Cakes

I've always wanted to take a Wilton Cake decorating class, but I had no idea what I was in for. These ladies are serious and they have the church lady, wouldn't move in a tornado, hairdo to prove it. I naively thought that I would show up with my piping bag and they would hand me a styrofoam cake and tell more to go for it. Boy was I wrong. Class 1 was a 3 hour "lecture", which included everything on how to bake an award winning cake, to frosting stiffness and how to create your own parchment piping bag (which is not as easy as it sounds). My girlfriend and I were the only ones giggling nervously in the back of the classroom. I think there's going to be some stiff competition, although I am fairly certain that I will fair better than the lady who asked if you could make buttercream frosting with brown sugar.

We were instructed to study our lesson plan far in advance of the next class and to bake 3 cakes this weekend so that we could freeze them and pull them out when needed. We also needed to prepare our frostings and bring one of our cakes, iced, to the next class. Easy, right? Well, let me tell you my friend, it wasn't. 8+ hours later, with a kitchen covered in powdered sugar, unhappy children, unhappy husband and 4 cakes with a 2" crater in the center, I almost threw in the towel. I suppose it was partly my fault. I never had a problem baking a flat cake in the past, but this time I just had to get fancy. No flat 2" pancake cake would do. I just had to get the extra deep cake pan to prove my awesomeness come class time. Well, I've done some research and I'm sure I have it down now. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Sure, I ruined another cake this morning, but I won't stop until I have mastered it. If I don't come with a perfectly iced cake on Tuesday how will I ever win Linda the cake lady over with my purely natural talent and become her personal assistant who learns all her trade secrets?