I can't get it right...what can't you get right?

I love Carrot Cake. My son loves Carrot Cake, my husband loves Carrot Cake...but I can't get the frosting right.

It never comes out right, its never smooth. It always has lumps of cream cheese in it...the butter, smooth, cream cheese lumpy. I use a Kitchenaid Mixer...but its not right. It stays kind of limp in the fridge, it never gets hard enough to make a layer cake.

Any tips???

And what do you always get wrong??? I want to know!

I have not made cream cheese frosting, but when I use it for a fruit dip I let it sit at room temperature for about 1.5 hours and it works out OK.

What I can never get right is scones.  They are always too heavy. 

Considering how long I've been in Asia, it's odd that I'm crap with rice.  A perfect batch is cause for celebration.  I'm going to buy a brand new rice cooker when we get home and blame the tools from now on..

Bread.  My bread is always just a tad too dense for my liking.  I suspect I over-knead....

Poached eggs.
I have tried for years to perfect the poached egg and have failed time after time, no matter what method i tried.

Until i tried Poach Pods!
Now they are PERFECT!!

Everytime i try to post a link from Lakeland, it always goes funny, so if you want to see these, go to the Lakeland.co.uk website and search for Poach Pods.   They're fab!

Toad in the hole. I love me a toad, but I just can't seem to make them right from scratch.

You know what I think that's down to? I'm accustomed to the supermarket ones you cook from frozen. I think that gives it a different texture. Mine are fluffier and dryer, no matter what I do.

I keep meaning to try it by making up the batter and freezing it and then cooking it. How sad is that? Trying to duplicate ready meals!

Bread and butter pudding - which is all the more annoying because it's my FAVOURITE dessert in the world. But I can never get the bread:liquid ratio right.

I can never get pasta perfectly al dente.  It's either too crunchy or mush.

Eggs overeasy, I can't flip the stupid things. 

Also I can't seem to master Belita's Pretzels, every attempt is delicous, but I can't get the dough to rise to double the amount.

Homemade mayonnaise

Apple Crumble - for some reason the crumble topping always sinks down into the water at the bottom instead of forming a nice layer of crumble on the top .

Eggs overeasy, I can't flip the stupid things. 

Hehehe, I WAS like that, until my mom showed me her trick. Now I've got flipping the things DOWN, and they are perfect!
Whoopsie, forgot to add, I can't get my biscuits to rise, I want gigantic ones, but they won't RISE!

Hehehe, I WAS like that, until my mom showed me her trick. Now I've got flipping the things DOWN, and they are perfect!
Whoopsie, forgot to add, I can't get my biscuits to rise, I want gigantic ones, but they won't RISE!

What's the trick?

Haha, some of the things here are things I gave up on long ago.  Poached eggs?  You mean swirling around hot water and vinegar and making.. a very evil soup?  Eggs over-easy must be what I call 'mostly scrambled'.  And yeah, not fair withholding tips!

Apple Crumble - for some reason the crumble topping always sinks down into the water at the bottom instead of forming a nice layer of crumble on the top .

Oven not hot enough?  Crumble mix too buttery?  Apples too mushy?

Vicky