Because I believe so whole-heartedly in the infallible nature of Maida’s recipes, when something doesn’t come out right I automatically question what I may have done wrong.

I chose to make this cake for its yellow cake with chocolate icing aspect. I have been searching for this. It’s my son’s favorite. I realized, of course, the rum addition but he also likes rum cake so I thought I was good. I was not, or should I say the cake was not.

The yellow cake layers baked perfectly, which triggered some excitement in me. That may sound weird, but really, they seemed so perfect.
I sliced them so carefully, then soaked them with a light rum syrup as Maida instructed. The chocolate icing also appeared to be very much like the bakery buttercreams that my children love so much. But when we tasted the cake, my son and I agreed there was this unexpected sharpness and we thought it must be due to the rum. I tasted the rum that I used and it tasted fine, like rum.

So, what happened? I have yet to find the answer. And also, yet to find one of Maida’s cakes my son really likes.