AOn the subject of family being 'too' nice in their feedback..... this Saturday I was at a family meal at my inlaws (Hubby was busy so I went alone :) ) and I had a 'spare' 6" fruit cake in the cupboard, knowing my father inlaw loves fruit cake I covered it in sugarpaste without marzipan......he HATES marzipan so being HIS birthday he got it without...at Christmas he got no choice on the Christmas cake as it was for their household!!! :) I am still learning new techniques and received a stencil as a Christmas present so decided to try it out.....the end result looked a bit like a wedding cake to me, but I had fun doing it....and I knew he would enjoy eating it.

My sister in law was also there...and the subject of the cakes I made for everybody at Christmas came up. MY parents got my first attempt at covering a cake in Royal icing.....which was a huge learning curve for me......and they told me that my marzipan was 'too thin'. At which point my Sister inlaw was astounded they would be so ungrateful for their present. I now know that any feedback from her house will be her being nice to me and trying not to hurt my feelings :) I did taste the cake I did for them so I know that it was good. I explained that as I was growing up my Dad was VERY honest in any crititque he gave to any home cooked meal/cake.....this in turn means that if I can please my Dad...the end product must be good. I made jam this summer...my dad was happy...so I entered it into the local show and got a first prize....out of 7-8 entries...the family joke being was I the only entrant! I personally would MUCH rather people were honest.

To the OP....your work is so much better than mine on so many levels, I can't do a smooth buttercream technique, your response from other CC'ers is clear and I can see their professional eyes doing the talking. Keep at it, and good luck.

A

Sounds like my family! When my sister was in night school, she was brilliant. (Still is) Anyway, she comes homes from school one day and announces at dinner that she's receiving some sort of award the next day from Harvard. Well we all bust a gut laughing and dad says "Yeah...probably Harvard clown college!"

So the next day my sister had forgotten something she needed at school, so my father decides to take it down for her after his run. He was told she was In the library so in he goes, all sweaty in a tank top, right into the middle of a ceremony with all of these fancy Harvard University people! He was a little embarrassed :D

In his defence, we are Canadian..and who would have thought an American university would give a high school kid an award? :lol: