Learn From Your Failures

Mistakes in baking may even lead you to create a new dessert, a new trend or even a new category of dessert. Do you know the story of the baker who forgot to put the butter in the dough and then attempted to undo the mistake by rolling it in? This accidentally created puff pastry is now considered one of the most delicious forms of pastry.

Should you not like the results of your cake or pastry, don’t throw the dessert away. You’re lucky: You can eat your mistake. Some of my less-than-perfect desserts have been served in dimly lit rooms to family and friends. The ingredients you used taste superb, so if the cake or pastry is not perfect, be content that its flavor is better than what you can get at many bakeries, and people will not know there is a problem—unless you tell them!