My mother baked cakes from mixes. For my 10th birthday I had found a recipe for a scratch made cake that I insisted I wanted. My mother finally relented, but insisted that I had to make it myself. My Dad helped me make the high altitude adjustments, and after lunch my Mother set me up in the kitchen and left me to it. Only after I had everything mixed up and in the pans did she check on me. My only problem was that at the age of almost 10 I did not know that buttermilk was a liquid. My Mother always used buttermilk powder and I had used the whole measurement of buttermilk powder called for in the recipe. She explained my mistake, made me throw out what I had made and start over. By this time I was so rattled that on my second attempt I forgot the baking soda and ended up with a cake puck. Luckily this experience did not deter me from baking from scratch, but it was definitely a learning experience.

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