Not Every Recipe Wins (This One Sure Didn’t)

The Lemon Dessert That Flopped

Let’s just say this post won’t win me any food blogger awards—but maybe it’ll win me a few smiles. Today I’m sharing a recipe fail, not because I expect anyone to recreate it, but because not every kitchen adventure ends in applause. This one ended in the trash. But it also ended with a little laughter, a reminder that I’m a real person behind this blog, and a moment of honesty in a world that too often tries to hide the imperfect stuff.

My Lemon Dessert Fail

I like to be transparent with my shares, and today is all about a recipe that went south. I’m a big fan of cream cheese—like, I thought I could stomach any recipe with it in it. But I can assure you, I know now... I can’t. Not after this dessert went down the tubes. Literally.

This past weekend, my husband and I were talking about dessert recipes. If you’ve been reading along with us for any length of time, then you know his favorite is lemon. It doesn’t matter what the lemon dessert is—lemon cake, pie, pudding, lemon curd—he loves it.

After all this lemon talk, I got an idea. I thought, Why not give something a try? Many of you know we’ve gone low carb, and I thought I had the perfect idea: a crustless lemon cheesecake. Simple, right?

In my mind, he’d come home from work, take one bite, smile from ear to ear, and declare me a culinary genius. We’d dance in the kitchen, and life would be grand with me creating low-carb lemon desserts for eternity.

Well... it didn’t exactly go that way.

Not even close.

He even said, “Let me see if I can doctor this up.” That’s never a good sign. He tried. It failed. So here I am, sharing this little disaster for the world to see. Because you know what?

Sometimes I just don’t get it right. Sometimes I mess up. Sometimes I create horrid recipe concoctions—yes, concoctions, as my mom used to say—because let’s face it: I’m not a chef. I’m not even what I’d call a home cook.

I think of myself more as a kitchen scientist.

About that kitchen scientist comment... When I was 15, I found myself making dinner every night for our family. Did I know how to cook? Nope. Did I give it a try anyway? I sure did. My mom never really let us in the kitchen unless it was to make chocolate chip cookies—and let’s just say there are stories of me getting the dough on the ceiling. But when she went back to work, that left me, the oldest, in charge of dinner.

I can honestly say I learned a lot during those years. Garlic became my favorite spice, and I wish I could tell you I used it sparingly—but that would be a lie. I added it to everything. Some would say I still do. I mean, a lot of my recipes call for it. What can I say? I love garlic.

Some dinners ended in smiles and “yum” all around the table. Other nights, well... at least we had dinner. At my house, dinner became known as Cara’s concoctions—sometimes a win, sometimes a total flop, but always something edible. Well, mostly edible anyway.

Failed Lemon Dessert (AKA What Not to Do)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup cream cheese

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• Dash of monk fruit sweetener

I placed the cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and the monk fruit sweetener into my mixing bowl. On a low setting, I creamed them together.

I took a taste—and I thought, Oh, this is going to be so good! It had a nice, refreshing lemon flavor. The cream cheese was creamy (obviously), and the monk fruit added just enough sweetness to make my tastebuds happy.

Then I measured out the heavy whipping cream and started whipping it like it was my job. I’ve made whipped cream before with my mixer, and it was a big hit, so why would this time be any different?

Once the whipped cream was fluffy, I folded in the lemon cream cheese mixture, and let me tell you—it looked pretty promising. Thick, smooth, creamy... just like a cheesecake filling.

Then I took a small taste.

Huh.

Not exactly what I was expecting.

I added another tablespoon of lemon juice, thinking maybe it just needed more lemon. Still no go. So I added a teeny bit more monk fruit sweetener (a little bit goes a long way).

Nope. That wasn’t it either.

I was stumped. So I spooned the mixture into some of my small vintage dessert bowls, put them in the fridge, and waited.

When my husband came home, I said, “Guess what—I made a lemon dessert!” He lit up. Then he took a bite.

“Hmm,” he said.

Yeah. My thoughts exactly.

I told him I wasn’t so sure about it either, but figured it might surprise us. He tried to "doctor" it up—added a little white table sugar and more lemon juice—but after one bite, he cringed. The look on his face said it all.

“I’m sorry, dear,” he said. “I don’t think I can eat this.”

“It’s okay,” I told him. “I can’t either.”

Into the trash it went.

Now, you may be wondering why I even shared this recipe (if we can call it that) since it was clearly a fail. But isn’t that where we learn? If I don’t share the flops, you might just think I’m perfect.

Ha! Far from it.

Life isn’t perfect, and neither are my kitchen experiments. But I learned something from this little adventure: I will never be a real, honest-to-goodness food blogger.

Nah, I already knew that. I do not like to follow exact measurements, but I write it down for y'all. I like to eyeball everything, but stopped when I began sharing (see where my imperfections lie and how I try so I can share recipes with you). I make what sounds good at the time in my cozy, outdated kitchen. I share recipes—or maybe we should stick with “concoctions”—that I dream up in the moment.

Life is real here. It’s not curated or color-corrected. It’s a bit messy, and it doesn’t always taste superb. But I’m a real person behind this blog—a gal who admits she’s far from perfect. A gal who some days thinks, Why do I keep doing this?

I guess it’s because the internet can make life look like it’s always polished and perfect. But we all know it’s not. And sometimes we just need that reminder.

I am that reminder.

So keep showing up, and I’ll keep sharing—the wins, the weirds, and yes, even the flops.

Have a fabulous week, my friend.

P.S. I’ll reach for the lemon extract or a little zest. That might’ve been the missing magical ingredient that would have made this recipe a total win. 

Ciao,

Cara