It's a Cupcake Cake!

For our second class, we were to bring in one 8" cake and then level and fill the cake in class. Gluten free cakes do not rise well, so I made two 8" layers from one recipe (I used the yellow cake potato starch recipe from You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free. Strangely enough, this is my first gf yellow cake.) I made chocolate pudding with soy milk for my filling. As predicted, I WAS the girl on the train balancing a cake, a messenger bag, and an overflowing bag of cake make supplies. Taking this class is probably the first time I ever wanted a car in the city. I got nervous watching my cake slide around in its carrier on the over-crowded bus and eL.

During the class, we learned about curving lines and tight zigzags (which require holding the bag at an awkward 45 degree angle) and dimensional decorating. We also started coloring our icing - I bought the 12 color set (thank you, 50% off coupon!) so I have a variety of bold colors to use. After a few minutes of practicing the new techniques, we got to work on our cakes. Everyone in class worked at her own pace and soon our bare cakes were transformed into colorful creations as we iced the cake. While the icing was setting (put your cake in the fridge for 15 minutes if you can!), we mixed colors for our top design. The patterns for the designs are traced with piping gel on parchment paper and then placed on the cake and ever so gently transferred. The instructions in our class guide recommend using a paint brush; our instructor used her finger and said that the paint brush method was good for people who would otherwise have a very heavy touch. Well guess what - I'm a paint brush person.

My first attempt at transferring failed so I had to retouch my cake, wait 15 minutes for the icing to set, and then try again. When my cake was finally ready to go, I got to work with my various icing bags. Decorating the cake with dimensional decorating was much easier than I thought. I was basically making zig zags and circles and out came a gorgeous cupcake! The base of the cake was decorated with white circles.

I had one of those "Oh my God - I made that? (And it doesn't suck?!?)" moments.

Remember how I said I wish I had a car in the city? If I thought I was nervous with a naked cake moving around in its carrier while on public transit, I was panicking with an iced cake. I made it the few blocks to the train station and as I was sitting down on the eL, the cake shifted and one side got smashed. I brought most of my icing home with me, so I was able to perform some cosmetic surgery and return my cake to its original glory. I adhered the cake board to the base of the cake carrier with some duct tape and successfully and problem free carried it on the bus to work the next day. My coworkers loved the cake and I was happy to share something that looked beautiful and tasted great, too!

Next up: cupcakes and flowers. Don't worry - my cake carrier has cupcake holders so my creations won't slid.