Baking Disappointment

Each step in the recipe felt like proof that the effort would pay off, that is was contributing to something tasty and worthwhile. But once the moment finally came... to take them out of the oven, it passed without impact. What remained wasn't failure (maybe?) in any dramatic sense, just a quiet hollow realisation that all that effort had led to nowhere at all, save disappointment. Moral of the story...? Don't try to hard, I guess.