Is that "Pomp and Circumstance" I hear? That's right - I graduated! Last night was our final Wilton 1 class, where we learned the famed Wilton Rose. And let me tell you, that thing is HARD! Not impossible, but hard. After making multiple cabbages instead of roses, the instructor finally told me I was turning the nail in the wrong direction. ::facepalm::
Next week I'll start Course 2 and learn how to do lots of different flowers. Can't wait! This cake is another Chinese 5-Spice cake, but it's filled with Cinnamon Roll pudding. Should be good, right? I'm sure Alex's coworkers will enjoy the sugar rush.
They still look slightly cabbage-esque, but I'm learning. This 7-rose bunch took me about 35 minutes.
So this week in Wilton 1 Cake Decorating was the infamous Clown Cake. Now, don't get me wrong...I don't really mind clowns. However, when I was told to purchase a bag of plastic smiling clown heads, well, that just struck me as really creepy. I had a bag of 6, but the only thing worse than a cake with one creepy smiling clown is a cake covered in 6 creepy smiling clowns.
My cake confession is that I'm using good ol' Betty Crocker for all these cakes. I just can't take the time to bake a whole cake from scratch every week. I did notice that my palate has changed, though. I found Betty's basic yellow cake to be kind of one-note, in terms of flavor. It's good, sweet, and moist...but only really has a basic taste. So this week, I experimented and dumped in a few tablespoons of Chinese Five Spice Powder. This is a mix of cinnamon, clove, ginger, anise, and fennel. Then I topped it with Wilton "Butter"cream, spiked with cinnamon and ginger. Overall, it was a pretty good spice cake, if I do say so myself.
I forgot to bring my camera to class, but you can see my new skills on the cake below. I like making flowers! I'm going to try making them on wax paper and freezing them for my final cake. This way, I can get them just right and then place them where I want on the cake.
I know the clown looks all cute and smiley, but he's really plotting evil frosting craziness. Trust me. If you listen closely, you can hear him cackle.
I give you my very first attempt at cake decorating! I beg of you, dear reader, please forgive the crappy photos. I blame bad lighting and a shaky post-decorating-cramped hand.
I had Wilton Level 1 class 2 last night and it was a blast. We learned how to pipe stars, lines, some wavy borders and writing. I need to practice my writing more, but I really liked it. Of course, the writing was very easy when you're tracing a print, so we'll see how it goes free-handed. I didn't get to finish everything in class, so I rushed home to finish the cake before Alex got home. He loved it and I'm pretty dang proud of it. However, I did learn a few things:
1) Red icing SUCKS to make. It took me about 3 days to finally get the shade I wanted
2) Must. Wear. Glasses.
3) Red icing stains. Everything.
Here are some photos from class. If you've been thinking about taking the class, you totally should! I use my coupons for everything, so I don't pay full price on any of the supplies. My plan is to go through all 4 levels, all the way up to Gumpaste and Fondant...we'll see how that goes!
Writing Practice
Stars, lines and wavy borders
Supercake takes shape...
The woman across from me did this great palm tree. Isn't it cute?
PS - For anyone who is wondering, the Wilton "Buttercream" recipe contains no actual butter. It's totally parve, so you could technically serve it with a parve cake.
Is that "Pomp and Circumstance" I hear? That's right - I graduated! Last night was our final Wilton 1 class, where we learned the famed Wilton Rose. And let me tell you, that thing is HARD! Not impossible, but hard. After making multiple cabbages instead of roses, the instructor finally told me I was turning the nail in the wrong direction. ::facepalm::
They still look slightly cabbage-esque, but I'm learning. This 7-rose bunch took me about 35 minutes.
