I just finished a cake, thankfully just for my husband, and man, was that a disaster!

The only thing that was fine about the cake was the pound cake itself. The filling was supposed to be the french custard from The Whimsical Bakehouse book but it tasted horribly like cornstarch and it was lumpy. I had to improvise and made guava mousse instead.

The buttercream, the house buttercream also from The Whimsical Bakehouse book tasted terrible but I didn't have time to make another. To make matters worse, I wasn't able to smooth it out because it doesn't crust or harden enough for me to be able to do so.

I made the candy melt swirls and tried to paint them with gold luster but that didn't work either so I gave up.

I tried spray painting for the first time and that was another flop. I used Wilton's Color Mist which I know is not ideal but hey. Now my nostrils are blue LOL. I couldn't figure out how to spray the border once I transferred the cake to the final board so the bottom border is white.

I photographed the cake and when I tried to move it to the fridge, I stuck my finger right into the buttercream, leaving a gaping white hole. My husband hadn't seen the cake at this point. When he finally came home and saw the cake he liked it (what else was he gonna say????) We put it back in the firdge to eat later and he tried to get something out of the fridge, causing an avalance and a pot of sour cream fell on the cake and scrapped a huge chunk of buttercream off the side, again leaving a gaping white hole.

Holy cow, what else can go wrong???? Granted, I was trying new things but still. At least I, finally, learned that I should stick to crusting buttercream.

Here's the cake before the finger and sour cream pot incident.



June

sorry about all that rain, but your cake is cute. I like the blue color and i think its looks good with the white border, probably better than it wouldve with a blue border. Like you said you were trying new things, there were bound to be problems, good luck next time!

at least you were trying new things on a practice cake and not on a paid order. i think its really cute. i probably would have done the swirls in bc right on the cake, instead of doing melt, but i get that you were wanting to practice with the melts. and i like the dark blue w/white border, i think it gives a nice contrast.

did it taste good?

We haven't cut it yet but I'm not keen on the buttercream, which I did try while decorating.

When I made WBH house buttercream, it actually tasted better the next day. I think it just needs that time for the flavors to meld. The second time I made it I used hot french vanilla coffee creamer for the liquid and I liked it much better. This is not a crusting buttercream but in my experience is really easy to smooth.
Melissa

Oh you poor thing - I've had those sort of days. I think you did a great job with all the problems you were having.

That is a very sweet cake! Tha WBH house buttercream is one of my favorites! You have to use the high ratio and whip it the full time, then it is just like whipped cream! It does need to whip for at least 15 minutes though! I also start with 3/4 cup boiling water and add more if needed. Try it again, you may really like it!
I bet your hbby will love it!
Tracy

I've made some of those same mistakes. That's why I now put cakes in boxes or some type of container - even if they're for my family. That helps avoid fingers stuck in the cake and keeps the cake from picking up any unwanted flavors from other food in the refrigerator.

Good job on the cake.

WBH frosting is not a crusting BC. The instructions in the book, for smoothing the frosting on their cakes, say that you must use a hot knife to smooth their icing.

Theresa

We cut it and the pound cake was fine but the rest was a bit blah. Oh well.

As for the smoothing, I did to the hot knife thing as much as I could. I honestly believe that working with fondant is SO much easier. Of course, there are many who believe otherwise LOL.

Thanks for all the support!

June