Operation cake-Round 2

So today I decided to get back on that metaphorical horse and once again attempt to tackle..."The Cake." I took my time with the cake. Sweet talked the cake. Mixed the cake slowly, yet with purpose. Massaged the cake. Complimented the cake. I had serious cake 'game,' if I do say so myself. I documented my time spent with my new BFF the cake, which you can share with me below....

So here she is, all mixed and ready to go. Isn't she pretty?

Here she is going into the oven. I told her this super exclusive 'sauna treatment' was good for her pores..

No, your not drunk, she is in two pieces. Double the pleasure, baby.

Here she is with her filling(Not the ACTUAL filling we will use, just some stuff I had lying about) and ready to be put back together.

This is after I put the fondant on. I know its far from perfect but I was pretty pleased with myself for never having used this stuff before.


Another angle. I thought it might look cool to be able to see the shape of the top, I dunno, all I can see are those wrinkles in the fondant. Hmm.
So this is the cake after David took his piece. LOL. I think he liked it, he was making 'mm' noises, thats always a good sign.

I didn't do any decorating on this cake, I was just happy it didn't shit in my oven. After this session we kind of collectively decided as a group that eating fondant is kind of weird and we should just ice the cake. It's like eating playdoh, consistency-wise. So my next cake I shall ice and decorate, stay tuned for that. I have to say though, that I very much like the idea of slicing the top of the cakes off though to make them flat, I always wondered how they got them to look like that....

My first attempt..

Alright, so I actually started my very first of what I'm sure will be many 'practice sessions.' Up until today I thought I was familiar with the ins and outs of cake baking, yeah, I was wrong. DEAD wrong. So I started out this morning after several cups of coffee, rearing to go and eager to try out all my goodies.

This is me, trying to make an interesting blog..BUT WAIT. Seriously wait for it, it gets better...

So I make two batches of cupcakes, one white, one yellow. Seeeeee.....Now, we just bought simple box batter for me to practice with, when it's the real deal, I'll make it from scratch. I don't know if it was the batter we chose, (hey shut up, it was only 99cents!) infact, yeah, we're going to go ahead and blame it on the faulty 'batter' cause I am super confident in my cake baking skills. Anyways, something went horribly astray with the cake. See diagrams below..

This is my cake going into the oven, lookin good, yeah? So I set the timer and seek entertainment elsewhere in the house. A short while later, but definately not long enough for the cake to be done I start to smell something and I head back into the kitchen to investigate. whats happening in my oven is beyond me, honestly. The cake was like oozing and burning, simultaniously. Sick, I know this. It was at that point that I decide to pull the plug on operation 'cake' and take it out of the oven. Later I will be cursing this cake to no end while I am cleaning out 'cake turds' that were left all over my oven. NOT happy.

This is the cake upon exit of my oven. Please note the cake turds off to the side there.
This is the cake after sitting for some time, and also after the kids picked away all the cooked parts around the edge. Better shot of that cake turd for ya. ;)

So I give up on the cake and move on, I have cupcakes to decorate! After much reading and staring and scrutinizing of pastry bags and tips I dive in, using and abusing every tip just to get the hang of what it is exactly, that each one does. After much focused concentration and a bellyache from eating too much frosting, I produced some OK looking cupcakes. Definately not something I'd openly call my own, but not horrible for a first attempt. Hey, I've never used a pastry bag and tip, shut up!

Pics of the awesomeness for your viewing pleasure::

And last, but certainly not least, my personal favorite of the bunch:
Come on, you know you like it.

Seriously, I have a frosting belly ache..

And so it begins...

So.

My sister is getting married this year. Springtime. May. 9th. (I think) She's trying to have the most amazing wedding possible, but on a budget, nothing wrong with that. She asked me if I thought I could handle making the wedding cake, and while this idea is highly intimidating, I have to admit I was kind of digging the idea. I, like every specimen of the female persuasion (whether you admit it or not!), have always dreamed of making beautiful edibles covered in perfect fondant and decorations. After some research I discovered something that I hoped would work for all of us.

HAHAHA!

I kid, I kid.

But seriously, I did find this picture, and many others like it:

Gorgeous, right? (And for the sake of NOT getting in trouble, this is NOT! my image, I merely 'borrowed' it.)

So after much discussion and planning it was decided, I would make a wedding cupcake cake. Immediately my creative juices started flowing and I was brimming with ideas. I thought it would be fun to create a blog to document my experiences as I go along, the trials. The tribulation. The massive screw ups. (Cause you know there will be many!) Anyways, we've gone out shopping this past sunday and I have much in the way of baking 'booty' in my posession.

....Now the real fun begins.....