Wedding Bells

Over the weekend I made my first cake that I was "hired" to make, for a friend's cousin's bridal shower. What pressure! And with pressure...came disaster. One layer decided not to bake all the way and had to quickly be remade and replaced, another layer decided to crack as it was being positioned on top of another (thanks to the powers of buttercream, it was saved). There's a laundry list of setbacks - not enough buttercream to go around, uncooperative fondant. You name it, I experienced it.

But I finished, and at the very least, the cake was tall. And tall is good, right? And I know the cake is tasty - bottom tier of white butter cake and strawberry filling, top tier of chocolate butter cake with Oreo buttercream filling, slathered in buttercream and wrapped in mm fondant. Delicious! And, of course, topped off with a cute little gum paste bow and surrounded by fondant pearls, who can resist?

But I definitely learned not to bite off more than I can chew - the next cake will be one fabulous tier that I can perfect and make beautiful. I'll just make it an extra-tall tier for dramatic effect!

Look at my review of Wilton's Gum Paste that I used to make this bow with on Sazze.com!

Wedding Shower Test Cake

A co-worker has "hired" me to make a cake for her cousin's wedding shower in March. Eek. A whole lot of pressure, making a cake for someone I haven't met - what if I ruin her shower with a crooked, squashy cake?!

To ensure I'm up for the challenge, I made a test cake today. After completely trashing the kitchen, I emerged with this cute little package, which will accompany Steve and I to a New Year's party tomorrow. It's a butter cake with strawberry filling - nothing too crazy, but hopefully tasty. The actual cake will be similar, but will be two stacked packages, very close in size, and I think maybe two different shades of pink. The bow is made out of gum paste, and I'm pretty proud of my first bow adventure. Gum paste is amazing stuff to work with. The cake is covered with a layer of buttercream frosting and mm fondant.

This day of baking was filling with challenges - a layer that (I) broke in half and had to remake, fondant that just didn't set up the way it usually does and was a nightmare to work with, accidentally dying some frosting hot pink (which I used to write on the gift tag with). But overall, I think it's heads and shoulders above the cake I made for Darcie's shower in August, and with a few refinements I'll be ready to go in March!

Check out my review of Jet-Puffed Marshmallows on Sazze.com!

Anyone need a cake?!

I had the chance to make some mini cakes (with 4-inch cake pans and a mini heart-shaped pan) this weekend for decorating practice. I had forgotten how much work goes into the process - whether the cake is 4 or 14-inches. Cake batter, marshmallow fondant, buttercream icing and royal icing...it was an all-day affair and a lot of work. In the end, I had fun, the pieces I made with gum paste turned out well, and I'm ready to make another cake for a special occasion.

I like this squiggle cake - not nearly as good as the example I had in a book, but a lot of fun, and the gum paste flowers look cute on top.


If I had a baby shower for someone coming up, I could totally do a larger version of this cake... (after painstakingly working on this bear for nearly an hour, I watched a youtube video where a woman showed how to make one in a matter of minutes. Who knew?!). I've never really worked with icing before, so I'm slowly learning how to work with the different tips. I'm not quite ready for flowers yet, but this border came out pretty well (for a beginner).


Now I'm ready for some real cakes. I feel like I keep on learning and learning, and have come leaps and bounds since I made the baby shower cake in August. Anyone with a party coming up who wants me to make them a cake?!

Check out my review of my heart shaped mini springform pan on Sazze.com!