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.