My Lemans Recipe Journey
So I stumbled upon this old lemans recipe scribbled on a napkin while cleaning my junk drawer last Tuesday. Looked simple enough – just six ingredients and “bake until done” instructions. Perfect for someone lazy like me.
First thing I grabbed was flour. Found a half-empty bag in the pantry, but surprise surprise! Little black bugs crawling in it. Had to chuck the whole bag. Drove to the corner store and got the cheapest flour they had. Already feeling annoyed but committed now.
The mixing part went like this:
- Dumped flour into my mom’s ancient mixing bowl
- Cracked three eggs straight into it like the recipe said
- Added sugar and vanilla but spilled half on the counter
- Milk splash? Big mistake – looked like lumpy pancake batter
My old oven’s been sketchy since winter. Set it for 350°F like the recipe said, but that thermostat lies. After 20 minutes, peeked inside – still raw soup in the pan. Cranked it up to 400°F and prayed.
Smoke alarm went off at minute 35. Grabbed oven mitts and pulled out this lumpy brown thing. Edges looked burnt as charcoal, middle still jiggled. Poked it with a chopstick – came out sticky like glue.
Left it cooling while sweeping up flour footprints everywhere. Two hours later, tried slicing a piece. Knife couldn’t cut through the cement crust. Chipped off a corner – tasted like sweet bricks. Even my dog wouldn’t eat it when I “accidentally” dropped some.
What actually worked:
- Next day tried again but used butter instead of oil
- Only two eggs this time, and measured milk properly
- Put a baking sheet under the pan just in case
Turned out edible! Slightly overcooked but soft inside. Took pictures before my kids destroyed it. Still no clue why it’s called “lemans” though. Tastes like vanilla cake with identity crisis.
