Hi all,
I am making a cake for my mom, I am trying a hat box cake. Well.. the fondant flowers turned out great, and I am very pleased.

The cake's baked up nicely....

The lid of the cake (I didn't check how to do them and did it all out of fondant - it turned out, OK... the bow on top is ok )

But today I almost dropped the already bc iced cake on the floor. It was too tall with two cakes (each torted in half) so I am just using one cake (the other cake I will give to DH for his birthday Monday)

HOwever, I forgot to cover the cake board, because I was in a hurry to try to get the cakes apart. (so now it looks icky)

My fondant did not turn out, so I will now have to stop at the grocery store and get wilton fondant to cover it with because I don't have time to make anymore. (I am leaving Saturday Morning - (I am working now) and I have to finish the cake this morning, then sleep, pack, get my animals ready -- )

I feel so out of my league right now. I love cake decorating, but I'm starting to wonder if I should really be doing this. I will continue trying - it can only get better, right?

I know I just started but, I just hope this cake turns out, I haven't seen my mom in a while, and I am surprising her for a late mother's day present, she has seen pictures of the cakes I have done, I just wanted her to have one..

Sorry this is soo long

Have a good day everyone.
Nikki

When I did my DD's cake (1st cake ever) I was thinking the same thing! I think all bakers are really fustrated artists! I mean it's not like you just bung a cassaroll together or something, lets face it baking is the easy bit, it's the hours spend smoothing, piping, kneading, shaping and balancing the cakes with our 'creative juices' running overtime, we are forever unsatisfied artists brooding over our work and intently thinking about the next 'piece'!

I bet your cake looks fab and your Mum will love it!
Post a pic if you can!

I agree with Shola. I know I definitely have days of "will I ever get better?" and I'm sure others do as well. It's especially hard when we have high expectations of our work and then it's harder than it seems like it should be or doesn't turn out as well as the picture in our head (or on our computer!).

I think everyone feels like that sometimes. I know I've had a plan for a cake and had it not come out right, and had to scrap it at the last moment and do something different.

One thing that helps me, with a fondant-covered cake, is to do as much as I can in advance...since it will keep for a couple of days, I usually finish it the day before I really need it. That way, if something doesn't work out, I have a little time to do something different.

I am fairly new to this too and every cake I have baked and decorated so far has been a learning process. Sometimes it is frustrating. I keep telling myself what I tell my 7 year old all the time...It is ok to make mistakes but remember to learn from them. Do not get discouraged. Try to enjoy the process instead.

I do understand what you are all saying. Everytime I make a cake I feel like I am out of my league. I love baking cakes and I especially love it when it turns out well. When I am in what my DH calls my cake mode he just stays out of my way. The bad thing is I stress out so much when I am doing a cake. That is the time when I feel as though I should quit. But I don't. I try to learn from my mistakes and I strive to improve my techniques. I just wish I had more of an imagination to design wonderful cakes like the ones that on this site. I keep trying. And that is what is important. Knowing that we have this site and the great people here to come to for help, well what could be better!

And, I always try to re;mind myself - it is cake. The most importnat thing is that it tastest great. No one wants to bite into a beautiful cake only to find out that it tastes awful! People remember the taste first, and looks second.

Sometimes I feel like a trained monkey - I can create what I can see, but my imagination is limited. I wish I were as truly talented as many of the decorators I read about. I keep hoping that it's a matter of experience, and not just innate talent.

HOPE that is what keeps us going. Think about this at every level there is ALWAYS someone better. Heck within a 50 mile radius of where I live there are two nationally known award winning cake Chefs. Oh yeah like I'm going to break through that wall. LOLOL. Go back to the very first time you iced a cake. Look at how much better you are now. How about the first time you used fondant. How much did you have to scrap off your hands before you could think about using it.
In the end ya get to eat cake

Mike

Hi all the cake is in my photo's ... I'll post a link as soon as I am able to get one.

It turned out ok! However, part of the bow broke after I put it in the cake carrier... (I thought it would be better it has a 8.5 hour wait and a 5 hour drive to go this evening.) But it turned out better than I thought it would yesterday. Thanks for all the encouraging words!

Have a great day!
NIkki

here's the link

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1221543

awesome cake! see, it wasn't out of your league!

It looks great ! My cakes never turn out like I see them in my head. I have found ,the more special I want a cake to be , thats the ones Im the least happy with ! The ones I dont stress over and just have fun. because its maybe just a practice cake etc ! They turn out the very best ! Crazy !

Oh my goodness - that's beautiful!

I came here for a little "my cake isn't turning out like I planned" support...and after reading your post, I feel much better...

...the cake in my head is never the one that gets delivered, but hey, no one knows what the cake in my head looks like!! LOL!!

So far, this morning, I've gone from a 3 tier fondant covered cake, to a 3 layer buttercream covered with fondant accents cake.

And it's all good


...I just hope that bow dries in time - eh, if not, there's always ribbon!!

I know your mom will love her cake!

Nikki, relax!! Your cake is beautiful, from the flowers to the colors... you did a great job!

I realized something with the last cake I did. I made one of the baby-in-the-bubbles cakes that I have seen on here and I just love them. So I had to try my hand at it. I think it came out ok... there were many things on the cake that I was doing for the first time... so there was a learning curve. Of course, I think there are many things I could have done better on the cake, but it was ok.

Then, I took it to work for a baby shower there... and everyone was just fascinated with it. They also thought that it tasted great. Alot of people were surprised it was cake. I am talking to a couple people now who want to buy a cake from me!

Well, after listening to these people, I started to realize that I judge myself from what I see here and on the food network. These are people with years of training and experience and their cakes are gorgeous! I do this as a hobby right now. I love to challenge myself to do something new and creative - but to try to compare myself with some of the amazing cakes I see here and on tv - it's just not fair to myself! The people who saw and ate my cake loved it! I posted a pic here and got a couple nice compliments... but for the most part - it doesn't compare with some of the great cakes on here. That is ok with me... I did my best at the time I did it. I will continue to learn and enjoy. Because I do this to for the fun of it. And if it's not perfect - at least it is made with love.

Your mom knows how much effort you put into her cake... and how much love. She will love it! Great job!

Your mom is going to LOVE that cake! It's gorgeous!!! Let us know all about it, ok? It's really beautiful.

Hi everyone!
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement!!!

I didn't tell everyone but I surprised my mom, she had no idea I was coming.... She was soooo surprised that she was eating a sandwhich when she opened the door and almost choked on it. She started crying and everything (this was her belated mother's day present - I have never been to her hosue since she moved away when she got remarried) So that kind of stole the thunder away from the cake, however she is very happy with the cake and liked it very much. (Her husband and I cooked up this sceam and told her UPS was bringing her a package (from me) then when I got here I parked behind a van, called her and said did the package arrive yet, of course she said no, so I said, well let me go up and check on the computer to see where it's at... (then I knocked on the door ! What a great present I could give her! So we are talking and catching up this weekend...