Cake Decorating 101 - Graduation Week 4

Yesterday's final assignment was to bring an iced cake to class. This time, I made a white cake, filled it with lemon and iced it. Notice how nicely my filling stays inside my dam? While surfing the web, I found a new idea for smoothing icing. I tried it instead of using parchment paper. Recognize the pattern?

A paper towel gives the icing a textured look.

Made a dam. Put filling inside. Forgot to take photo so I lifted
top cake layer and left crumbs on dam.

                                                                                                     

In class we learned to make roses. I was very slow and unskilled. Most of my flowers dissolved into a mass of ooze. I clearly need further practice.

 We also learned how to do lettering...printing and writing, easy.

Then it was time to decorate our cakes. I decided I didn't want mine to look like the one in the instruction book. Cakes with roses look like every cake at the local supermarket bakery. Besides, I was a buttercream rose failure. As the rest of the people in the class feverishly made rose after rose, placing their creations gingerly atop their cakes, I had an idea.

My thoughts ran wild. I needed different colours of icing. I also required other tips on my icing bags. While my classmates worked hard, hunched over their cakes, I played and mixed colours. The instructor asked whether I had given up as she delivered my certificate of completion.

What? Me? Give up? Never. I just like to take the time to think, dream, plan and create my own thing. Here's my final cake, slightly bruised and squashed from sliding while in transit, but nonetheless, I'm happy with it.

Of course, my thinking and planning didn't end here. I came home and I decorated.

And now, we celebrate. Happy Canada Day and of course, Happy 4th of July to all my American friends and family.