Knead for Speed

My Tiffany Blue Creation

A primary frustration for me when it comes to Baking elaborate cakes - was how time consuming they could be.  

In my maiden attempts, some cakes would take me 10 to 12 hours to complete.  No, that is not a joke.  Clearly that kind of timeline can be prohibitive and downright discouraging.  Rachel would help me pare down that problem, to be sure.

The key, as in most things, is Preparation.  That means having all of your ingredients pre-measured out and your Baking/Decorating Equipment clean and in place.  A personal dishwasher to clean up after me wouldn't hurt.  Hey, a girl can dream!

Notice the shapes cut out of this sheet cake

For more than two years since I first began seriously Baking...I would use individual cake pans of varying sizes.  Rachel's way made much more sense.  Bake a full sheet or a half-sheet cake (which is the largest that will fit in my residential oven) and cut your double-layered cake shapes from a single spread.  Not only do they cook MUCH faster, but it gives you the freedom to layer thinner cakes instead of slicing thicker cakes horizontally in-half.  Much, much easier her way.

Not to get too much into the minutia, but it's these kinds of tips which would save me a world of Baking Heartache when it comes to making cakes.

Rachel forced me to do all the handiwork myself.  It was the best thing she could have done because I got comfortable with the whole process.

Another must-use tip - what she called Crumb Coating.  This is the act of lathering on a thin layer of frosting onto the cakes, then chilling them.  Repeat with more frosting/chilling a couple more times so that the outer layer is smooth and solid to the touch.  Then and only then, is your cake ready to be Dressed!  

Therein lies the next big hurdle for me - the Fondant.  I had a pretty good handle on how to work with it...but still found it a challenge.  One minor detail that proved to be a major mistake - was that I failed to use protective gloves in the past when kneading food coloring into my Fondant.  For those who've worked with food coloring, you know how stained your hands can get.  Using it on Fondant is a horse of a different color...in that it's much, much worse! 

Perfectly Enrobed

Once I cleaned up my act on that front, I learned how to Enrobe properly (cover/dress the cake with the Fondant)...which entails securing the fondant to the base of the cake in a way that avoids wrinkles or cuts.  Not an easy task, but as I proved to myself - Practice makes nearly Perfect (and Perfect, it need not be).  

In the end of our marathon Baking Day...I learned a host of things.  That repetition breeds comfort...and with comfort comes confidence.  And that the greatest skill you can have in any kitchen (and probably in life) is being Adventurous and Unafraid.  The beauty is, if you screw it up, you can wipe the counter clean and start from scratch - or at worst, modify your Imperfections.  There's really nothing much to lose...so don't be so hard on yourself.

Seasonally Sweet

In Rachel, I learned from one of the best.  She was a great and extremely patient teacher who was willing to share everything she knows.  As a mother of four, a devoted wife and small business owner - she instinctively could relate to my Sweet Dream.  I had so much to learn from her.  I had a feeling, this lesson was just barely scraping the surface.

Sweet Dreams, 

Me

"Learn from your mistakes and build on your successes." - John C. Calhoun