My family doesn't really eat too much cake. I want to make cakes so I can practice and get the techniques down,and build up my portfolio. What does everyone do with their cakes?? I am hesistant to give them away to friends because that may make them think less of the time and effort I put into the cake and not want to pay fair prices for them in the future,if they ever want to purchase any. I'm just curious how does everyone else deal with this...

TIA.

i send them to work with my husband, they are all so happy when i do...

Off to work with my hubby!

No hubby here. We are getting a divorce. I am a SAHM so no "job" for me either. I'll start sending them to my mom's work.I'm sure the women will love me for making their asses so huge!

After I wear most of them...lol, and my friends and family have said "no more", I give as thank you gifts to the groomer, church, non-profit donation raffle, there is always someone to cheer up thier day! I auctioned off one for over $200 for a local pregnancy center! Face Book it! Oh, and now I get my dog's nails clipped free

I give them to any and everyone. I've dropped them off at the fire department, my chiropractor's office, you name it. Sometimes I post on FB for volunteers to take a cake off my hands too.

I usually quater then and give them to friends. Some people say no to a full cake but they willalways take a few pieces

I use styrofoam dummies, then tear the icing and fondant off and reuse over and over

My husband and I eat them all. Which is why we have both gained so much weight since I have taken up this hobby!

well today i posted it on my facebook and said who want to buy this cake today and mentioned the flavor it sold for $30

[/img]

I understand the dummy theory for just the decorating portion, but really about 75% of cake "decorating" is encountering the issues that arrive with the CAKE itself, so no disrespect to Madge and others that use that technique, but I like practicing on real cakes. That way, I can practice with different fillings and cake recipes to see how they carve, settle, and hold up to room temperature. ( A great example is the Guiness Stout cake recipe- a wonderful cake recipe- however, after about the 3rd day it REALLY dries up!!) Not to mention that I have discovered that a whipped ganache (atleast the semisweet one that I used recently) WILL squish out of the sides and the cake will buckle with it. Unfortunately, I had to learn this with a "real" cake order and thank God that I had baked extra layers as well as a couple of layers of my old standby, the white velvet cake, so that I, thankfully, was able to salvage the rest of the cake by just removing a layer on the top tier and adding a layer of white velvet to the bottom tier and filled the bottom with my buttercream icing instead of the ganache. Anyway, had I been practicing on a dummy, I never would have had that experience and been able to learn from it.

As far as who to give them to, there are always people that would be willing to take free cake!! Just make sure that you tell them that it is a "practice cake" and therefore no charge for THIS one. However, regular prices will apply if they want to order a cake or ask for a "practice cake" that is made with THEIR idea or design in mind!! I think most people will understand. And, quite frankly, I think that by doing it that way, you would actually end up with more people that want to purchase your cakes because, let's face it, they have actually EXPERIENCED your talent and KNOW the value of it at that point!!

In the very beginning, we ate cake all the time. Then I sent cakes to work with my husband, or took them to my sorority meetings. Then I made cakes for every conceivable occasion at my son's schools, from the time he was 3 (he's 23 now) till he was in middle school. Got tons of practice and as result, got lots of business.

I used to bring all of my extras into my office, but found that everyone got spoiled very quickly and started EXPECTING it all the time...usually without even a thank you! So I started bringing everything to the firehouse I pass every day on the way to work. Those guys are ALWAYS excited to get them and I feel good giving treats to people who really deserve them!

What a good idea... firemen! they really deserve any kind gesture

Mine are on my hips.......

Do ya'll try the cake before you give it away? Lol I thought about passing it out to my local firehouse,or kids school but I'd like to atleast cut out 1 piece to see if it tastes good.

Hubby takes them to work. They usually dont make it past noon.

I usually cut at least one piece to make sure my layers settle evenly, even layer of filling, and of course TASTE, but then I send the rest to work with my husband. He manages a restaurant and the servers usually devour it before the doors are even open!

Check to see if you have a local chapter of "Free Cakes for Kids" or some other charity that donates cakes to children in shelters. Some of those kids have never had a birthday cake. Ever.

For our local chapter, they post a list of cakes needed with the date, theme, servings, age, flavors, and delivery address and you pick the cakes you want to do. Great way to get practice for newbies or to try new techniques. The Spiderman cake I just posted was for this organization. The boy actually cried. Second time that's happened with one of these cakes.

Hopefully they're crying because they're so happy. That's what I like to tell myself.