Last night was my third cake decorating class and this week, it was a bit more challenging. We learned how to make really beautiful roses out of frosting... except they were really hard to actually make really beautiful. The steps really didn't seem that hard, but since it's so awkward to hold the frosting bag, apply just the right amount of pressure AND twist a slippery rose nail so the frosting magically changes from a lump of pink to gorgeous petals, I felt like it was taking me forever to get it right. 
Since I'm such a perfectionist, this was even more of a challenge for me and I ended up dumping about six roses back into the frosting bowl. By the end though, I was able to semi-figure it out keep about half of the ones I made. Everyone in the class was asked to leave our roses behind, so I'm assuming we'll be using them to decorate our cakes next week. (That's right - we're really decorating cakes next week!) I think I might try making some more roses tonight and putting them on some of the leftover cupcakes from my "burgers." I'll post pictures if they come out OK.
In other baking news, how is anyone supposed to come up with original baking ideas these days? I feel like all the truly creative and delicious ideas are already taken. I was trying to think of something new to make and I came up with the idea of making sweet potato cornbread muffins with bacon... except, it wasn't all that original of an idea. A google search resulted in a bunch of recipes just like it. Back to the drawing board, I guess, but I'm wondering - have you come up with any recipe ideas that were really original? If so, send some creative vibes my way!
Rose Nail #7
Cakes, Cakes, Cakes!
The title of this post is so appropriate because I can't stop thinking about cakes. That's right, I think I have a full blown addiction to baking and decorating cakes! After my frosting mishap last week, I decided to take on a new cake project and kind of challenge myself a bit. The result... a grill cake! My cousin Jason's wife Rachel (hi Rachel!) sent me a link to an AWESOME blog dedicated to creative cakes and all things baked - Bakerella. This blog has some of the most amazing ideas ever and I immediately became obsessed with it, and was determined to create something using some of her ideas for a Father's Day cake. I'm so excited to share these photos with you because I worked so hard on this cake for the past few days. And the best part is, the frosting came out right - yippie! I even got to save the old batch my mixing it in with the new one.
OK, Eeeee - I'm nervous for you to see this, but what do you think?! I'll be sharing this cake with my family later, so fingers crossed that they like it!
Any ideas for my next cake project? I can't wait to make another one!
PS: A special thanks to Todd for all his help on this project as my "assistant." I promise I'll make you some pies soon!
Cake Numero Uno
Well, I've picked up a new hobby. In fact, it's not really so much a new hobby as a re-awakened one. Anyone who knows me knows that I've always had a thing for baking. It's probably thanks to my great-grandmother, Mama, and her baking expertise - I basically grew up around an amazing baker who made delicious cookies and cakes all the time. I wish I would have paid more attention to all the little things she was doing, but one thing that she really passed along was the desire to bake. So, since I love to bake... even more than I like to eat baked goods (OK, maybe that's a lie)... I've been thinking for a while about seeing if I was actually any good at it. That's why a week ago I started taking a cake decorating class after about a year of trying to decide if I should do it. I'm not sure why I couldn't make up my mind about signing up, but I'm so glad I finally decided to try it. It's amazingly fun. And a perfect creative outlet for me. So far, I've only been to two classes, but I've already learned a ton. I've also already learned a very valuable lesson - follow the recipe directions. No, really. Follow them. I'm kind of embarrassed to share this with you (remember, I'm a Leo and was an only child forever, so I hate to fail), but I figure it was my first try and I now know how to make frosting the right way ;) I can say that my cake was delicious, so that's a plus. It was also completely homemade, which was fun. But, the frosting... oh, the frosting. In my excitement to get decorating, I completely read the ingredient amounts wrong and added too much water. What resulted was a runny, mess of white frosting. I tried to salvage it, and it tasted good, but it wasn't at all the right consistency for cake decorating. I'm going to try again either tomorrow or this weekend because I'm determined to get this right! But, without further ado, I'd like to introduce my first cake. I'm posting these pictures with hopes that by the end of all this, I'll have some amazing masterpieces to share and this will be something I can look back on and laugh about. For now though, enjoy what I like to call the Ecto-Cooler Cake (think the Ghostbusters 90's drink and note the drippy, green frosting down the sides. I'll just lie and say that was on purpose). Much more decorating (that's actually good) to come. 
