What do you do when you are just not in the mood to decorate a cake?

This is not a business for me, mostly requests from family and friends. I really enjoy making and decorating cakes but sometimes after I have committed to a cake, the day rolls around and I just don't feel like doing it and that's when things go wrong and I'm not happy with the cake.

Maybe I just needed to vent. Thanks.

I know how you feel. I am just a hobbiest too. I'm there right now with my daughter's bday cake. I wanted it to be more low key then last year, but it's even bigger. She wanted the Disney castle and in the beginning, (2 months ago) I was so excited and was planning and thinking myself to death. Got most of it done, but now I just sick of it and wonder why I went to so much work for a bunch of 6 year olds. I have been putting it off and now if have only a few days to finish as the party is this weekend. My consolation, is the smile I will get from my daughter when she sees it all done. BTW..the base for the cake is 20 x 30.....not low key at all, ha, ha.

We do cakes even when we don't feel like it because when we see the happy faces, it's all worth it!

I hope I can help with this.

If you are just a hobby baker/decorator for family and friends, I am hoping that they give you free choice (or almost free) on the design of the cake. I am also just a hobbyist and I never have and never will charge for a cake. Because it is my hobby I am thrilled to death when a new event rolls around that I get to be a part of. I have been told a zillion times that I have what it takes to open a real business with my cakes and I turn down the thought each time. I love to come up with designs that are my own creation and ideas. If I have to conform to others ideas, then it is not fun anymore and I might as well be paid for it and then it becomes a business even if it at times it might be "volunteer" work because of the lack of understanding on others part as to the amount of time and effort that goes into creating a beautiful cake. When I feel that a design is not working for me as far as excitement to get started, I look for inspiration and different concepts that might get the juices flowing. I would never want my love for this hobby to become a chore. And if you are like minded, I would consider the manner in which you approach and are approached when a new cake is in the works. Just my opinion.

I'm a hobbyist as well and I'm right there with ya. I usually feel this way when I try to do too many cakes in a month. The perfect number for me would be one, but it hardly ever works out that way.

I don't hate baking and making icing, but the resulting mess is so depressing. That is usually the reason I don't want to deal with it. To get around this I try to do as much beforehand as I can, and in stages, so it's not so overwhelming.

In the end it is worth it...I just wish someone would come and clean my kitchen up for me!

I feel that way when I get to the last cake of the week.. every time! lol
I always try to save something really fun for the last cake I do each week... because usually I'm just worn out and not in the mood anymore.
I think we all feel that way sometimes

its funny how our mood can really effect our decorating. I take orders and sometimes if its just not a design im into then i try to remind myself that what i think doesn;t matter. This is what the customer wants this is what they will get. So id suggest to go do something else for an hour or 2, if you have time, then generally your mood will be differant when you go back to decorate. Sometimes you just need to not think about it then get to work.

I am a hobby baker too and I have not been in the mood for months. I think I just got caked out. I need to make some cookies to send to a friend and even that I can barely muster the enthusiasm for. Right now the thing for me is baking, I am baking up a storm as long as no decorating is involved.

I have the opposite problem. I've only been caking for a year and can't seem to stop - I've even started imposing my cakes on coworkers and friends - practically begging people to let me make them cakes right now or even forcing my cakes onto people (I call it cake rape) I do find that if I clean as I go it makes the ending mess less depressing and gross plus it helps to periodically clean the buttercream grease and sticky fondant off my hands at the same time

I was a hobbiest for a very long but I made a mistake in the beginning - I wouldn't say "no". If you don't feel like decorating, don't make the cake. I did and I got burned out really bad for a lot of years. When you are in business, things are different but as a hobbiest, you can always say no.

Hey there,,, don't feel bad or fret! I think we can all say we get that way sometimes too!

I know in the beginning for me, I would "just get the cake decorated" and worried about the cleanup after. Ssshheesshh, it took me much longer doing the clean up.
So, I got into the habit of clean as you go. It does make it easier.

I've even gone to be decorating and about 1/2 way through, I'm already tired of looking at the cake, decorating the cake and so on. So, I step away from the cake, take a nip here or there (just kidding on the nip), but would take a coffee break and then get back into finishing the cake.

I have done the "caked out" thing and did take a breather because I found I was making errors in decorating the cake and ended up totally tossing out the cake and starting over. It was getting frustrating.
But when you see all these GORGEOUS pictures on this site, you eagerly want to get back into the cake decorating.

HTH too!

Yeah many weeks I'm ready to just be done with caking haha. But then I realize that its an awfully fun way to make money, compared to anything else I could be doing! (i.e. my old schoolteaching days!)

I think alot of times its hard to get inspiration, especially doing cakes that other people have chosen, rather than using our own creativity.

Thank you everyone for your support. It's good to know that everyone feels this way sometimes! I think I had a run of too many cakes within a short period and a few designs that I personally didn't like. That does make a huge difference. The free choice of design with little guidance cakes are the most enjoyable and I recently had a cake request that had way too many ideas she wanted to include. But we made it through.

I agree that in the end the smile on the recipients face makes it all worth it and I do try to keep that in mind. Hopefully this will pass soon, I have a wedding cake to do in June. But once I start making the flowers I'm sure I will get inspired. Thanks again!

when you get like that, just start booking out your calendar.

I am in business and get burned out too........I just got done with an 8 day stretch of cakes.

Mon.-2 cakes due, Tues, -1 cake due, Wed. -3 cakes due, Thursday, 2 cakes due, Friday 1 cake due-Sat. 2 cakes, and Sunday 2 cakes and finally yesterday 2 cakes...........during this time we had my sons birthday party saturday, church sunday am., chuck e. cheese, sunday afternoon........sunday night, church ..........

AND my inlaws came in town friday and stayed until Monday! So that whole time I had to keep everything spotless (not an easy feat)

I know exactly how you feel. I have to do a 3-D duck cake for this weekend and have orders for several cakes, cupcakes, and a cookie bouquet and I'm just not feeling it. THe lady that ordered the duck called to confirm we were still on (funny how people think you FORGOT you took an order) and honestly, I was hoping she was calling to cancel the cake!

I know how you feel!! Just book yourself out for the next couple weeks until you get the mood back, it WILL come back!

Good grief, KH, I don't know how you do it!!!!!

I would go crazy. I"ve already been starting booking myself out at like 3-4 cake orders per week, otherwise I get cranky!

I am a hobby baker too.... and I certainly know how you feel. I usually just do sheet cakes for birthdays, but this past year, have been doing some other things...trying to branch out some.

My Sister has asked me to do her the grooms cake for her daughter's wedding. Its going to be a 2 tiered cake, and I have really been stressing out over it. I have had several questions in the last few days!! I am flattered she asked, but not too sure I can really do it.

But I also agree with everyone else... the smile and hug that my niece will give me will be worth it all!!!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.

I'm a hobby baker, too, and all the cakes I've done are just because I want to do them. Unfortunately...

I tend to plan something I really want to do, but then, either because of poor time planning or because I just don't feel it when it's time to work on it, I run out of time to do what I want to do. I've never actually got around to decorating a cake (excepting the one I was working on with a friend, and so she ended up being the driving force in the end, and that one didn't turn out at all like I wanted). I've just had to be happy I got it baked, torted, filled, stacked, and frosted. Oh, and of course that it ends up tasting really good... but one of these days, I want to actually decorate one and make it look as good as it tastes.