So week 1 was cookies. We had to bake sugar cookies to decorate them. Now anyone who knows me well, knows that me + baking = disaster! So because of my nerves my fiance offered to bake the cookies for me. What a guy! He used his mother's recipe and seriously whipped up the most perfectly baked cookies. He's such an amazing guy, he really is a Jack of all trades...including baker! So I get to class, and they had said to buy the already pre-made icing that they sell, just for week one, so that we wouldn't screw up the recipe and the icing would be perfect for what we needed that night. They were wrong. The icing was so incredibly thick, than none of us in the class could pipe the icing out of the bag! It was ridiculous. Plus the taste of it was just nasty. I really don't like the taste of shortening...butter or margarine tastes much better in butter cream icing FYI!! Not to mention that the instructor (at no fault of her own) had so much information to teach us, that we had 20 minutes left in the class to practice and decorate our cookies. So I did do a few cookies, but the rest I did at home. I just did basic star tip designs. I forgot to take a picture that night, which was ok because I was horrible and was trying to channel my no-longer-with-us Grandmother for advice....didn't work.
Week 2 was a cake. We had to bake a cake and bring it un-iced. They had mentioned that if you bake it in a water bath, the cake will rise flat on top, instead of the usual dome on top that you always have to cut off. So I thought...I've made things in a water bath before...how hard could this be. The cake was done, I pulled it out of the oven and thought hmm, now how do I lift the cake pan out of the boiling water. So in my head I thought tipping the entire thing and slowly draining off some of the boiling water was a great idea. And the first attempt it was! I drained off a few cups and thought that should be enough to reach into and grab the cake pan. Nope, still too much water and my oven mitts would get wet. So I thought, ok I'll drain more water off. That's when I lost control of my cake pan and it slid to the end where the water was and SPLOOSH into the water it goes. I quickly dropped the whole thing in the sink and grabbed my cake and turned it upside down and watched the water pour out of my cake. Not going to be good. So I took the cake out of the pan and thought maybe it'll air out all afternoon and dry a bit, and it wont be so bad. So while it was air drying, I thought I better mix up my icing. I read the recipe over twice, grabbed all my ingredients and lined them up so I wouldn't forget a step. Mixed it all up and thought, hmm this looks runny, oh well, it might tighten up in the fridge until I leave for class. I get to class and my friend K beside me had her cake fall apart into 3 chunks, we had a good giggle over our mishaps, but I really thought my cake was ok. So then it was time to ice the cake...first a crumb coat and then the real deal. And my icing was just so runny. So much so that it looked like it was actually separating on the cake after I iced it. It was looking nasty. Then I had to draw a picture on it, and it was getting worse and worse. The instructor kept saying that I had mixed the recipe wrong. And I was stubborn and kept replying, I did exactly what the page says. Until I read it again and realized I added 7 tablespoons of water instead of 7 teaspoons of water. Oops my bad! So it was a soggy, separating mess. I left the class feeling deflated and so unsure of this course, and I guess I was a little reckless driving around corners, because my cake sort of slammed against my carrier case and well...this picture says it all. Oh and when I got home my fiance said he'd eat it, and when he took one bite I thought he was going to throw up, but all he said was Wow this is really moist...almost wet hey. Later he admitted how horrible it was.
So week 3 I think things started getting better. I had figured out how to make icing correctly and we did things that I really enjoyed doing. Pompom flowers, and leaves, shell borders, rosettes, all these fun things that allowed me to use my new tips I bought. We decorated cupcakes this week and I think they turned out pretty good. It's finally making sense in my head and I am also really enjoying it now too. Thank goodness!
Week 4, the final class. I baked my cake in a water bath and it was successful thanks to BBQ tongs to grasps the pan and get it out of the water!! I have now bought these water bands that wrap around my cake to make my life easier. I iced it in orange since Halloween is approaching and made a few more batches of icing in different colours and consistencies for decorating my final project. We also learned how to make a rose. Not a fancy rose, just a very basic rose. But it turned out ok. I could have made my icing a tad bit thicker, but it was ok. It was fun seeing all 7other girls do their cakes. We all did completely different patterns and designs and colours. But it was great to see other ideas for inspiration. I for sure have to get a decorating book they sell there for more ideas. And I really, really, REALLY need to practice everything I have learned.
