Failing to Gild The Lily

[ladysprite]

So it turns out I am not particularly talented at cake decorating. Which is to say that I rather suck at it. Not that this should come as a drastic surprise, as I lack the artistic talent of the average five-year-old, but it's rather humbling to realize.

No matter how hard I try, I can't get the top and sides of my cake to come out all smooth and flat and crisp and tidy. So I'm left with a lopsided, uneven template to begin with. And then my round dots wind up all pointy, and my lines are wobbly, and before you know it I'm coming home to present my husband with a cake that looks like the kind of fridge art you find on the houses of people with toddlers.

I'm not going to lie, it's still delicious. At least I haven't magically lost my talent as a baker. But that still leaves it the pastry equivalent of "well, she's got a great personality...."

Still, this was only the second class. And I have some leftover icing, and a week to practice before I have to try again. And next week is cupcakes, so at least I don't have to worry about the perfectly-flat-sides-and-top issue, at least for the moment.

And I'm proud of myself for the progress I've made internally, at least - I didn't come home and cry, or quit in a fit of pique, or throw the cake away, or any of the other "I'm not perfect so I might as well give up" behaviors I know I'm prone to. So that's something.

But damnit, I really do hate this segment of the learning curve.....

Comments

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

1) Someone with your extensive crafting skills does not have "the artistic talent of the average five-year-old."
2) Any new skill takes practice before you can become proficient.
3) What kind of equipment did they provide? If you didn't have a turntable, or a good spatula, it would be harder to get good results. Plus my mom taught me to always keep a glass of hot water nearby for cleaning/moistening the blade as you go, so it doesn't drag across the frosting.
4) The smoothness will also be greatly affected by the texture of the frosting. Did they provide that or are you mixing your own?
5) If you're adding e.g. a shell border, the edges don't have to be perfect b/c you're going to cover them anyway.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

I have a turntable and offset spatulas, and we're making our own icing. My problems stemmed, at least in part, from the fact that my cake was pretty seriously domed and muffin-topped (because the instructor made us bake it all in one pan, rather than two), so I had to cut off the edges and top. Leading to rough surface, unevenness, and crumbs galore.

I can crochet and spin, but I can't draw to save my life. I'm hoping that with practice (and with baking my cakes in two pans, darnit) I'll be able to overcome the latter....

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Did they have you do a crumb coat first? If not you were essentially doomed from the start.

I can't draw either, but I do OK with frosting...

[matildalucet.livejournal.com]

Mine got a little better (still far from professional) when somebody told me to turn the top layer upside down and use the flat bottom as the top.