My baking math skills are embarrassing.  One of the many stories about my baking math shortcomings (that I probably shouldn’t share) takes place at my friend Bryan’s house.  Someone needed three teaspoons and Bryan handed them a single measuring spoon.  I looked over and said the line that I will never live down: “Wow!  You have a three teaspoon spoon?”  If you don’t get why that is funny, you definitely need The Smart Baker‘s Cheat Sheet Apron (shown above). 

Note the bottom line, 3 tsp = 1 tbsp

Before The Smart Baker sent me the Cheat Sheet Apron for review, I’d inevitably gunk up my laptop keyboard Googling with batter-laden fingers whenever I had a baking math question.  Now, I just look down! 

The measurements are all upside-down so that the
wearer can read them! 

How to Win Your Own Cheat Sheet Apron

Update: The contest has ended.  The random winner is Angie who said, “A real success is one where people ask for the recipe.  I have a couple standbys that almost always generate that reaction!” 

The folks at The Smart Baker have offered to give away an apron to one lucky Cupcake Project reader.  The apron will be personalized for you where mine says “Cupcake Project.” 

To enter, simply leave a comment on this blog post (not on Facebook, email, or Twitter) with the following:

Since we are talking about measurements, I’d like to know about a different kind of measurement.  Tell me in your comment how you measure the success of your recipes.  Is a recipe successful if you love it, if your significant other loves it, if your kids will eat it, if people ask you for the recipe, or something else?  What factor is most important to you? ( My answer: Success for me is when someone makes my recipe and tells me that it turned out perfect and they were thrilled.) 

If you have any embarrassing baking math stories, please share them as well.  It’s not required, but it will help me feel less alone. 

A way to contact you if you win. 

The fine print:

All entries must be in by January 31, 11:59 PM CST. 

The prize can only be shipped to a U.S. address. 

If I do not hear back from the winner within one week of contacting him/her, I will draw another winner. 

Tip

I’m going to host another giveaway for a different product from The Smart Baker on my Facebook page later this week.  Be sure to like my Facebook page so that you don’t miss it. 

Success!  Now check your email to confirm your subscription. 

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121 comments on “Personalized Apron Giveaway from The Smart Baker”

My embarrassing story is less about measurements and more a lesson in the difference between salt and sugar.  As we all know, a teaspoon of sugar and a cup of salt in blueberry cobbler is not a good combination! 

I judge whether my recipes are successful by my husband’s reactions.  He’ll try just about anything now (although he still has a few forbidden foods) and is honest with his feedback.  E-mail is kerry.kassie@gmail.com

Luckily i dont have any stories of woe on measurements… i obsess over them.  My judge for success is the Ford family!  The 3 of them will give it to me straight and if i can wow the 5 year old then i know i’ve got a keeper!Hope to get to bake again soon (electrical issues in my kitchen)prairiejeweler@hotmail.com

My baking math skills are also embarrassing and this apron is pure genius.  If I love something I make, it’s a success in my mind, but even more so if my partner loves it or someone tries my recipe and loves it.  I’m pretty easy to please. 

A recipe is a success in my mind if the kids will eat it or the husbeast obviously really enjoys it or if it turns out just the way I wanted and its delicious!  If I had to wait for all of those to happen at once nothing would ever be successful.  LOL

I’m going to tell a story on my DH here.  A few Valetine’s back he wanted to make me a nice dinner (it was a chicken sautee something or other).  Well he miscalculated when doubling the recipe for the kids dinner and added 1/2 cup of powdered chicken stock instead of 1/2 tablespoon.  Needless to say we had pizza that night.  LOL

I definitely use my family as my taste testers to see if a recipe is a success or not.  It burns to hear reject comments when something doesn’t work out, but baking is trial and error and I’m slowly learning how to deal with that.  I aslo judge my success not only on how it tastes, but how it looks because I think food styling is everything.  I am horrible with math, so I would definitely put this apron to good use and it would be my frist apron ever!! 

Confession of a Devoted and Known Cupcake Baker: I very often don’t like or eat more than one of the cupcakes I make.  I used to not like cake at all as a child and I suppose it’s a bit of a carryover from that.  My roommate thinks I’m crazy.  I just love the calming process and experimentation of all- and I love watching other people eat my cupcakes. A true measurement of an excellent cupcake in my opinion is whether I want to make the recipe over and over for ALL my friends because I like it so much I’d eat them all if given the chance!  I have a good shortlist of much loved cupcakes now that I can whip out for any occasion – Christmas, birthdays, you name it. My embarrassing story is from my childhood, though it doesn’t really have to do with measurements – everyone was out of the house except me.  It was my mother’s birthday and I really really wanted to make her a cake.  Halfway through the recipe, I realized I hadn’t gotten out the vegetable oil.  Being young and stupid, I had no idea that the Crisco in the pantry was vegetable oil.  I ended up calling around to all my friends’ mothers and asking them for help in coming up with a substitute.  I believe one kind soul did identify the Crisco as oil for me.  I still cringe a little.  The cake came out pretty good in the end, for an eighth grader who had no clue what she was doing! 

I judge the success of my recipes by the reaction of my husband.  He is very honest about what he likes and does not like, but will also try anything.  When he asks me to keep track of the recipe, I know that it was a success. 

My embarrassing story about measurements comes from my desire to make enough baked goods to share.  I was making pumpkin bread and tripled the recipe so that I could send bread with my husband to work and have two loaves to take to my in-laws for Christmas.  Little did I know that the recipe I was using made 3 loaves.  So…my 6 quart mixer was overflowing with batter.  My husband still won’t let me live that one down. 

I’m still too timid to be adventurous, so I haven’t modified any recipes enough to have any major baking blunders.  But I will say, knowing how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon is VERY helpful if the only measuring spoon you can find in your college dorm’s kitchen is a very battered teaspoon. 

The best judge of recipe success is when someone asks me for the recipe.  And not in the, “Oh I’m just trying to be nice to you” but the “I will hunt you down until you write down that recipe for” kind of way. 

Most of my embarrassing moments come from trying to halve or double a recipe and not halving or doubling accordingly.  One batch of chocolate chip cookies came out as flat and crisp as saucers because I didnt get enough flour in. 

I usually tell when a recipe is a success by people asking for a recipe or gushing over the food.  I’ll be forever know to a brother in law of a dear friend merely as “corm casserole” since thats our go to dish for potlucks and parties and the recipe that everyone asks for. 

I measure success if I like it.  My husband will pretty much eat anything and my kids are the opposite so it is hard to use them as a measure.  Quite often I can’t actually taste my own food very well until the next day so I try not to judge my success immediately. 

I judge my success by how much other people like the product.  They’re easier on me than I am on myself! 

Baking snaffoo: I make a TON of gingerbread men every year for Christmas and about 4 years ago I was working with a friend (we were goofing off) and accidentally TRIPLED the spices.  Funny thing is that we didn’t even realize it until days later! 

When I bake, my tasting panel consists of my very picky 16 yr old and my even pickier work staff.  Success is determined by how quickly things disappear on either front! 

My biggest baking blunders are usually when I improvise on a recipe (this batter looks thin…better add ‘just a dash’ of flour!)…but some of those experiments have yielded awesome results!  Key Lime Cakesters, anyone? 

i measure my success by two things, how flawlessly the baking process went and how many slices, cupcakes, cookies, or whatever it is i’ve baked my boyfriend eats in one sitting.  it’s never good sign if he only eats one! 

I just the success of my recipes by a ratio (sorry about the math aspect) of how much I look forward to making it and the amount of fun I have making it / the outcome of the recipe (whether or not it is something I would make again). 

A measurement blunder: I started baking with my mom when I was young, every Christmas eve we would bake TONS of goodies.  This could get confusing without organization.  As I got older, it was my responsibility to gather our recipes & make shopping lists.  Cooking multiple items gets confusing when you are shopping for ingredients.  There have been MANY years where we have to go to the store multiple times to get items I failed to add correctly.  I always got confused on how many ounces are in a cup so this left us lacking in chocolate chip department, as they typically have measurement on the bag in ounces but my recipes had them in cups! 

We have been baking together for 26 years now and it still never fails….  I always convert something incorrectly! 

My husband’s not one to voluntarily give me feedback on my cooking and baking so I rely on my co-workers who sample my cupcakes to boost my ego and tell me if a recipe’s good. 

Embarrassing math story for you: I am the dumb one in my family so growing up I relied on my brothers to do a lot of my thinking for me, mostly when it came to math.  When I was about 17 we were all shopping together and I was trying to figure out the sale price on something.  To this day they still mock me for having to ask, “What’s 10% of 100?”  Since then I’ve made sure to brush up on my “shopping math” skills so I never have to ask questions like that again.  A few months ago a woman came up to me in a store and asked me to help her figure out the sale price on something and I was pleased that I was able to help.  Although I still suspect my brothers planted her and paid her to quiz me, trying to catch me out again. 

I judge my success the day after I try a new recipe.  I live with my hubby and 2 teenage sons who always tell me they LOVE what i make.(AKA – we wont have to cook/bake because you’re so good at it!)But the day after I may find a plate full of last nights’ delicious treats untouched OR an empty plate with crumbs.  That’s when i decide if it was a success! 

I take every new recipe to work and my coworkers know the stipulation of free cupcakes/cakes/sweets is that they have to offer a review and suggestion for improvement.  Usually I am the harshest critic and can always think of a way to improve flavor. 

I judge my success in different ways.  If it doesn’t come out of the oven looking perfect then I’m not happy with it.  Also, if someone tells me that it was so ‘bad’ they simply had to get seconds or thirds, I figure it was pretty successful. 

My husband is my taste tester and a VERY honest one at that.  I can tell by the way he says “that tastes good” if its REALLY good, AMAZINGLY good, or just OK good. 

I was hoping to surprise some friends with some homemade chocolate cupcakes a while back when I first started baking.  Not sure what went wrong but the cupcakes never rose and tasted AWFUL!!!  Immediate trip to the trashcan! 

I judge whether my recipes are a success based on the reaction of my husband and my picky daughter.  My son will eat anything and I don’t eat a lot of the stuff I make, so I have to rely on others to tell me if it should be made again. 

I don’t really have an embarassing story that I can think of right now.  But I measure how much family likes what I bake by them asking for me to make another one on their birthday.  Especially the kids!!!!  Mary N ladefly@aol.com

Just last weekend I decided to make creamed chicken and biscuits.  I make biscuits all the time and they always turn out very well-until last weekend.  After I put the biscuits in the oven, I realized they didn’t look at all right.  They finished baking and they were flat disks.  I grabbed my recipe and realized I added 1 tsp of baking powder instead of 1 Tbsp.  Needless to say, the birds have been enjoying a little treat all week and I went to the grocery to replenish my flour supply so I could bake another batch. ( Which turned out beautifully.) 

I never had a problem with measurements until I got to the age where I started needed reading glasses.  Now what I think says tsp is really tbsp.  Sucks to get older…. 

I judge my recipe success by catching my husband sneak back into the kitchen and eating directly from the dessert.  Not even taking the time to put it on a plate!!!!  When that happens, I know I’ve hit a home run!!!! 

When I try a new recipe, all I want to hear is one person say, “This is really good.”  If that happens, I’m satisfied.  I’m overly satisfied if the comment comes from my picky husband. 

My embarrassing story will make you feel better: Until *now* I have been operating under the assumption that the 2 tsp measuring spoon on one of my measuring spoon sets is equal to 1 tbsp.  I just thought why else would they include a 2 tsp measuring spoon and not a 1 tbsp spoon.  Go figure…

Just found your blog and so happy to find one based in St. Louis!  Every time my sister comes home from college, she wants to bake cupcakes.  I live just across the rive in Illinois and we will consult this website when she visits home from now on! 

I judge my success by all the “oh my Gosh this is so good” comments!  I’m all about the praise!!  I would LOVE this apron.  I’m just starting my own little at home cupcake biz and it would be a handy addition…as well as a great cheat sheet!  I’m at jenniro926@hotmail.com

I judge them by how well I enjoy eating them.  I guess that isn’t giving my husband’s palate its due, but if he likes it and I don’t, I’m not going to consider it a cooking success. 

Since it is just the two of us, I often halve recipes.  This has caused some big problems sometimes, usually when I forget I’m halving it, and dump in the full amount of one ingredient.  I recently learned a trick that helps.  I do all of my math ahead of time, and write it on a post-it note.  Then, I put the post-it over the actual amounts, so I don’t make a mistake! 

I usually measure success by how much the people I feed it to rant and/or rave, and whether or not they ask for more or the recipe.  If everyone politely says it’s good but they’ll pass on more I know I’ve failed :-D

I’ve DEFINITELY had the math mistakes and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE this apron because I too am constantly having to go back and forth to the computer when I bake. 

My most embarrassing story is when I tried to make cappuccino muffins.  I didn’t realize that instant coffee granules and coffee grounds were NOT the same thing.  I also forgot to add baking soda to the recipe!  What came out were black speckled little hard cakes that could seriously hurt someone if they ate them OR got hit with them.  I tend to not tell that story very often

For me success is determined by who is eating/judging the recipe.  If the person who is tasting my stuffed peppers but they don’t really like peppers, i’m not going to go by them.  If someone loves stuffed peppers and orders it out all the time I want them to taste mine to see how it measures up to their favorties.  Love the apron! 

This apron is custom made for my mother or myself!  We are cotton-headed-ninny-muggins when it comes to conversion.  I literally google them before I do any new recipe.  It’s relly much harder for us Canadians when almost everything online is in American measurements:o(

I agree with all your definitions of success.  The holy grail, of course is hitting all of them!  That’s as common as a lunar eclipse though;o) So if I please myself I’m tickled pink because I’m my own worst critic. 

My mother and I once messed up our measurements while taking a cake course and had to submit a wet droopy cake:o( It was really embarrassing considering the competition.  When you beat out by a 9yr old hang your head and cry. 

Cute idea!  I’m in pastry school and when challenged on the spot about a measurement question, I always freak out!  I think my recipe is considered successful when it seems that the people eating it go back for seconds! 

I judged my success with one of my recipes that won me a hundred dollars..I never made it before, and really didn’t get to sample it before it was judged, and when I did it was simply the most delicious cheesecake that I have ever had the delightful pleasure to ingest. The judges loved it, obviously, and the crowd also. Thanks for all of you, redraven

Oh my goodess, that apron is awesome!  Success for me is when people say “I don’t usually like (insert flavor here) but this is really good!” 

A failure story…I was making White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies for my brand new boyfriend but had cut all the measurements in half for a smaller batch.  I, however, did NOT cut the baking soda in half and apparently doubled it.  They tasted awful and definitely had to be tossed out.  It’s a good thing he married me regardless ;)

If I think it tastes good, my roommates usually agree, which is good enough!  If people ask me to make it again next time we have a party, even better. 

I could really use a bracelet or something that I could wear at the supermarket that has liquid measurements – I always end up unsure how many cups are in a pint or quart, and the cream cartons aren’t telling! 

Having lived on two sides of the Atlantic ocean, I’ve cooked in cups and kilograms.  My Catalan roommates used to make fun of me, “One cup?  What kind of cup?  This cup?  That cup?”  and I know conversions are important, and would love something for when I can’t count them out on a butter wrapper! 

I judge a recipe’s success in deliciousness, but also in healthiness.  I recently made my first meat pie and mastered the oil pie crust (if I do say so myself) and not only did it disappear within 24 hours, but it also wasn’t made with mostly butter, and that is the best kind of victory.  Cupcakes, yes, butter.  But if it’s a real meal and not a special treat, olive oil is the victor!  More veggies, less fat, still delicious is usually my goal. 

What young baker doesn’t have an embarassing story?  Mine is a classic: I was 5 years old and making chocolate chip cookies with my baby-sitter, and she asked me which container held the sugar.  Of course, I had no idea, and pointed her to a random container which actually contained… salt.  Needless to say, those cookies went right into the garbage! 

The success of my recipes is whether I would personally make it again.  For most baking recipes the bar changes a little bit – I seem to have a knack for making recipes excellent the first time, but the second, third or fourth times don’t always go so well.  I’m not sure why; it might be because I become more adventurous after the first successful attempt and play too much with the recipe on subsequent attempts, or it might just be sheer bad luck. 

In either case, for me, a new recipe is not successful until my second try turns out edible. 

I am known as the cupcake queen among my friends.  I have made cupcakes for their weddings, bridal and baby showers, birthday parties, you name it.  So the way I judge my baking success is through the smiles of my friends when they say their cupcake creations (I create custom cupcake wrappers and decorations) and the look on their faces after they take the first bite.  I haven’t had any awful comments, but I am my worst critic.  So I am always looking for ways to improve my products. 

Quite some time ago I was trying to convert a brownie recipe to gluten free.  I don’t think I added enough flour or something of great importance but I ended up with an ooey, gooey, chocolatey mess!  It sure was delicious served with some vanilla ice cream, though!  A successful failure! 

I consider my cooking/baking successful when my mom loves it.  She is professionally taught, and she taught me, so when she likes what I’ve done, I feel like I have accomplished something and made the Maddison name proud! 

My most embarrassing and most recent measuring mishap was last month.  The hubby and I wanted cookies.  Usually I make cookies from scratch with no trouble, this time, since time was in a crunch, I grabbed on of those Betty Crocker bags of cookies to bake.  All was well (or so I thought) until the timer went and they were all gooey and spread out.  My dear, sweet husband looks at me and says “you only used 1/2 a stick of butter, right?” … I had used the whole stick.  I can bake cookies from scratch, but not from a bag. :( 

I tend to measure successful recipes on a few factors.  However, my primary ones are when my husband devours the food and when people ask me to make the recipe again.  I loved a comment from a friend when she said “can you bring those evil cupcakes of yours” to the party!!  That meant success for me!!!Maria

success is several things to me, depending on the situation.  i’m back in school getting my BA in culinary mgmt, and when my instructors enjoy my food, it makes me smile.  if my BF gobbles up what i put in front of him or compliments me thats success.  and when my friends love the cupcakes i make for their b’days-thats the best.  and dont worry you’re not alone.  i research all my conversions before starting, i even have a yeast math cheat sheet! 

If someone asks for the recipe, that is the best compliment.  Then you know they were pleased and want to recreate it.  Disaster is when you have something in the oven and realize there is an ingredient sitting on the counter that you know you never went into the mixing bowl!  Whoops!! 

I know my recipe is a success when my boyfriend agrees to eat it.  He *hates* sweets.  Even as a child, he never wanted cake at his birthday parties nor cookies for a snack (so says his mom).  But if he’s willing to taste my baked goods and then nibble a little extra, then I know I’ve done a pretty darn fantastic job :)

As for an embarrassing story… the first time I successfully made buttercream frosting was just a few months ago… after many previous failed attempts.  To make it even more embarrassing, I had been following the recipe on the back of the C&H box… how sad is that?  I finally got it right one day after having made several trips to the small corner mini-mart and bought up all of their powdered sugar.  Persistence paid off!  Now, I am a master :)

I bake for my friend’s birthdays in medical school, and success is if the birthday boy or girl has more than one or two!  Once, one of the boys decided he to eat 7 of the guava and cheese kind that is so popular here in Miami! 

Measuring problems: when I need to make more or less of a recipe, I tend to have trouble! 

how cute!  my success?  fooling my mom.  i do a lot of reduced fat baking, whether the recipe was intended that way or not.  my mom HATES it.  she believes in full fats and whole foods (no margarine or skim milk policies).  i agree on the whole foods, but i still make substitutions where i can.  if i have her try something and like it (obviously not telling her what i used), i call it a win :)my email: mcschoon at gmail

I measure the success of my recipes based on the distance (in cennimeters) from a consumer’s bottom lip to their top lip after dropping their jaw in amazement of how delicious something is.  Disclaimer: distance varies based on recipe.  If consumer is extremely hungry I take caution in using my measuring tape. 

We have “Yuck” never make anything like it again, “Okay” needs lots of improvement but will eat if have to, “Good” which means enjoyed please make again and our last rating word is “Very Good” can make for company and in-laws.  Each family member has a vote.  Then I will write this on the recipe. 

I wrote a long comment a few days ago and then it appeared not to go through- oh no!Confession: I actually hardly eat more than one of my cupcakes- I used to not like cake as a little girl and I think it’s a holdover from that.  I love to bake cupcakes because of the calming effect and the experimentation of it all.  Plus I love feeding people.  My measure of a good cupcake is when I want to eat it all day and night. :)  I have a few go-to recipes that fit that exactly. E-mail- Rachael.m.dickson@gmail.com

First off, I just came across your site today and I LOVE it!  You do an awesome job and the pictures are fab!  The cupcake craze has come over me and I’m trying teaching myself this wonderful new hobby.  Sites like yours really help!  Whenever I used to make a new recipe I would ask my husband if he liked it, to which he would ALWAYS politely say yes (sometimes hoping I wouln’t notice he’d only eaten two bites).  So I decided to rephrase the question.  I now ask, Do you want me to make it again?  For some reason he then feels it’s okay to say no if he really doesn’t like it… silly, I know, but it works for us!  If he (or others) say make it again, I deem it a success!  Thanks for all the great ideas!  Jessica M. junit117@hotmail.com

I know a recipe is successful when whomever I am cooking for loves it!  I have a habit of finding a recipe that looks good, getting all my ingredients together, and then adding my own spin on it!  I teach a Culinary Arts class, and I don’t always lead by example when it comes to “leading by example”.  I think it’s the best part of cooking when you get to fix it like you like it!  I think my math cooking disaster is every time I have a student who catches a measurement mistake on my part!  After all, I am supposed to be the “expert”, right?  I can be reached at nessvannoy(at)hotmail(dotcom) if I am selected!  I would love this apron, and I love your blog! :) 

I’ve really not had too many measuring disasters.  Most recipes I measure to my own personal liking; i.e., if you say a teaspoon of cinnamon, I add a tablespoon.  If a recipe calls for vanilla and the end product is chocolate, I would substitute Lady Godiva Chocolate Liqueor in place of the vanilla extract. 

Most of my creations are a combination of a good base recipe and a liberal dose of my own personal variations.  I love bold, vibrant flavors and extravagant ingredients that thrill the taste buds. 

I make a sweet treat for the Visitor Center in my church each week.  Sometimes cookies, most often cupcakes.  There needs to be enough for each of the three services.  While a combination of our services runs approximately 700our visitors are obviously much less, perhaps 3-15/weekend. 

While I’m often complimented and asked for my recipes, my greatest kudos, as well as obsticle, is the membership and regular attendees who sneak into the Visitor’s Center and obliterate whatever I bring – sometimes to the shortcoming of the guests, lol!  I used to bake in the church kitchen since they have a commercial sized convection oven (this baker’s ultimate desire), however, the smell of baking goodies often left the plate empty long before the services are over. 

What greater success could I measure than 700 +/- fans eager to devour my latest endeavor?  Only wish I could bake enough for everyone. :) sherridpadilla@yahoo.com

I didn’t start baking until recently, but I’ve tried so many good cupcakes over the past year — good enough for me to know what I consider as good and tasty cupcakes.  So if it didn’t turn out the way I hope and if I’m not in love with it, I wouldn’t call it successful.  If I’m on the fence, I ask my close ones to try it out and that usually determines if it’s a fail or not. 

I judge my success by my own enjoyment of the recipe, and the genuine compliments of others.  When people started to tell me that my food was really delicious without any prompting from me, I knew that I was getting to be a really good cook :). 

YAHOOOO!!  I can leave a comment!  I’ll email you how I worked around it. 

To judge success of my baking is based on two things: 1) How quickly what I have baked disappears and 2) How many people ask “can I get the recipe for that?” 

For measurement oops – a recipe I was making as a gift called for 5/8 Cup of flour.  What is that?  I scoured baking webpages, my mom, my friends… then I went back to the recipe site and on the last review a kind soul, said that “5/8 Cup of flour = 1/2 Cup plus 2 T…in case you had no idea.”  Thank goodness for people who post comments to help other bakers!