First Kiddie Cake!

Well boys and girls I did it! I successfully completed my first kid's birthday cake! I was worried but I completed the fondant monster. Everything on the cake was cut completely free hand.

Of course this is after the homemade marshmellow fondant was so sticky it could not be saved and then the first attempt at covering the cake with fondant ended in the garbage. But even after the trials and tribulations I think it turned out okay.

I want to give a special thanks to my Motivational coach/bag holder/delivery driver, C.S. Thanks for all the support :-)

Stay tuned for my sugar cookie expedition!

Ni Hao Kai Lin who?

Ok ladies and gentlemen. I have been asked to make my most difficult cake thus far. My coworkers' beautiful little girl is turning two next weekend and she has asked me to make a Ni Hao Kai Lin cake. Without hesitation I said "Yes! Of course." I followed up with what the heck is Ni Hao Kai Lin. Thanks to Google I was able to find lots of information on the Chinese version of Dora the Explorer. Apparently, she speaks Mandarin and English throughout the show.

Upon further research I realized that this was a major feat I just tasked myself with. The use of so much fondant and now edible pens to draw on the fondant is reaching beyond my typical cake design lately. Although, I must admit that I am a bit delighted that I do not have to make a buttercream cake this time and we all know my apprehension with the creamy delight of a frosting.

So I hope that I can pull this off because IF I can I will finally have the courage to create my facebook fan page and business cards. Business is picking up within the four walls of my day job but I would LOVE to expand and inch closer to becoming a PROFESSIONAL....scary!

Pictures of this masterpiece (fingers crossed) will be displayed after next week. Wish me luck!

Happy Baking :-)
Jennifer

Tinkerbell vs. Me

Is it possible to get worse? I mean they say practice makes perfect and since I have been slacking in my practicing, it would make sense that it could be possible that I may be getting worse.

Trying to be the good daughter I am, I told my mother I would make a cake with her favorite Disney character on it. Who know Tinkerbell would live up to her difficult attitude. After a mysterious broken wing incident and a quick run to the store for a new Tinkerbell cake topper, I thought all the bad juju was gone. Boy was I wrong! Buttercream....you are still my mortal enemy and on my bad side until further notice.

Making buttercream appear as smooth as fondant seems to be the one thing I can't grasp. This time I used a technique I learned in a Wilton class, where you let the buttercream set for 30 minutes and then smooth with a spatula dipped in warm water. Sounds easy enough and the instructor made it look easy...not the case when attempted by me! The water on the spatula (that I forgot to wipe off) started to run down the sides and took the purple food coloring with it. My cake looked like it forgot to wear waterproof mascara at a FUNERAL! So I did what any creative mind would do...I covered it up with polka dots and flowers!!!

So, what did I take from this experience (beside my restraint from beating the crap out of my buttercream)? I learned to never skip a step or rush a project. Remember to wipe off the spatula and so what if smoothing the frosting takes an hour right now...isn't a finished product you are proud of worth it?

Happy Baking!

Buttercream woes

Sometimes your best intentions can turn out to be mishaps. This was the case with the beach-themed cake I made for a birthday celebration this week. The vanilla cake was wonderful and my first attempt at creating a special filling exceeded my expectations in taste but the construction of this would be masterpiece is where I went all wrong.

My s'mores filling tasted like heaven but turned into hell when I tried to frost the triple layer cake as the marshmallow goo started to ooze out and mix with the blue buttercream frosting. I then had lumpy finish....not desirable in the cake decorating world.

As if the construction was not bad enough, my candy seashells contained too much milk chocolate and became the darkest seashells on earth. But at least they tasted as chocolaty as they looked :-)

Because I always want to look for the bright side in life, my graham cracker sand looked perfect and once the cake was cut the look on my coworkers satisfied faces was all the reward I needed.

Better luck next time I guess. Happy Baking!

The Beginning

Hello all you fellow aspiring cake decorators and friends! So I am a month into my cake decorating journey and through the bitter tasting chocolate buttercream and sticky pineapple cakes I am still very excited to be taking on this new challenge in my life. Finally I have something that is all mine.

So far in my month of decorating I have completed my first Wilton course, baked cakes for birthdays, a baby shower and even sold my first cake! I have even been hired to make cookies for a bridal shower giveaway! There is an amazing feeling of pride when you are asked to create something because someone likes your work.

Never in a million years did I think that a holiday tradition of making baked goods for gifts with my mother at Christmas would become my passion!

Oooo I smell my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Happy baking!