Happy Birthday Savanna!

This cake was made for my niece's 10th birthday. She had always wanted a barbie doll cake for her birthday, so I told her I would make one for her. Later, she pointed out a mermaid cake in a book and told me it was her favorite cake in the book. I decided to surprise her and make the mermaid doll cake. The instructions came with the pan. Although it wasn't exactly the same as the one in the book, I think it came out better!

My Practice Paid Off!

This week was our last week of class for Course 1. We were able to pick any cake we wanted to decorate. I chose the roses because I thought it was pretty, and I wanted a little more practice. I was very pleased with the outcome. The little drop flowers on the bottom were actually more difficult than the roses!

Roses

Practice! Practice! Practice! That was our homework for the past two weeks. My roses in class were a little sad, so I thought I should practice those. My icing warmed up from my hand and wouldn't stand up after a while. Note to self: Don't use the disposable bags if planning on making more than one rose.

Gobble Gobble

My sister-in-law sent me a carrot cake box mix the night before Thanksgiving. I took it as a hint as she was hosting Thanksgiving this year at her house. Instead of buttercream icing, I made a cream cheese icing, and let me tell ya, I will never by pre-made cream cheese icing again. Once you've had the real stuff, you'll never go back, and it's easy to make. I copied the turkey design from a coloring book page. Even though I think Thanksgiving dessert should be pie, this cake was pretty good if I do say so myself. Don't worry, I brought a pumpkin pie and pumpkin pie cheesecake for good measure.

Extra Calories!

So, I've been thinking about making a hamburger cake using a pan my mom gave me. My brother was in town for Thanksgiving holiday studying for his law school finals and I thought he needed this cake. I thought it came out very cute! Oh, and the icing on the bun was thinned with maple syrup which gave it a wonderful smell and a caramely flavor. I think a cake made to look like a cheeseburger must have extra calories, that's just wrong! :)

Clown cake, Part 2

Practice, Practice, Practice! That's what they say, right? Well, I was so disappointed with the clown cake, I decided to try it again. This time, my icing firmed up like it was supposed to. I still don't know what happened last time. I can only guess that I didn't use enough sugar. The icing for my clowns was a little stiffer, so they sat a little better. This one went to Dalton and Savanna, hope they like the marble chocolate cake!

Melting Clowns

If there is anything creepier than a clown, it's a melting clown. This cake was for our second class. This time when I prepared to bring my iced cake to class, it wouldn't set. The icing never firmed up. I use a trick to smooth the top and sides by placing parchment paper on top and running my hand over it. That was a really bad idea. The icing stuck to the paper.




The icing I used for the clowns was too thin, so they kinda dropped after a short time. Yeah, that's not where their shoulders started. Then, to make things worse, I added the blue polka dots. So, I ate a few bites and in the garbage it went.

It's like Butta

Another important lesson learned. Butter flavored Crisco is also butter colored. I thought the butter flavoring would make it taste better, right? I couldn't really tell a difference in taste, and it gave my icing a buttery yellow color.

This cake was also a mid-week practice cake. I found the design in our book and tried to copy it. After it was decorated, I noticed the cake in the book was a 10-inch cake, mine is an 8-inch. So, that's why my flowers were all mushed together and look more like amoebas than pretty flowers. Oh, and they used cookie cutters for their design, mine is freehand. I didn't have enough icing in one color to use for the bottom border, so I mixed all of them together in the bag and created a purple, yellow, pinkish star border. Kinda cool, but I wouldn't have done it on purpose.

Although full of learning experiences, it doesn't look awful. I tried a few pieces before I threw it away. Found out another thing: don't buy white vanilla cake mix. Not so good.

First Class Cake

After several disasters...ahem, I mean learning experiences, I brought my blue iced cake to class. We added the rainbow decoration and lettering. My writing on this cake looked much better than the first. I was even proud of it.



I planned to give this cake to my aunt and uncle who just had a baby one week ago. They also have a 3 1/2 year old, so I made the cake mix with sprinkles for a fun surprise inside. They were impressed with my mad cake skills. Well, they were appreciative anyway. I have a new saying for anyone critiquing my cakes..."Don't complain with your mouth full." I like it.

My very first cake

I want to make Logan's first birthday cake, and I want it to be good...Ace of Cakes good. So, I signed up for a cake decorating class.

I've been to my first class and have a homework assignment: bring one 8-inch iced cake to class next week. I buy one of each flavor Duncan-Hines has to offer and go to work. I decided to make one earlier in the week to practice, just so I'm not the only one in the class with a horrific "first-time" cake.

During our first class, we had the chance to purchase our Course 1 kit and shop for other nifty items Wilton has available. I chose not to buy the beginner kit, I needed the 101 piece Professional Decorating Set with tool caddy. It's serious business now, baby!

While my first cake was in the oven, I realize this is probably my very first cake I've ever made, much less decorated. I was using a 3" deep pan, so my baking times were a little off. My toothpick finally came out clean and I removed my cake from the oven and promptly turned it out onto my wire rack. (For those of you gasping in horror, I now know that you have to let it cool before you dump it from the pan.) And yes, half of my cake came out and the other half stayed in the pan. Call mom, find out I need to let it cool next time, and start the mixer again for my next try. Good thing I have extra cake mixes.

This time, I let the cake cool. Gee, that works much better. Now for the icing. Our instructor told us about a cleaver crumb coating made of confectioners sugar, water, and lemon extract. It looks like a glaze and takes a few hours to dry. I made my first batch of icing and grab my spatula. The icing immediately grabs the glaze and cake in one sweep! Now what's the matter? My icing is too stiff. I iced the cake as best I could, crumbs and all. I even played with my icing colors to do some decorating. I used a pineapple cake, so I decorated the top for Robert.

See, good thing this one is just practice and I'll use what I've learned for the one I actually have to bring to class.