Hi,
I posted my first pic of one of my first cakes and would love some honest, but kind, feedback. I'm self-taught, but would like to take a class in the future. Believe it or not, this is not BY FAR my worst cake. I hadn't taken many photos until I came across this site.
It was made for a potluck at a bank- I had trouble with the icing because it was so hot and humid. The shell border didn't quite hold up as well as I had planned. The gel colors I used didn't quite mix completely either.
~ I wasn't sure how to attach it, so please see my 'photos', thanks.

Feel free to offer any tips as well. They would be greatly appreciated.

This site is a wonderful resource...

Hi caprica, what an adorable baby you have there as your avatar! I looked at your cake, I think you did a terrific job. The icing is very smooth. I too relate to the high temps and humidity, I have not turned my oven on since early July! I have seen in other posts, a recipe for high humidity buttercream, you may want to look in the recipe section and give that a try, otherwise maybe make the BC a tad more stiff. Chocolate transfers or frozen buttercream transfers are good methods to decorate cake top if you don't like to pipe freehand. I watched an online video on piping shells, I have a better idea of what I am doing wrong now, I need visual most of the time to understand technique. I bet your cake was a hit.
Helen

Hi! I am a newbie decorator as well. my best advice....keep on cc. You will get a wealth of knowledge from it! Your cake had very nice smooth icing. I have had problems with the heat this summer as well but the high humidity icing did help. Keep on caking!

you did a really nice job smoothing the icing, getting the cake nice and level, as well as keeping it round! AND no crumbs in the icing! these are all such small details that most people take for granted as being important. its the foundation of a good looking cake!!! the pipework looks a little bit unsteady, but that improves with time and practice. i think you should be proud of your work, and keep at it! i also commend you for posting your first photo.

Not bad for self-taught! Honestly, I took the Wilton I & II class and I think I learned more from the wonderful people here at CC! There are great tutorials, hints, and lots of ideas, like those mentioned above. Your cake was very smooth and don't worry too much about the humidity; you'll learn to work with it. Keep practicing!

Your cake is nice and you got the buttercream very smooth. I agree with hellieOh, your icing will hold up better if it's stiffer. I have done many cakes in the summer with no A/C and find that icing made with crisco, 10x sugar, butter flavor, vanilla and water holds up really well. I thin with corn syrup for icing the cake smooth.

I'm self-taught, too, and my favorite resource when I first started was a copy of the Wilton Yearbook. It doesn't matter if it's the latest one or not. There's just so much good stuff in them, lots of how to's, lots of samples and good examples. My new favorite resource is, of course, CC .

Good luck !

i think you did a great job for your first try! just keep on practicing. i guarantee you will find some very helpful people here on CC and some inspirational cakes too. hope to see more of your cakes!

I think you did a wonderful job on your first cake....and thank you for posting it! Your icing looks very smooth and your writing will imrove with each cake....as everyone's does! Please continue to stick around CC and post your pictures! There's a wealth of knowledge here that cannot be taught in a classroom!
Cammie

Wow, thank you all so much for the feedback ( and the unexpected encouraging comments on my cake page).
I honestly was afraid I wouldn't have ANY bites on this post, so thanks!

I didn't know you could thicken the icing with more sugar so that's real helpful too.

You are the best!