While cooking, listen to this: Out of Left Field by Gregg Allman (the original Percy Sledge blues version is awesome, too).

Sometimes, I wonder if Rina and I should write a Gateau | Gato children's book.

Sure, sure, we drop a lot of f-bombs and highly encourage adding alcohol to any and all of our recipes, but the lessons we learn in the kitchen are life lessons. Take this milkshake, for example. Or, as Rina calls it, this extra milkshake (I still don't really understand what extra is either, don't worry). This milkshake started off as a quest to bake an unbelievably delectable homemade bumpy cake, which apparently, is something of a Detroit delicacy, as I've come to learn.

Without naming names, or body parts, somehow the oven knob got turned up way too high and the cake dried out before we could even realize it. Talk about a bummer. Turns out, it was for the best, as the cake was pretty flavorless in and of itself. Lesson 1: Everything happens for a reason.

No, no, I don't believe in that astrology mumbo-jumbo, I recently had to bite my tongue (pretty unsuccessfully, might I add), when a friend talked about Mercury being in retrograde - isn't it always? But like any good skeptic, I need a bit of evidence before I can be convinced. A lot of really wonderful things that have happened in my life were so completely unexpected, so not what I anticipated, that a tiny bit of me knows that a seemingly sudden turn for the worse or a bruise to the ego is a signal that something good just might be around the corner.

Ok, so maybe I sound like a cliched fortune cookie (though fortune cookies rarely have real fortunes, or so I learned during a recent foodventure with friends). But it's true, and this milkshake is evidence. I mean, COME ON.

I'll be honest with you guys, as we always encourage total and complete transparency on this blog, and say this recipe was very last minute. I was looking at this depressing, ruined cake, completely torn up over the fact that it was going to go to waste when suddenly, the idea clicked into my mind. We're certainly not the first food bloggers to attempt the Black Tap milkshake that claimed Instagram fame a few years ago, but we're probably the first to take a ruined cake and turn it into a bomb ass milkshake.

Thankfully, Rina and I were on the same page, as usual. "Peppermint milkshake," we said simultaneously as I jogged out the door to pick up a pint. From there, my journey through the aisles of Westside Market began. Green sprinkles. Heavy whipping cream. Mint Oreos. Dark chocolate. I just piled it all into the cart and made a beeline for the checkout. Only as I left did I realize this would be the perfect *holiday* drink, if you're into that sort of thing. And you better believe I'm into that. Anything with crushed peppermint has my heart, Hannukah or no Hannukah (though I do love me some latkes).

And so, in the last hours of the day's light, we concocted this beauty. A real-life Insagramable moment with the sun slowly setting in the background. Just what we all want in life, right? No?

We went pretty thick on this milkshake, but feel free to add more milk to thin it out. We also highly encourage including all the fixin's plus more. If we had more time I would have gone for flash-roasted marshmallows, candy canes dipped in white chocolate and more sprinkles (because, duh). No matter how you make it, I promise you, it'll be a delightful cap to your day.

And so, Rina and I took a disaster and turned it into something pretty fantastic. Making the best out of a bad situation (lesson #2), that's what jump-starting a blog is all about. Accidents happen, dishes break, recipes get ruined, I forget to post to social media when Rina's out of the country. It's all good. Because if we remembered all these things and always got it right, we wouldn't have these milkshakes. Or each other.

Try to have a little faith in that ruined cake. Take it from a control freak like me - it's definitely possible.

xo, Alyssa

THE MOST EXTRA CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CAKE SHAKE

Yield: 2-4 shakes

Active Cook Time: 5m

Category: Drinks, Frozen, Sweet

Source: a failed bumpy cake recipe + Black Tap's ridiculous creations

Special Equipment: high-speed blender

Ingredients

milkshake:

2 slices/handfuls of your favorite chocolate cake recipe

4 scoops mint chocolate chip ice cream

¼ cup milk of choice

Booze, optional

decoration:

Peppermint patties (make your own here!)

Chocolate syrup or melted chocolate

Green sprinkles

Cute straw

More cake

More chocolate

Ad Infinitum

Instructions

Make the shake: in a high-speed blender, add the cake, ice cream and milk. Blend until smooth. Alcohol recommended.

Decorate the glass: this is the fun part (well, the even more fun part): either line a glass with your chocolate, drizzle it around the rim, or go nuts and do both. Pour shake into the prepared glasses. Top with candy, cake, more chocolate, whatever your imagination drums up!