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

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

But that still leaves it the pastry equivalent of "well, she's got a great personality...."

This is exactly backwards. The PURPOSE of a cake is to taste good, not to look good! If your cake is delicious, you've succeeded; anything else is lagniappe.

I have more than once had the unfortunate experience of seeing an absolutely lovely professionally-decorated cake, getting a slice, and discovering that the beautiful icing was the only worthwhile thing about it -- the cake underneath was flavorless and dry. I'd much rather have a slice of one of your "failures".

[hermitgeecko.livejournal.com]

Second this.

[udalrich.livejournal.com]

I have a friend who would regularly sore up at gaming night with a dessert type dish. She would then apologize with something like "this did not come out at all like I intended. It has chocolate and strawberries in it."

Our response was always, "it has chocolate and strawberries. It is delicious." We didn't care what it looked like or what it was supposed to be.