Tonight, I created a delicious mess. I took down a box of dry devil's food cake mix I thought we would never use, and I made homemade chocolate cake fudge. I buried my hands in warm, gooey chocolate and sugar and butter and milk and pressed together something wonderful from something I thought was useless. The kneading became almost meditative, letting the warmth soak into my body through the tips of my fingers, and the palms of my hands, scraping sticky dough back into the big red mixing bowl, reminding myself that sometimes, we have to make a mess, before we can reap the beautiful creation.
This applies as much to any art as it does to cooking. The mess is what makes the clean, crisp final product all the more satisfying. When we've cleaned our brushes, washed our pans, tuned our guitars, sharpened our pencils, and we can look at a project and say, "it is done," we find ourselves relieved that we have completed our goal, yet somehow, missing the mess.
Creating is undoing.
It forces us to look at our tools, all lined up in a row, and use them, throwing them every which way, undoing all our nice, neat handiwork, inventing a space which is all our own. It looks at our souls and pulls out the deepest, messiest parts of us, unwinding knots and tearing down walls, until all our innards are exposed in page or pan or paint. It expresses that which is inexpressible, and pushes our most vulnerable pieces into the light.
Creating is freeing.
This is the beauty of creation, when we take something that we fear, some secret part of us that we may think is too bitter, or undeserving of love, and we nurture it, feed it, press it and mold it, into something beautiful and delicious, finally sharing the parts of ourselves we love least with those we love most of all.
And for the record, the fudge was amazing.
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Cake Fudge Recipe:
1 (~16 oz.) pkg Dry Cake Mix (your choice.)*
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) Butter, cut into tablespoon-sized chunks
1/4 cup milk
1. Line an 8x8 pan or baking dish with foil. Grease or spray with non-stick spray.
2. Combine Cake Mix and Sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix together, and make sure to break down any chunks.
3. Add milk and butter and microwave for 2 minutes.
4. Knead together all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Dough will be thick.
5. Refrigerate 2 hours, or until desired consistency. Store in airtight container.
*My cake mix was 18 oz, and the fudge turned out just fine, with no other changes to the recipe.
Inspired by this cake batter candy recipe.
Creating is undoing.
It forces us to look at our tools, all lined up in a row, and use them, throwing them every which way, undoing all our nice, neat handiwork, inventing a space which is all our own. It looks at our souls and pulls out the deepest, messiest parts of us, unwinding knots and tearing down walls, until all our innards are exposed in page or pan or paint. It expresses that which is inexpressible, and pushes our most vulnerable pieces into the light.
Creating is freeing.
This is the beauty of creation, when we take something that we fear, some secret part of us that we may think is too bitter, or undeserving of love, and we nurture it, feed it, press it and mold it, into something beautiful and delicious, finally sharing the parts of ourselves we love least with those we love most of all.
And for the record, the fudge was amazing.
----------
Cake Fudge Recipe:
1 (~16 oz.) pkg Dry Cake Mix (your choice.)*
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) Butter, cut into tablespoon-sized chunks
1/4 cup milk
1. Line an 8x8 pan or baking dish with foil. Grease or spray with non-stick spray.
2. Combine Cake Mix and Sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix together, and make sure to break down any chunks.
3. Add milk and butter and microwave for 2 minutes.
4. Knead together all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Dough will be thick.
5. Refrigerate 2 hours, or until desired consistency. Store in airtight container.
*My cake mix was 18 oz, and the fudge turned out just fine, with no other changes to the recipe.
Inspired by this cake batter candy recipe.
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