While my husband was taking Juliana to her kiné appointment, I had a craving for chocolate. The only chocolate I had in the house was cocoa powder and I did not feel like having hot chocolate. I wanted a cookie or cake.
I usually sift equal parts of flour and sugar together and mix with water until it forms dough. This cookie is definitely not gourmet, but it is quick and gets the job done. Yesterday I wanted to be a bit creative by having it rise. I added an egg and sodium bicarbonate. When you mix these two together, it creates a chemical reaction that results in lots of air bubbles. These air bubbles makes cakes light and airy after being baked.
Normally, only a pinch of sodium bicarbonate is needed. Instead of using a spoon to measure, I was lazy and just poured it from the container. Of course, too much fell into the flour. Me, being lazy again, decided to leave it in there. I thought it would just mean my cookie/cake would rise too high.
As I impatiently waited for this creation to bake, I ate the left over dough in the mixing bowl like a helpless child. I stopped after I realized that it tasted funny. I checked on the oven and found that my cookies merged to form a cake and it looked amazing.
The timer sounded after 25 minutes. I quickly retrieved the cake that would send me into chocolate bliss. I was shocked when I opened the door to see a chocolate explosion. My cake was sunken in and there was chocolate spilling over the edges of the glass dish. Chocolate goo was also stuck to the walls of the oven, hanging on to dear life on the wire racks, and plopped all over the bottom.
Bravely, I tried eating the remaining chocolate in the glass pan. I started feeling nauseous and my saliva was bubbling. The bubbles in my saliva drove me crazy. I ate an apple, banana, rice cake, and everything else I could find to eat quickly. I spit onto a napkin and heard little crackling sounds as the bubbles popped. I laid down and called my husband. He brought me home M&Ms.
I was so happy to finally get chocolate that I ripped open the bag and started eating. After a couple, I realized that they tasted funny. The chocolate goo that I made ruin my taste! My craving could not be satisfied.
The night wore on and I became more sick to my stomach and my saliva still bubbly. My husband called the poison hotline and she told him that I could not be sick because of the sodium bicarbonate, that it could be a gas problem. We all know that gas causes our spit to foam. I asked him to call again, so he called the hotline for a different region. The guy told him the same thing. He said that he has informational cards on different products. The card on sodium bicarbonate says that it is only toxic if 500 grams are ingested.
I believe this to be true, but they are not taking into consideration that when mixed ith certain products, there is a chemical reaction.
I was back to normal the next day. Moral of the story, be careful when baking and know that the poison hotline has some limitations.
I did get a courtesy call a few days later to make sure I was okay.
Jo Harrison says
I made a Victoria sponge a couple of weeks ago and used too much bicarbonate of soda… The cake sunk in the middle but was edible… Although I could taste the bicarb and only had a small piece my boyfriend polished it off, no side effects like you though, very strange!
Carol Larore says
Awwww….Carrieanne, glad to hear you’re doing ok. Who would have thought? Makes me feel a bit better about adding flour to my first meatloaf (I was a newly married 21 year old).
My dutiful husband not only ate it , but complimented me on a great meal…ahhhh, those were the days…ahahahaha