The things we got wrong
This page is a log of the mistakes we made—what we published wrong, what didn’t work in practice, and what we had to undo. It’s here so you can judge the rest of the site by what we *didn’t* get right, not what we claim we did.
Most sites list their strengths. We list ours we had to fix. That’s the only way to prove we keep them.
Three we had to fix
These are the mistakes that mattered most: the ones that hurt the most people, lasted the longest, or nearly ruined something before we caught them. They’re listed in order of how badly they went wrong.
The mistakes we fixed
- 1Wrong ingredient ratios
The first batch of our signature chocolate fudge recipe used 20% too much cocoa butter, making it crumble instead of set. It went live for three weeks before a reader pointed out the texture was off. We pulled it, rewrote the ratios, and tested it twice—once in a home kitchen, once in a professional one. Shawna Okafor caught the error in the first round of edits but didn’t notice the final proof had the wrong numbers. Now we double-check every measurement with a second cook.
- 2Baking time mislabeled
A croissant recipe called for 18 minutes at 375°F, but the actual test batch needed 22 minutes to rise properly. The mistake stood for a month before a baker in France emailed to say their batch collapsed. We corrected the time, added a note about oven variations, and now require at least three test bakes before publishing any dough-based recipe. Shawna Okafor approved the original time but didn’t review the test results closely enough.
- 3Missing allergy warning
A peanut butter brownie recipe didn’t flag peanuts as an allergen, and it stayed up for two weeks before a parent reported their child had a reaction. We added warnings to every recipe with top allergens, rewrote the ingredient lists to highlight them, and now run every new dish through an allergy-checker tool. Shawna Okafor missed the oversight in the initial review, assuming the title’s clarity would cover it.
What those three changed
These mistakes forced us to build rules that now protect every recipe we publish. We no longer trust first impressions, single tests, or assumptions about what readers already know.
Rules that came from mistakes
- Every recipe must be tested by at least two people in different kitchens (from the baking time mistake).
- Allergen warnings are mandatory, even if the ingredient seems obvious (from the peanut butter oversight).
- Ratios and measurements are verified by a second cook before publishing (from the cocoa butter error).
The people behind this
This is Shawna Okafor, the founder and editor of *Chocolate Recipes Way*. She’s the one who signed off on the mistakes above—and the one who had to fix them.
Keeping this log isn’t just about transparency; it’s proof that we don’t just talk about cooking right, we *do* it right, even when we get it wrong.
People who keep lists like this don’t do it for pride. They do it because they know the next mistake is coming, and they’d rather you see it when it’s small than after it’s ruined a batch of cookies for someone’s kids.
It’s uncomfortable to admit you were wrong, but it’s worse to pretend you weren’t.
Shawna once burned a batch of macarons because she misread the oven temperature—*twice*. The first time, she blamed the recipe. The second time, she blamed herself, wrote down the exact mistake, and made sure it never happened again.
That’s how this site works: we fail, we learn, and we try not to fail the same way twice.
If you find something we got wrong, don’t just tell us—*show us*. Bring the evidence, the photos, the failed dish. That’s the only way we’ll believe it’s a mistake, not just your opinion.
There will be a next one
This list isn’t finished. We’ll add to it whenever we publish something we have to take down or rewrite. If you spot a mistake before we do, you can tell us about it on the contact page. We’d rather hear it from you than from someone whose dinner it ruined.
The recipes are grouped by category: Desserts.