My Mom taught me that when a cake goes wonky just cut it into cubes and layer it in a trifle bowl with fruit and whipped cream. Looks great and will taste wonderful.

As a very dear friend of mine, a French trained cook, used to say, "Cooking is art, but baking is chemistry."

I’m a professional baker! When I bake at home, I always do a prep day first. It’s a pain in the ass if you do everything in one day and it tends to end up not being fun anymore. If you feel yourself get frustrated, take a break or stop and try again another time. Even at work sometimes we have to take a step back for a mini break if it gets frustrating. I really like your series!

This is as if Nick Miller from New Girl had a cooking show. Just perfect, more please.

Cake is never messed up if it tastes good!

As a professional baker, I can give one piece of advice: when you get frustrated...STOP. This was a single cake layer, nuts and some extra butter and orange. If it failed, you're not out huge amounts of money and food. But imagine if you get that frustrated with this cake, what would happen with something really expensive and complicated? Lots of chocolate or days of prep? This is an opportunity for you to work on your coping stance for frustration. Baking is a dance between you and the ingredients. Get Zen, and you will not only bake better...you will be happier! Baking is alchemy, and it teaches us how to take elemental ingredients and create something wholly new. It is like life. You have the skill...you're just letting your frustration get the better of you. Bon Apetit!

The people who bought the cookbook originally had one huge advantage: they had watched Julia do it and so they knew how everything was supposed to look like (consistency-wise). You're at a disadvantage from the start if you didn't watch that particular episode before starting your own cake.

As a home cook who just last week started Julia's first cookbook, I can honestly say that I feel for you dude. As I work through page by page, and recipe by recipe of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I can only hope that one day my home chef culinary skills will allow me to produce a cake like this. Just this week for my husband's birthday, I made a five layer hazelnut chocolate sponge cake, complete with Nutella ganache, Swiss meringue hazelnut buttercream, drip candied hazelnuts, and spun sugar. It only took me 5 days of 18 failed cakes (6 batches of 3 cakes each), and more eggs, flour, white sugar, powdered sugar, Nutella then I've ever used in the kitchen on a dessert to get it all right. Just breathe and it all comes together.

Well done. The sponge came out perfectly (eventually) but one of my problems with dessert recipes is that they're often more successful when executed in reverse: make the candied orange strips and set aside; grind the almonds and set aside; make the orange curd filling and refrigerate, sieve the apricot preserves; make the sponge, cool and assemble. The filling was problematic because you didn't beat it long enough, and yes, parchment paper saves a lot of grief. You can also bake the sponge cake in two pans to avoid having to slice it in half. A classic French housewife's dessert and as you intuited, prefect with tea or coffee rather than to finish a meal.

For the orange butter filling: Your curd (the filling), should probably be cooked a little longer, so that it just coats the back of a spoon. And keep whisking!! As long as you whisk vigorously, the egg shouldn't curdle. And if it does, just press it through a strainer. But the texture of the curd itself is slightly loose, not frosting. The frosting texture she mentions in the book is a "variation at the end of the recipe" that mentions "beaten softened butter." I'm assuming it also requires powdered sugar, since you can make a buttercream frosting with butter, the orange curd, and powdered sugar. That's probably why it looks so different, but both "variations" work great as a cake filling. I think with the glaze, curd was a better choice since buttercream would have melted. Honestly, it seems like you got the flavors down and the cake crumb looked very good! I would be happy to be served it at a dinner. I hope you don't get discouraged and make this again!

My mother taught me this trick. If I find that I’ve run out of caster sugar I take granulated sugar and put it in a grinder for a couple of seconds to reduced the size of the granules. It makes the blending/creaming process so much easier.

I went to her original video and honestly, you did everything she did. She even flipped the cake over!

Watching you just stand there, contemplating life, and if it worth living, was touching. Perspective is definitely needed when whipping up Julia's recipes. You're a trooper,. Jamie.

I have never seen this channel. I just happened to come across it on my home page. I feel so lucky because I laughed the entire time. By the time you flipped the cake, my husband literally was asking me what I was laughing so hard at. Seriously, it may have been a "mistake" for you, but for me, it was pure enjoyment and for that I thank you and am subscribing.

The inspirational pep talk was my favorite part. “Why can’t you do this?” 😂😂

I am laughing so hard I am crying over here. Him flipping that cake is PRICELESS!

At 7:11 if you pause the video the directions tell you what went wrong with the icing. It says "When softened butter is beaten into it, as described in the variation at the end of the recipe, it may also serve as an icing. " Something I learned in every cooking class I've taken is that before you even get any equipment or food out you should throughly read all of your recipe because when things get going you can miss little details like that. Sometimes it's best to step away for a minute, take a breath, reevaluate, and tackle the problem.

We’ve all been there! I made a Boston Cream Pie from scratch once, including the custard. I made the chocolate icing from scratch as well. I put the icing on. I cut a slice. I took a bite, and realized when I made the chocolate icing, I didn’t put ANY sugar in it. It was pure bitter chocolate. I put powdered sugar on top of it. It didn’t help.

⭐️ 🎉 Idk if someone already said this BUT I just caught Julia’s episode of The French Chef making this and once her orange glaze stuff was mixed and melted and like honey, she put it in the fridge to firm up before putting on her cake. The episode is Cake For Company (Season 2) I’m sitting here watching and it dawned on me “that’s Jamie’s cake!”

When you were contemplating your orange pancake of sadness, I felt for you. I get so fixated on what I think the result of my baking should be that I can get really discouraged if it doesn't go the way I intend. Kudos to you for pushing through and posting the video anyway. My mom's favorite saying about food was: "You're going to chew it up anyway." I try to hold onto that for my perceived failures. Even if they don't look good, they usually taste good.

As Chef John would say, "Never let the food win!" You did great and the cake looks delicious.

I’m so impressed that cake stayed together while you flipped it around!

What I've learned from watching your videos and seeing you on the struggle bus with so many of Julia Child's recipes is that Julia's cooking is not for the faint of heart.

Oh my gosh. I'll admit to laughing a lot, but also: Rarely have I wanted so much to reach through a screen and give a person a hug. You are a rock star. I would have been in tears from the frustration, and my end product almost certainly wouldn't have looked or tasted as good as yours did. I thought it was beautiful!

I grew up in Florida, and I have fond memories of drinking orange juice, freshly squozen, never frozen. My mother used to keep the leftover orange peel to make candy, which is strips of orange peel simmered too long in sugar water-and then a bit longer. It was Christmas candy for us each year.

The orange-butter filling is just an orange curd, so it should be thicker. It always takes way longer than the directions say for it to firm up for me. But even if it's thin, you can switch up to the orange buttercream variation on the next page where you just beat in softened butter after the curd cools until it hits a frosting consistency.

New fan here because, unlike many channels, you don't put a fake "try to be funny" persona on. You don't purposely drop, spill, or do other stupid actions, so your real personality shines through. I like you so I'll watch and learn. Thanks!

As a chef I can tell you this is why I don’t bake. Everything is so precise and has to be exact when baking, when I’m cooking savory I have so much fun adding a little of this and that and everything is alive and moving, baking takes so much patience and precision. I still give you so much credit for continuing on bc when I saw you hold that cake I was picturing myself throwing it at the wall 😂

Things are rarely a lost cause. If a cake fails the next option is to make a layered trifle. Unexpected results will happen, it’s how you respond that matters. You’re fantastic and you have an audience on your side and pulling for you.

As a baker myself I understand you wanting to quit but please just keep going it's all about practice. Even Julia at her best made mistakes. I love your videos and how real you are. Keep going your doing great👍 I also have to say you fold a little too fast and stir more than fold. Slow down a bit and fold small amounts.

It's the quintessential tea cake of the 1950's France. You did a great job!

As a baker and a professional pastry chef you're doing great custards and curds and better icing and all those things that take patience and a lot of time to learn how to do that. You're doing great I continue to support you I'm glad you're not getting so frustrated that you're totally giving up baking is an art but even though you may follow the recipe you know they say follow the recipe I have to get the exact amounts and blah blah blah but if you've never been talked to cook and you've never had someone say no don't do it like that do it this it's hard but we're here for you dude I'm proud of you the cake looks great keep fighting

I think that you’re great at showing how hard recipe directions are and how little things can ruin a dish.

When adding your first scoop of egg whites to something, you actually STIR it in. The reason you do this is to incorporate it fully into the mixture, which allows for a much quicker and more fluid mix when FOLDING the remainder of the egg whites in.

This is so deeply relatable. I’ve spent the last year trying to cook my way through the Edna Lewis cookbook and while I’ve learned some really great basics of cooking, the baking has looked exactly like this. I’ve tried to bake her caramel cake and her lemon meringue and I had the same issue with sauces not thickening up. I still have no clue why, to this day.

Don’t expect perfection from yourself when it’s recipe you’ve never made. Even when your comfortable with a recipe sometimes it come out a little different each time.

I'm been a cook, then Chef for 17 years. As much as I love to cook, I absolutely understand your breakdown moments. A very cool, honest video.

I thought the cake looked delicious, rustic, and somehow fancy-ish. I think it was a total win. I'm also a sucker for citrus (especially orange) baked goods.

I baked bread all day today and decided to rest and watch Antichef ... and this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long while. Thank you for putting a smile on my face ... through your pain!

I've been frustrated like that too. I remember trying to make a Christmas tree-shaped chocolate cake for my family when I was a teenager. I mixed up a beautiful green buttercream, but vastly underestimated how much I would need. I ended up with barely a crumb coat, and I got so frustrated that I had to go sit in another room and cry for a bit. My mom pointed out that it was still a cake; nobody in the family was going to be disappointed with me for baking them a chocolate cake that wasn't as pretty as the real Christmas tree. I fully understand your frustration, and thank you for posting this video

As a self-taught baker who is always learning, this was so awesome to watch. 😊

This recipe is sort of notorious. The orange cream is wrong. I remember the first time I made it and after an experience similar to yours, a friend explained that the orange curd needs to be cooked longer and I think also the proportions are wrong. I am surprised that the newer version of the book hasn't been fixed. (I ran into this problem 40 years ago)

Watching this brought me memories of my first cakes. My friend from highschool would just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix and the cakes were of course quite bad, and I remember my mom telling me "have you read a recipe? Get my books. See how you need to mix wet ingredients and dry ones separately?" That was the begging of me trying to understand the logic behind what goes with what and in what order. Then we had another classmate who worked at a bakery and he showed me how he'd beat the egg whites and fold them in... 😲 That was my face. I haven't taken a baking class since that spontaneous one, but experience and reading a variety of authors helps you understand and have an intuition about things. Watching this made me realize how much I know and how grateful I am for these 20 years of baking. I guess most people watching this is feeling the same, so congratulations everybody! And thanks life for 50 years of cookbooks!!

that little flap of cake in between the layers is my favorite part of this 🖤

When you began to spread that filling, i couldn't help but think "He just made first orange baba cake in history... And that couldn't taste bad"

It is always a good idea to read the entire recipe through before you start to make it.

This was hilarious!!! You blowing on the almonds to get them off the top of the cake was epic. Thank you for this, it really made my day. And, you know, it's cake. As long as you dont use salt instead of sugar, it's gonna be great. Don't fret so much ;)

I thought this was gonna be a relaxing baking video to fall asleep to but then I just laughed the whole time

This is an iconic episode of Jamie & Julia

Oh my goodness… haven’t we all had days like this. Horrible to go through, but fun to watch! Thank you 😊

Just found this. Laughed so hard, yet wanted to cry. So many of my baking woes came rushing to my mind.

Jamie, thank you for deciding to upload this. Not only is it very relatable but I also found it very amusing and laughed quite a bit. I’d be feeling just as frustrated!

Jamie, you remind me so much of myself when I first started to tackle these recipes 58 years ago (fortunately I wasn't being filmed) 😁 Failure is normal, especially with French food. What you should be MOST proud of is that your Bavarian Cream worked out, that (for me) is the hardest one (of the 3 you showed) to get right. As for advice, ALWAYS line the bottom of a pan so the monster inside can emerge Don't handle the cake so much, it looks like food abuse 😂 especially after you soften it up. And I just would have put almonds all over the cake (camouflague) and then the candied peel. Mistakes are normal...enjoy them. Hugs from a galaxy far away JIM Oaxaca

So glad you posted this because it is so relatable. We have all been there! So glad you were able to persevere. The cake turned out gorgeous.

I can understand your frustration. Me and my mom did an angel food cake together, and we were both in tears.

First time watching you. This was so much fun! I’m recovering from breast cancer surgery. I’m doing great but am limited at the moment. You made me laugh and feel better. When I’m able, I think I’m going to try this recipe. You have a new subscriber after one video. About to binge watch you now….. Thanks!

My sister used to do wedding cakes for yrs (I helped her). Always butter the pan, butter the parchment sheet; place parchment in the pan bottom and then add flour with a sifter for better coating. Caster sugar in the U.S. is also called super fine. You can make it at home by putting granulated sugar in food processor for a few minutes. I used to use a scant 1/4 teaspoon of corn or tapioca starch for anti clumping. You will have to look up the weight measurement but 1 cup of caster sugar weighs more than a cup of granulated sugar. Just keep an eye on the food processor or your caster sugar will turn into powdered sugar.. Edit to add; Personally if I have to cut a single layer cake in half, I just divide the batter into two tart pans.

I've gotta say Jamie, you have got sponge cake, or genoise, which can be a deflating experience, pun intended, down. You handled that cake like a pancake and it survived. Putting the glaze on the bottom of the cake is something I wouldn't have thought of, but it worked for you. I honestly love watching you and your reactions, don't stop, you got something good, and more power to you.

I loved this one the most, it reminded me of what it's like to be human, trying something new, or doing something you don't want to do any more. Stay 💛 💛 💛 Human, Jamie!

Honestly? If someone made this cake for me I would be delighted…it looks rustic and homemade and so yummy! 😊

The first time I made this cake it turned out perfect. The second time, I had nearly an identical experience as you. You have to cook the filling for WAY longer than she says.

You know what? That cake is still gonna taste amazing! Don't get too discouraged. I've been hobby baking for a couple of decades and I still mess up sometimes. The duds almost always still taste great!

Been watching the playlist and kept forgetting to subscribe but the despair and aggression to get the cake out of the pan and ruin it is INTENSELY relatable had to do right away

That is honestly the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. I'm no fancy-cook, have never wanted to be a fine chef, and certainly don't want to try now but THANK YOU SO MUCH for flipping that cake over like that. That cake looked like something I'd come up with. You are, if not yet an incredible chef (although some of your recipes have looked good), a comedic genius with all your facial expressions.

When a cake sticks like that, place it back in the oven for a few minutes. It remelts the butter that is greasing the tin. It also releases some of the steam from the sides.

Laughed out loud when you touched the boiling hot orange peels. your reaction was priceless.

The existential crises every five minutes was just *chef's kisses*! Made me laugh so much. Love what you're doing!

This reminds me of most of my attempts at baking a cake, it doesn't go quite to plan but the end result is usually delicious and makes it worth it 😊

Jamie!! I want to thank you sooo much for being brave and posting this video! I don't know how many times I've literally had to stop what I'm doing and go cry(like ugly cry!). This shows everyone you are a human being! Like all of us! I love you! I appreciate you! God bless you! 💖

Jamie that cake was beautiful!! I will admit that I laughed at your pain but only because I’ve been there and the music was perfection. (The fingers in the eye 🤣😂) it is so much fun to see what a brave and adventurous perfectionist you have become. You might have to drop the, “Anti” from your name pretty soon. 👍❤️

Your frustration and the way you deal with it and express your frustration is hilarious and valuable to anyone trying to do complex things like these. You’re doing great work.

The gasp I did with you when the almonds went on the top 😂 Then I lost it completely 🤣

The part where you figured out it needed to be on a middle rack, AFTER you started heating it was so relatable. I can't count all the times I've figured out my racks are in the wrong place in the middle of cooking 😂

I love how you just couldn’t go another minute, and the next day you literally just toss the orange strips on top and call it finished. 😂😂😂 I just found your channel and have watched a few now. Love your efforts and authentic reactions. Can’t wait to see more. 😊

I have felt this way before! I can't help but laugh till I cry though. Thanks for your diligence. I loved this video!

This is amazing, I just have to write something. The video itself deserves a 10/10 but your suffering really brings it up to a 12/10. Fantastic.

This was like a comedy sketch. I literally cracked up at this! Jamie, you should be doing this on your own tv show!

This is brilliant! You show the real life situation of most of us amateur bakers!

Okay but HOW did that end up being one of the most beautiful cakes I’ve ever seen

This is akin to an episode of Nailed it and I am living for this. This is one of my top 5 fav videos out on the internet. No body is perfect, nobody can make anything perfect. You did great :)

Watching this video has taught me that watching someone peel back cake layers is triggering for me. LOL It's like watching a horror movie! I am absolutely not dissing your video, though, Jamie. I love all of your videos and find them extremely entertaining, including this one. Even though I will be having nightmares tonight about peeled cake layers. LOL

This is my first time watching your video and I did nothing but audibly gasp, laugh or shake my head in disappointment. You earned another subscriber! Looking forward to more Jamie and Julia

I have a little baking challenge going on ...just me....bc is a different arena...looking at your video...I see all of us that struggle ....we endure as we progress and grow confidence.... Is all right....we got this!!! Thanks for your videos....inspires me more ....well done.

You give a masters student working in a wet lab vibe and that’s the most frustrating and cathartic experience ever. Love your videos.❤

Ok you’re my new favorite and I’ve been watching cooking shows for 35 years!

I have never seen a video of yours. I have been baking dessert since i was about 8 years old and I am in my fifties. I even have a photo of Julia on my kitchen wall as I adore her and have her books. I was eating dinner while watching this video and I almost snorted my food i was laughing so hard. Especially when you said you had run out of steam and didn't want to do this anymore. If I had a dime for every time i said that i"d be rolling in it. Every exasperation of yours is something I am well acquainted with. We bakers have all been there. I shall continue to watch your videos, will subscribe and wish you happy baking... and thank you for the laughs- I needed them today.

This episode was HILARIOUS 😂😂😂 Bless your heart!

You poor sweetie. I just want to give you a hug. You went through it with this one.

I just made lemon curd for the first time for some macarons and you need to whisk the egg, sugar and butter together first over the heat, when the butter melts, add in the rind and juice, then keep whisking until it starts to thicken. The curd came out just right. I almost did the same thing you did and threw it all in the pan but luckily went back to check the recipe.

If you plan on making this cake again make the filling first so it can cool in the refrigerator and thicken . You can use store bought coarse almond flour for the sides. The glaze can be made in advance as well and just reheat in microwave when you apply on the cake . You can even make the sponge ahead of time and freeze as it freezes well tightly wrapped. You can then assemble the cake stress free and rather quickly .. you did a great job ..

I was laughing so hard that I was crying. Too Fun! Thank you, I needed it!

This is the first video I've seen of yours. It reminded me of so many 'Cake' making moments I've had. What a gorgeous, witty and joy infusing thing to watch. You actually inspired me to try this the next day - just for 'fun' . Thanks for sharing this x

HER RECIPE WRITING TECHNIQUE AT THIS TIME IS AWEFUL!

Oh my how crazy difficult some of the great Julia's recipes can be. I was inspired by her in the late 60's to cook and then was I a professional owning an award winning food business for some time in my young adult life. I have to say although having her books and watching her was inspiring I rarely used her recipes which can be so confusing and unnecessarily complicated. As for the orange filling: Today I would whip together confectioners sugar and butter and added a couple of tablespoon of undiluted frozen (thawed) orange juice concentrate and sure you can put in the grated orange rind. If you want to make it more stable add a tablespoon or so of clear instant gel when you sift the confectioner sugar and BOOOM you got orange butter cream and you can make it all at once in a food processor.

Cooking is all about trial and error no matter if you're following a recipe or not. Being able to understand and learn from your mistakes and keep going is the difference between a chef at heart and everyone else. You've got the heart man and it shows, no matter how tough this is to watch (and for you to share with us.) Thank you for sharing.

Jamie, you did your best. Give yourself a large dose of Grace and let it go. Thank you for the honesty your channel presents. You give us the truth about how Baking/cooking goes sometimes. I love it that you came back the next day and did the taste test. Of course it was delicious. Your cake turned out perfect and all those yummy ingredients in the frosting and glaze had to taste good, even if they didnt come together as expected. Love your channel.

Granulated sugar IS cane sugar (in the US). Castor sugar just means it’s more finely ground and dissolves more easily. British-grown sugar is made from sugar beets not sugar cane. So, American brands like Domino are cane. Silver Spoon (UK) is sugar beets. Tate and Lyle’s (UK) isn’t grown in the UK even though it’s a UK brand, it is made from sugar cane in, I think, the Caribbean.

Lol this is my all time favorite episode! Thanks for sticking with it! The editing in this one had me laughing the whole time. Looks like it turned out great!

This reminds me of my recent attempt to make a cake for my friends - I ended up not being able to get the cakes out and it was so crumbly and I cried. You held it together well!

This is the absolute best video I’ve watched in a long time. Your diligence is priceless. 😊