I reguard my cakes as "beer" and am working for more along the lines of "Red Wine". What in your opinion makes a cake "Red Wine"?....Sorry for the analogy best I could describe it!

Practice, Practice, Practice. Other wise do a lot sampling of the good stuff. I even practice on fake cakes to get a new idea down. Fake cakes are usually made of styrofoam. And I never (or hardly ever) turn down some request for a cake that I have not done yet. Just to stretch my talents.