Okay this morning this cake decorating thing caused me to question my sanity! I have been working on my first out of the family/friends cake for a little girls birthday party. The theme is balloons and the design is her mums specifications.

I have posted on CC had heaps of help, Ive made four different practice cakes in different styles just so that I would get it perfect on the day. I baked the cakes last night and even made a spare in case I stuffed the carving part up.

I just iced the last star and started to decorate the cupcakes when I realised that I hadnt piped the highlight on the balloons. I felt like me whole world collapsed!

My brother who is a chef had popped around so here I am on my kitchen floor in floods of tears while my husband and my brother are looking at me with concern I think it was concern over my mental health!

After about an hour (thats how long it took to calm down, I pipped the highlights over the top.. still not happy but it will do.

Am I really losing it???? Is there anyone else who cracks up like this over cake???? I seem to be fine in other areas of my life but give me a cake disaster and I fall to bits. Maybe I am not cut out for this hobby?????

My husband has driven off to deliver the cake, my daughter holding on to it for dear life.

No, you are not crazy...I cried last week after decorating a cake for a 70th birthday party....I was finished but rushing to get everything delivered.

I said I was going to hang up my baking hat, but after I got such wonderful reviews from the customer on Monday, I forgot all about it.

Your cakes and cupcakes look great. Don't worry....now go make some cake balls with that leftover cake YUMMY!!!!

I think they all look wonderful. As they say, we are our own worst critic" or something like that.

I think when we are doing it for ourselves and family, we want perfection and all, but if there a small blooper it is kinda okay, but going outside of the area, it makes everything even more intense.

Take a deep breath and a glass of wine. Stay in the fun!!!!

this cake and the cupcakes are way too cute...


what I thik you did is what I tend to do with alot of things.. overthink.. u made so many practices and got so much help that you couldn't believe that you forgot to do the highlight... is that kinda what the feeling is?

I try not to think about it so much and just roll with it.. after all, it is a hobby (that I would like to pay for more than milk and eggs LOL), and it's supposed to be fun, or theraputic

smoochies and I hope u feel better

I don't think you should quite. I looked at the pictures and didn't see anything wrong with them at all. I think they look Awesome. The only way I knew what you did was because you told me. And I still don't see a flaw. I feel bad for you that it caused you so much grief. But they are so cute. You were probably very stressed because this was your first cake for someone else outside of family. You felt you failed and fell apart. I probably would have also. I have only done cakes for family and friends and freak out alittle when I mess up. So if it happens again take a deep breath. And tell yourself you are human and we make mistakes. Mistakes can be fixed. Here is a big HHUUGG for you

You are not alone in crying. I do the same. This is caused from being overwhelmed. Your cakes & cupcakes are very beautiful I didn't see a problem at all. Take a deep breath, smile. It's all over now.

Big hugs! I just completed a big cake for my first customer yesterday and the darn thing did not turn out as well as the one I made for myself. I messed up a whole batch of buttercream to top it all off because I added powdered coffee creamer to it and it was gritty. It can be very frustrating!

I looked at your photos and could not even see what you were talking about, I had to re-read your post. Your cakes look perfect to me! The strings are so hard to do and they look just right.

Hang in there! Next cake will be easier. I think everyone forgets things at some time or another, so don't be so hard on yourself!

no you have not lost it i did the same thing a couple months age while making my first really special cake for my new neice (baby shower cake)nothing seemed to be coming out of the pan. after working for almost all evening and well into the night i had to listen to my husbands idea just so i had a cake for the baby shower. Keep going your balloon cake is awesome and so are the cupcakes you are doing a wonderful job

Boy, do I ever know that feeling. I think we work ourselves into a tizzy just thinking, planning and practicing, that when the time comes to actually do it, we are almost NUTS!!! I would tell you not to sweat it the next time, but it won't do any good. It you are like me, you'll do the same next time too.
By the way, I think your balloons turned out perfect! You are the only one that would ever know that they weren't meant to be that way.

I think they are absolutely adorable! Where's the mistake? I see NOTHING wrong with the cake or the cupcakes!

No, don't quit. We are our own worst critics.


Soooo cute!

I deal with that, but I'm never happier than I am when I'm working on cakes - even though the stress makes me go nutty at first.

Rachel

The cupcakes and the cake look GREAT!!!!! You did a VERY Good job!!!!!!!!!

They came out fantastic. Don't worry about the crying part. Been there did that. Frustration is a funny thing.

Dont worry, i would say it's normal. It's happened to me twice where i cried. One was a transfer that i did on a cake for my very first sale and i picked up the cake to take a picture and it cracked all over, it was completely ruined, i had to do the whole thing again, and i had almost no fondant left to do the plaque again, i was shattered and had to stay up till 2.00am re-doing it, i cried and gave up making cakes that same day, even though it was my first sale. I had to go to work the next day, i was just sooo dissapointed and sooooo tired. But I got over it and kept going : ) then it happened again with a wedding cake, i was shattered, it jsut didnt work out the way i planned and i was scared it was going to fall apart, I even got physically sick over it, i couldnt sleep and felt terrible for weeks, until the customer sent me an email that they all loved the cake.

Your cupcakes and cake look adorable, very neat work, you should be proud, who is going to know that you made a mistake unless you tell them?? No one, not even us : )
Cheers
Happy Baking
Nati

Oh my goodness. You guys are sooooooo great! The cake has been delivered, the mum has rung to tell me she thinks its awesome

You guys have totally made me feel better.

My family are back home, strangely quite and avoiding me


thank you from the bottom of my heart

You did a great job and should be proud of them. It is true we are our own worst critics. Hang in there, it will get easier.

The balloons are beautiful and I love the colors. At least you realized you forgot it before you let the cake go to the customer. I always notice something missing after its gone and I am looking at my photos. I forgot Tinkerbell's magic wand on my Tinkerbell cake. My business partner/best friend sent out a Sponge Bob cake with out his socks and feet.

You live and learn - life's too short to sweat the small stuff!

Everyone is right in telling you that the cake and cupcakes look amazing! They look absolutely flawless. I think one of the things that makes a good baker, cake decorator, and/or chef is being able to come up with a great product especially when things don't go right. I mean think about it..if it was easy..everyone would be able to do it. But it's not..and there are always going to be issues with things not going as planned..but what makes you a great decorator is that you could still make it work and look amazing! Does that make sense? Food is just inconsistent and you never know what is going to happen and you can't always be prepared...but as long as you still deliver a great product than that is all that matters..and you sure as heck did! So you should be super proud! Take care! I hope I've helped

Your cake and cupcakes look wonderful! You did a beautiful job.
I had a bad episode about a month ago with a cake (I get nauseated just thinking about it) and I think it was my moment of truth. I was overwhelmed and tired, and after a series of disasters it was 5 am. I hated how the cake looked because it was a torturous experience and it didn't look how I planned. I refuse to even post it!!!
My husband came downstairs at around 2am and I nearly bit his head off and told him that if he didn't leave me alone I was going to lose it.
That morning as my husband took the cake to work for a going away party for a manager at the bank he works at, I never wanted to make another cake again.
I haven't been doing this for long, but it's in my nature to be critical of every cake I do. I can sit down and pick 10 flaws easily on each one. Maybe it's a right of passage....to have that moment of dispair when you question your skills and even sanity.

You have nothing to worry about. You are talented and you did an awesome job! There are bad days, and all you can do is get through them. It's okay to have a breakdown now and then.

Angie

may I add.....

it took a long time to tame the perfectionist in me -- what did it was my involvment in theatre where the moto is:

how does it look from 30 feet -- which tranlates to in the normal non-theatre world -- how does it look to the UNtrained eye?

once took a tour of the Metropolitan Opera in NY..got to go on stage and see a set up close....well, let's just say...30ft rule was being used. (duct tape is a wonderful thing! and bailing wire too!)

so don't panic -- just take a deep breath, mutter a few choice words and carry on w/ fininishing the task!

happy caking!

They look great, you are too hard on yourself. You need to lighten up on yourself! You do wonderful cakes and cupcakes.
Judy

I don't think you are crazy at all. I somewhat felt the same way in the last two days. I made a baby shower cake and wanted to use my mini bear pan. Well when it was time to get the pan I was missing the base part. So I was truly disappointed and had to rethink a new design for the cake b/c I wanted to make a good impression. Well as time went on I kept questioning myself whether or not I wanted to do this type of work. It is very stressful especially when you are running out of time or have to change the design at the last minute. Even when I finished my cake I was still disappointed in the way it looked. I was disappointed and depressed for a few hours. Everyone at the party said it was cute and tasted great but I just don't think the cake was good enough. I know we are all our own worst critics but this is not the only time that I've felt this way. I just feel like I'm loosing my touch. Some days are good and some are bad.

Maybe we just beat ourselves up to much about these cakes. So see you are not alone.

Your cupcakes and cake look wonderful and I'm sure your customer was more then happy with all your work!!
As for the crying thing; I sure hope it's normal as I do it quite often when I get frustrated with a cake. You have this perfect vision in your head but sometimes it doesn't look as good when you complete it. Take some time, step back and look at your pic a few days(weeks) later and you'll really appreciate your work.

P.S. When making my Wilton Course I final cake I threw things all over my kitchen and ran to my bedroom for a total breakdown...twice!!! DH thought maybe I should give it up...he's says I'm too much of a perfectionist....but would you want a decorator who isn't?

Please don't feel bad!!! I stress out every time that I make a cake because I want it to be perfect. I made a WonderWoman cupcake cake and it was AWFUL! I had a terrible time with the buttercream transfer and I really can't draw. It was for a friend's birthday, so I just about had a heart attack over it.

So where was the problem ...I mean I read your post, but couldn't figure out what problem you were talking about. The balloons...well aside from being cake looked normal So pretty and vivid....and the cupcake balloons looked realistic.