love this thread!

i dont like frosting.... EXCEPT cream cheese frosting.... that i eat by the spoonful! fondant... eww.
not a big fan of cake.... unless its MY white chocolate with rasp filling.....
now cake balls.... very different.... yummy.. i prefer them undipped... mixed with Kalhlua.... and almost frozen.....
i am a total procrastinator... i work better under pressure.
and ALSO, i also plan out the cakes but they rarely come out as planned! very frustrating. i also rarely do the same cake twice.

Melvira-I'm glad you are okay! That sounds so scary!! BTW-when you feel better you'll think this comment is funny...I didn't know they had stop lights in Iowa!

My confession is that I really don't like cake, I can do without frosting and I'd rather eat a whole loaf of freshly baked bread than anything sweet. I eat chocolate about once a year to be polite (except for my sister's toffee!!) and when I don't know how to do something, I will tell a customer I've done it SEVERAL times, then stress and put off the job until the last possible minute, do it, and wonder why I stressed. I work best under pressure and usually have 5 projects going at once. I'm bored if I don't and I will purposely put things off just to test myself. It's a sickness.

I used to love cake and buttercream, but now that i am teaching and making cakes, I get grossed out. Although mu hubby eats all of the scraps and empties my icing bags...gross......
I also like to wait for the day before a cake is due and then freak out that I'm not good enough.....but i work better under pressure.

Tiptop, It's no secret, I like my work too. Once in a while I do a cake that I feel looks thrown together, but most of the time I'm very pleased with my results. If I didn't enjoy it and like my own work I'd stop doing them. I'm very particular what leaves my kitchen.

I do certain things and not others. Some because I haven't learned it yet and others because I don't want to do them. Inthe past I've just had to tell people I don't do character/kiddie cakes but now I have a local cake lady/friend I can refer them to. Yeah Skinnycakelady!!

This isn't my livlihood so I can afford to be particular. When it stops being enjoyable I'll quit.

I can't cuss like a trucker but I always talk to myself when I work. Ü

Throw away tips and couplers? Zowee! If you use disposable bags you can cut the bag off a couple inches from the coupler/tip and push the bag thru the tip to empty it out without getting your hands messy. I do this all the time. The after removing the coupler ring snip the bag up the side and pop the tip out. I throw them into hot soapy water and let the icing melt out before using the tip brush to clean. I use paytex gloves to wash dishes that don't go into the dishwasher. I could never afford to decorate cakes if I threw away perfectly good materials.

I had a ton of orders one weekend and simply couldn't throw in another one for my daughter's 15th birthday on Tuesday. She was having a little party the following Friday, so I knew I'd be making her a cake for that. Soooooo, on the way home from work, I ran into a convenience store and bought a pack of Hostess cupcakes. After dinner, I put a candle in the hostess cupcake and we sang happy birthday to her. pretty sad when your own kids don't get one of your specialties!!!

I'm sure you've all been there, RIGHT??????????????

Hey Melvira..........remember when I wrote:

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm but honestly, I REALLY DIDN'T put a hex on you........And I am very, very glad you and your mother are safe!

(But if I were you I wouldn't do anything risky for a while.........!)

Melvira, I am so glad to hear you are okay.

I like to listen to really loud music while I decorate. I also dance around the room when something goes as I had envisioned. Sometimes, I even break out the rap music that dh listens to.

I hate cleaning tips, so I too let them soak for days. I suck the icing out of tips sometimes, but I always spit it out. I love the taste of BC, but I am really trying to lose 10 lbs. and those are the HARDEST ones to lose.

I am not a huge fan of cake balls.

I refuse to eat chocolate cake at restaurants because I have heard some restaurants add mayonnaise to make it more moist, and I have a FEAR of Mayo! I refuse to even touch a jar of it. I call it mayophobia. If DH wants mayo, he has to buy it. And I keep it out of sight in the back of the fridge.

Hey Mel--really glad to hear you & mom are ok. Could have been much worse.

More from the confessional chamber: I have been known to call in when I'm overwhelmed with orders. Or not so overwhelmed...

I have invented NEW cuss words when something cake-related goes askew. And I scream so loud that sometimes the neighbors' lights come on! (Not really--we're out in the boonies. But I will scream purty good.)

I use disposable bags exclusively.
I'm anal about my tips/couplers/pans getting cleaned immediately.
I boil the tips/couplers for 10 minutes at a time and pour boiling water with sanitizer in it into the pans to soak after washing.
I can't say "no" to people about cake/dessert/catering. No matter what else comes up, I feel compelled to take the order and deliver it.
I almost never cook on "cake nights." We get take out or order in.
I'll show a cake buddy a new technique I've learned---and then secretly wish I hadn't!

The WORST?? The BIG ONE??






















I never mention CC to any of my cake buddies. It's my secret weapon!--Knox--Suddenly I feel so....so...."clean."

I always just say "The cake site I go on"!!!!!

Melvira,

I am so glad to hear that you and your mom are doing okay. How scary that must have been for you.

I confess... I threw out an ENTIRE 7" cake today... It was a quasi-leftovers Dora cake I did for DD's birthday party that SIL threw because she wouldn't accept that we weren't going to do a party for DD... My freehand when it comes to characters isn't exactly there... I couldn't bring myself to serve it and even DH said I should scrape the Dora off... Well, I made the dora pan and the cake sat on the counter... Until I said "enough, I'm going to toss it today and out it went

Mel... Great to hear you're both doing o.k. after the accident! Could have been SO much worse given what you've said... There had to be an angel looking out for you!

I confess, I lick the beaters before I put them in the dishwasher. OOOOHHHH it feels so good to confess

I turn into a rabid beast when I am baking--NO one in the kitchen! Bad things happen when extra bodies appear-"mom, I dropped this tray of cookies it was an "accident""

I can't stand the taste of cake either or cookies for that matter?

I too have big ideas that never come to light. Maybe because I wait until the last minute?

i don't really like cake, fondant, frosting or basically anything sweet. the only time i'll eat something sweet is when i crave for it and i usually get sick of it two bites after....i think that's illegal here but hey! it felt good to let the truth out
but i still love baking and decourating

OK, here's my confession:
I am a total cheapscate!! I think I underprice my cakes, because there's no way I would pay that much myself for a cake, I feel guilty when I price my cakes. I know I'll get more confident and be able to charge more as I go.
For instance, I made a freeby cake for my husband's company Christmas party and his Boss said it was the best choc cake he'd ever had and ordered one for the following Friday. He said before that, his favorite choc cake was at a restaurant in Chicago and every time he goes there, he pays $7/slice, and mine was better!!! Can you believe I only charged him $25 for the whole cake?
.........ok, I'm gonna muster up the strength to hit the "submit" button.................

mdutcher......same here. people keep saying i can't believe that's all you charge, but then i think i would never pay that. i give too many "family discounts"

I let my icing bags sit for a long time before I ever get around to cleaning them. Of course I first make sure I get as much out as I can before I put them in a bowl and forget about them.

The good news is that they are much easier to clean though. The icing crusts and gets hard so all I have to do is turn the bag upside down over the trash can and rub it between my hands. Most of the icing comes out then I just turn the bag wrong side out, remove the coupler, and put it in the dishwasher.

I hate cleaning up after cooking or decorating.

I like baking and decorating, but I never seem to like doing them both at the same time...

I eat my cake plain-but I dont' like sending a cake out the door without frosting (usually eating white or yellow cake with nothing on it)

I make up a batch of royal icing for practice.....
.... but never practice just make small dots and let dry for a sweet treat later

I procrastinate alot when it comes to my orders. I end up rushing each time. I'm trying to get better but it seems like I can never start early.

I beleive its b/c I've been lazy. I had a break from baking in January after my Xmas orders and I think I was getting use to not baking for a few weeks.

I'm the opposite of a procrastinator. Everything (but the cake) is made way ahead of time...frosting colored, etc. etc. I get really anxious if things don't go the way I had planned. I have a written schedule that I try to meet whenever I make a cake.

I hate to clean up. Lots of times I leave my stuff out and hope my DH will deal with it. Now that I am diabetic I have the excuse I'm afraid I'll eat the leftovers which is true.

I have no creative ability. I need a cake design to start with.

Alright, Is everyone sitting down? My confession is .........I don't even doctor my boxed cake mixes. Oh, I'm baaaaaaad

Melvira, I'm glad you and your mom are okay...

I can't believe how many of you don't like cake! I LOVE cake batter and cake. I use to LOVE frosting...now it's just okay. Up until I started making frosting I didn't realize there was shortening in it and now it turns me off thinking about it. I make IMBC which I think is better but I am not a butter fan either so I have to put lots of flavoring in it so I can't taste the butter. My daughter only likes the store bought frosting and I haven't figured out how to duplicate that yet.

I like being organized but you know how things can turn on you and then I get stressed out but in the end when my customer LOVES the cake I feel the satisfaction from it all.

I like working alone. I'm one of those people that can't do more than one thing at once. If someone is talking to me then I totally loose all concentration and usually mess something up. I have to be really FOCUSED.

I like the baking and decorating but I don't like all the prep work. Coloring the frosting and putting it into bags, covering the cake board, greasing the pans, making the frosting. I would be happy just mixing the batter, baking, and decorating.

I'm not creative off the top of my head. I need inspiration either from other cakes or a theme from a napkin or plate.

I'm scared to do my first wedding cake! I came close to having a couple to do, but they fell through. I'm hoping my first one will be one for a friend instead of someone I don't know. It's the whole "delivery and setup" that has me freaked out! I've actually made one but the wedding was at my house so there wasn't any "delivery".

Oh nd Rhondie, I dont' doctor my cake mixes either. I think they taste great as they are!
Jacqui

OK, speaking of procrastination............. I was on here reading all these threads (and others) as I often do. I had a family get together that I had to be at by 5:30. At 1:45, I realize I don't have enough cream for my whipped ganache, so I ran to the store. Started ganache at 2:20 (chill for a few hours?!! What?!! gave it a quick ice bath and put it in Freezer) Made cake batter and put in oven at 3-ish. Out of oven by 3:30, flip over after 10 minutes on racks and put into fridge to cool faster. Pull ganache out of Freezer and whip, get cakes out, stack, fill, etc... Done by 5:05 with just enough time to load up and hit the road by 5:15!!! That is the fastest I've ever done a cake! I have to say, I think I like "speadcaking" better than the long bake cake one day, ice the next strategy I've been using! Don't think I'll ever try it on a client, but worked out today.

I'm just downright lazy. I get all pumped up over doing a cake so I go get everything I need and by the time I get back home I'm tired and want to take a nap to He$$ with the cake.

My favorite part of the cake is slicing off the very top so it's level. The layer I slice off is my favorite. It's lightly browned and slightly crispy and the absolute best part.

OK..this is terrible...but here goes...
I hate the smell of cake batter
I eat BC Dream until I'm sick
I love raw cookie dough but not a fan of baked cookies.
As soon as I started baking, I lost the ability to 'cook'. I haven't cooked dinner for my husband in about a month (& at least a month before that), but I baked & decorated 3 dozen cookies last night & a pineapple cake for a customer. Go figure....

Dinner tonight = Rancho Grande

Cakerer, I totally agree!! I cook so much less, now. I'm in the kitchen all day, the last thing I want to do is go back and cook a meal!! Not to mention, the lack of space to actually prepare said meal. Can't wait for my little basement kitchen to be finished!

I love this thread.

Melvira, what a horrible Valentine's present to you and your mom. Glad you're both okay.

My confessions?

I detest cake. Just not my cuppa at all. Buttercream, eh. Not a fan. (wish I could replicate those waxy icing flowers of my youth tho... and I'm old!)

I got into cake decorating again to prove to myself that I was better than my former (bakery owner) boss. I was right. She never believed I could decorate any cakes. Weird. So, so weird.

I hate clean up of anything. My kitchen is not as clean as it could be at home. It just is one of those never ending jobs.

I think I've killed my KA. The motor is acting funky.

I'm making a birthday cake for my neighbor next week. I don't like him. But he brings me good real Mexican vanilla and I'm out! (he's a pilot) So I kinda gotta.

I have bigger ideas for cakes than I usually have time.

My MIL won't order a cake from me. Drives me insane.