Wilton Flowers and Cake Design - Class 4

It was time for the final class in Wilton's Flowers and Cake Design curriculum. Time to tie together everything I learned into one beautiful cake! I spent an hour or two researching my general idea on Pinterest and found some inspirational photos of baskets lovingly filled with flowers. (Check out my Pinterest Cakes and Cupcakes board for some eye candy.) I made all my flowers in advance and came to class with half filled bags of leftover brightly colored frosting and over two pounds of brown for the basket. Another blogger lamented the fact that the supply list only asked for 1 1/2 cups of frosting - she was only able to basketweave a tiny portion of the cake. Since matching colors is next to impossible, especially for something as bold as the basketweave, I made way too much. Better safe than sorry, right?
...Or is it better safe than having a naked cake?

In class I learned two new techniques: the reverse shell and the basketweave. I say "I learned" because for whatever reasons, our class of five shrunk to only one. I felt like the last one standing in a reality TV show! And what did I get as the lone survivor (who ironically is lactose and gluten intolerant)? A fancy certificate of completion, individual attention, and a delicious cake!

My cake turned out beautifully. I was able to effectively and elegantly tie in majority of the royal icing techniques (except for the troublesome rosebud - I blame being left-handed as my downfall on that one). My co-workers loved "cake day" and I was thrilled to share my final project with them. The cake was Bob's Red Mill Chocolate Cake with almond milk.