

[Amy P]

Great Now all we need is pictures

And a ticket to Manchester...

ooh yes, photos, I forgot.

fiddles with camera.....