Cake Decorating

     My mom decorated wedding cakes and birthday cakes throughout my life. My memories are of chowing down on the warm rounded top that she'd cut off before freezing the layers. It was the best part of the cake. I'd watch as she cooked up a delicious raspberry filling and even helped slide one layer on top of the next. For some reason though, she never really taught me the "how" of cake decorating. Last year in October she found love again, three and a half years after my dad's passing. In January Victor proposed and at that point my mom asked if I would do her wedding cake. Up to this point my experience had been minimal, if that. Of course I'd always wanted to learn, but never really had the reason or the opportunity. Here was my chance, so, I took it. Mom came to my house almost every Friday for five months. In the end, I made an Engagement cake and my mom hired out the actual wedding cake because the actual wedding took place in California, not Utah. Here are a few of my test cakes and finally the Engagement cake.

      This is a look at my first attempt at decorating a cake after learning how to simply lay frosting on a cake. I donated this to the Boy Scouts to help them raise money. The decorating was supposed to be a wagon wheel, but I think it goes more to show how far I came in just a few months of training. The frosting was a whipped ganache with cream cheese buttercream for the white decorations.

     These next three are single layer cakes. Of course they are just for practice. I learned how to use a piping bag, stencils and how to make borders. Not too bad for a few first attempts. The first two are using the cream cheese buttercream. The third cake is a whipped cream frosting.

 

      This is my first attempt at a two layer cake. I made this for my Critiki Retreati in March. I have learned how to variate the color to go from very dark blue to light blue, as well as how to ruffle the frosting around the edges. This cake was a proud moment for me.

        What is a learning experience if you don't screw up every once in a while? This attempt I messed up on a couple of levels. A few things I learned is that Betty Crocker is great for a 13x9 pan cake, but it's not great for construction. The cake just dissolved when I tried layering it. Also, I didn't allow my filling to set up completely. The combination was a disaster. It's a good thing my mom was here. She taught me, when life hands you a cake-slide, turn it into a trifle. I couldn't eat it because I was so frustrated, but luckily my family had no emotional ties.

  This is my first attempt at a two tiered cake. I was trying out a new chocolate cake recipe. It held together really well and tasted just as good as it looks. Yum! I'm glad my disaster cake didn't hold me back from trying again. I suppose this where a "Thank You" comes in to play--to my teachers, trainers, parents, and Sales Director for teaching me to stick with it and never give up. The frosting is mostly ganache mixed with a regular buttercream with real ganache dripped around the outside.

     Here is my first and only attempt at using fondant before my mom's wedding. I hand formed the flowers and small balls around the base of the cake. It was a fun Mother's Day cake. The frosting is a kitchen-aid made marshmallow fondant. I tried using my hands and almost had a panic attack.

     My nephew was having a birthday and I figured a chocolate cake with the whipped ganache buttercream would be a great option. I really felt like I needed to work on my piping. The birthday party was at a park, so I used the playground theme in the piping. Pretty great improvement in my opinion.

     Finally, here is the cake I made for the Engagment party. I used my normal buttercream and filled the cake with a raspberry filling. No sliding, no crumbling, no mess ups. It turned out beautifully! It was delicious to boot! Most of all Mom and Victor are happy. Thanks for the useful skills Mom. I hope to use it often in the future.