An amateur baker decided to put his culinary skills to the test by making a pie for the very first time, as he thought how hard could it be? But as it turns out, it’s not as easy as it looks, and the bubbling horror that came out of his oven has left the internet speechless.
The Redditor, who goes by the username SirSalmonCat, has baked bread before and that went well, so he wanted to try something different by making a pie from scratch. As he loves blueberries and cherries, he wanted to add those in and make a mixed berry pie, telling Newsweek that he “thought it would be easy.”
As he prepared the pie, it all seemed to be going well and the process itself was somewhat relaxing. He placed his creation in the oven for 90 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit, as the recipe instructed, and waited with bated breath to see what would come out on the other side.
Needless to say, of all the outcomes he prepared himself for, he wasn’t expecting to see a pie that was black and bubbling away. The Las Vegas, Nevada, resident posted a video of it on Reddit in which he jokingly likened his first attempt to “a portal into the underworld.”
u/SirSalmonCat / Reddit
The post went viral, and it’s already amassed over 78,000 votes and 1,800 comments in just a number of days.
“I was horrified when I removed the pie from the oven, questioning what I was even looking at,” the Redditor told Newsweek via email.
“I expected the mixture to fill two pie deep dish crusts, so I was baffled that it all fit into one. This, apparently, was necessary to allow for two consistencies. The contrasting consistency of goo and caramelized top complimented each other well, but it had barely enough sugar to caramelize without burning.”
SirSalmonCat initially thought about baking a cake, but after seeing the complicated list of ingredients and numerous recipe steps, he went with a pie instead. That seemed like the easier option at the time.
“I was trying to keep it simple; it was not my intent to doom mankind by opening a gateway to the unknown,” he joked.
Despite its appearance, he assures people that it wasn’t burned, just caramelized instead. He placed it in the fridge for a while to cool down, and he said this gave it a “delightfully tart” consistency.
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and you should also never judge a pie by its caramelized top, as SirSalmonCat said it tasted delicious and was gone within a couple of days. Indeed, it didn’t even put him off trying again as he made a second pie which went much better than the first.
“It smelled wonderful, and I enjoyed each slice with a hot cup of Earl Grey tea, and others had it with a large spoonful of Cool Whip to neutralize the acidity,” he said.
“I’ve already made a second one to more accurately share the recipe. I plan to make it regularly actually. Some other recipes on the baking subreddit have gotten my attention as well.”
How Did Reddit React?
After posting the clip on the Baking subreddit, SirSalmonCat has been overwhelmed by the online response. Fortunately, there were plenty of people who were not deterred by the pie and even asked for the recipe so they could try baking it themselves.
Let’s just hope no one else made a gateway into an alternative universe.
“It was not until the next day that I discovered the post had exploded and reposted several times,” SirSalmonCat said. “I was thrilled that the more experienced bakers in the community legitimately wanted the recipe to make it themselves, so I baked a second one to provide photos and detailed steps.
“If you’ve ever wanted to try out that new hobby like baking, then just go for it. Live life curiously and fearlessly. The worst that can happen is you open a portal to the underworld.”
Many fellow bakers found humor in the situation, leading to more than 1,800 comments on the viral Reddit post so far.
One comment reads: “May I steal this recipe for later? Me and my friend have plans to bring back the dark lord, but we have no idea how to do the ritual without leaving the comfort of our homes nor raising suspicion!”
Another person joked: “Staring into this abyss is strangely hypnotizing. I can’t seem to look away from it.”
While another Redditor added: “And you probably thought this was a recipe for disaster.”
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