My Adventure of Cakes & Decorating

I love decorating cakes.  I have always been fascinated with cake decorating and wanted to take a class to learn how to do it, but just never seemed to have the time (or the money).  Then one day I was visiting my cousins in Idaho.  I love my trips to Idaho they are always full of exciting new things.  My cousin Hailey was learning how to decorate cakes for one of her personal progress goals.  Personal Progress is a program in the LDS church for girls between the ages of 12-18. She was learning from my great aunt Sharon wwho is a awesome cake decorator and has been doing it for years.  So I asked her to teach me what she learned and how to decorate.  My sister had just had a baby and we decided to decorate a cake for the baby blessing.  Also in town was my Aunt Kristi's Mom, she is also another amazing cake decorator so I got some quick lessons, learned some neat tricks and I have never looked back.  Here is the first cake I ever decorated, for my sister's baby blessing.

Second cake I made for my daughter Emily's 1st birthday.  I learned how to layer cakes, added a filling, and colored the cakes pink and purple (her favorite colors).  It was super yummy!  I know she would of loved more if she had not been so distracted by the fun gifts she got and having all her family & friends in one place, way too many things and people to play with.

My friends sons 5th birthday cake.  I tired some different pipping techniques and made a swirled chocolate & vanilla cake, it looked really neat when you cut into it .  "Under the Sea" was the theme for his party.  The one thing he wished for on his cake was a dolphin.  Wish granted! 

After that there was no stopping me.  I tested and tried several recipes for making cakes from scratch, discovered my favorite and started stacking cakes.  My cousin Eva was my very first paying client.  I made her 10th birthday cake.  I loved how it turned out, some of my very best work.  Oh, and she loved it as well.

My cousin James asked for a less elaborate but super yummy Oreo truffle cake for his High School Graduation.  The result was so rich only a teenage boy could devour multiple slices of the cake.  The rest of us ate a small sliver and loved it.  Next time I think I will make it a little less rich, even though James thought it was perfect.

After so many successes with my cakes I thought I was unstoppable.  My husband asked for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cake for his birthday.  I thought no problem, I was wrong.  I got too adventurous and while it tasted really good, it looked super bad.  Nobody complained and my husband was so happy to have his favorite candy in cake form.  Overall I gave myself a pat on my back for good flavor.  The cake plate was literally licked clean.

And with 10 months of planning and preparation, and hundreds of revisions I made my cousin Libby's 16th Birthday cake.  She loved it, it was everything she ever wanted and MORE, complete with a fountain.  It was my first Topsy Turvy cake and carving cake, a skill I think I can work on.  You can't see all my mistakes because I covered them up with decorations, but I will improve over time with more practice, and hopefully won't need to cover my mistakes with decorations in the future.

Since then I have taken a small break in cake decorating to pursue other hobbies, plus there has not been any really events calling for a fabulous cake recently.  But when the call come I will be there, trying out something new, you can count on that.