lessons learned...or not?

I'm going to admit a few things here...

1) I judge a book by its cover.  Actually, I judge just about everything by its cover.

2) I'm prone to habits.  I rarely stray from what I'm used to and what I know works.

This brings me to my most recent food attempt.  Strawberry coffee cake.

Okay, so what's not to love about the title of this recipe? I recently bought fresh strawberries at the farmer's market (yes, folks, it's strawberry season... which means rhubarb is just around the corner!) and have been looking for a recipe to use them.... I love strawberries. I love coffee. I love cake. HOW could I have not made this?

So, to begin with, I strayed from the usual, tried and true recipe finder.  I borrowed this recipe from another food blog I follow (which brings me back to number 2.... I stick to things that work for a reason).  I followed the recipe exactly like it said, but, unlike my usual food blogger I turn to, this blogger did not get rid of the kinks in the recipe.  For instance, the batter was entirely way too thick to deal with, and like I guessed it would, it turned out pretty dry.  So, yet again, my ridiculous, non-risk taking personality was confirmed and will probably stay.

Like any good baker, you must always try your creation before serving it (okay, so that's really only my rule.  I'm just always terrified of serving people something nasty I've created). The first bite was not so good.  You couldn't taste any strawberry, it was entirely way too dry, and it just lacked the umph that I was so hoping for.  I didn't throw it all away, but I did dismiss the recipe as a fail (back to point number 1... I always judge the cover).

This morning, I decided to try one more attempt.  This time, I went for a piece in the middle.  And, oh, how I was mistaken!! The strawberries were perfectly juicy, the cake was perfectly moist, and the topping was perfectly crumbly!

With that being said, I'm going to chalk up this failure (well, half of the cake was a failure) to using the wrong baking pan.  I used a dark non-stick pan causing the cake to bake faster and thus, the edges to be dry. (smittenkitchen would ALWAYS prevent me from making such a mistake ha).

I guess in this case, the first piece of the cake was the cover and I most definitely judged it.  I wouldn't say NEVER bake this cake (the middle is rather delicious), just use a clear baking pan.  Or, if you insist on using a dark one, cut the baking time down about 20 minutes.

Thursday morning farmer's market tomorrow... guess who will be there? searching for her rhubarb?

I came up with a theory while heating up my frozen dinner box this evening... I have become a regular food blog stalker.  From what I have stalked, rhubarb is a HUGE hit when its season arrives.  Most serious bakers can't wait for rhubarb season! seriously! So, I'm thinking that last year when I grabbed the rhubarb from the farmer, I was grabbing the bottom of the barrel rhubarb.  The kind nobody wants... because it's not pink! I'm thinking if I want the good stuff, I gotta get there early.  So, that's the plan for tomorrow.  Let's hope I can get me some rhubarb (pink rhubarb that is)!