Hi everyone, im so glad cc is back i really need to get this out of my system.
Im in the middle of starting up a small business from home. i work full time so this is a sideline but i want to do it properly so ive started a business course twice a week for four weeks.
So far ive only made cakes for myself and family but i was asked by a girl in work to make her a birthday cake. so i said id do her a two tiered cake 6 and 8 inch chocolate sponge with choc BC and fondant icing.
So i get home from my course at 9pm and find that the new recipe chocolate cake i made the night before is hard and horrible (it was a peggy porschen recipe and was like a brick on top and the sides and horrible inside) i dont know what i did i had hoped it would be ok properly wrapped etc. it was misshapen too so i make my reliable choc cake from scratch but i dont have enough cake tins to make the right sizes (the other cake was made in two deep tins but this one is made in sandwich tins) so i made all the tiers in 8 inch tins and cut the 6 inch circles out. obviously i didnt do it right because the top tier was all bumpy and the crumb coat kept ripping it because it was so soft from being freshly baked.
Then my fondant which i had made and wrapped two days before went crazy and cracked and split no matter what i did so I had to make it all and dye it from scratch. then the top tier was all bumpy under the fondant, the spots i cut out weren't placed evenly, the bottom tier wasnt level so i had to use bigger balls to go round the two bases and by this time it was 2am so i didnt use a cutter to get them even and they were different sizes and didnt look right. then i noticed that the plague i made with gumpaste letters (i made them a week before) touched the cake at one end but didnt at the other - how did i miss this!!!
All in all the only good thing was that it stayed together as i hadnt made a two tier before. the white bow on top was good too as i had made it a week before. the dowels worked fine and the top tier was sturdy with RI as glue. i was just so disappointed, the girl in work was happy with it and i have seen worse but im just such a perfectionist and i new it wasnt right so i lay awake all night until 6.45am worrying and having palpitations until i felt like i was going to vomit. I only took £10 of the £20 she gave me and still felt bad taking anything but she wouldnt hear of it.
Sorry about how long this is. i just feel so knocked back, i did learn a lot though. starting a cake from scratch at 9pm is a recipe for disaster and also caredul planning is a must and make sure you have the right tools! leveling the cake is also a good idea - lol
Try to remember you are your own worst critic. I've definitely learned to keep my mouth shut about what I think are the glaring errors. Granted, there have been a few bad cakes, but for the most part the people are thrilled and see nothing wrong with it.
Feel a lot better today. just made the same cake for my god daughter's birthday and it turned out a million times better.
Ive attached links to both so you can see the difference a week makes - lol
Evil Cake
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff89/jackandcathy/cakes/P1000530.jpg
Good Cake
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff89/jackandcathy/cakes/P1000545.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff89/jackandcathy/cakes/P1000543.jpg
I love your good cake!! Your bow is wonderful!
I love your good cake!! Your bow is wonderful!
Oh honey, your bad cake doesn't look bad at all! Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, but it's so pretty, the bow is lovely, and the colors are great! I really do agree with the statement that we are all our own worst critics. So, don't be upset....I bet the person you made the cake for was thrilled!
As was said, we are our own worst critic. Your 1st cake is *not evil*! Agreeded it's not prefect but it;s not that bad either. I can see why your friend at work was happy with it.
The pink one is very pretty; the colors are lovely. As was mentioned above, practice makes perfect
the cake is not as bad as I expected after reading your post! it has already been said, but practice makes perfect.. Also I wouldn't try anything new when I have a cake due.. unless its for my fam
It is Murphy's Law. It's like when you are going out, your hair will never go the way you want it to, but you can get it to do anything when you are just practicing and have nowhere to go. Both cakes are beautiful, but I agree that the second cake looks more polished. Good luck with your business.
I have found that customers focus so much on the one or two things that look really great on the cake, that the lumps and bumps that we are really disappointed about aren't even seen!! You did the bow and lettering so well im sure she didn't notice anything else 
congrats on taking a difficult situation and learning from it!
YOUR BAD CAKE IS A MASTERPIECE COMPARED TO MY FIRST MMF CAKE! (SEE FOR YOURSELF) NOW I AM SOMEWHAT BETTER HA-HA
YOUR BAD & GOOD CAKES ARE BEAUTIFUL! 
I know just how you feel!! The first time I made a cake for people other than close family, I totally flopped!!! It was for my sister-in-law's wedding shower (and for 70 people!) I used the Peggy Porschen recipes and they were absolutely terrible!!! They turned out hard and dry too. I made my own fondant and it ripped like crazy. My white fondant was filled with little chocolate crumbs from the crumbly cake. Then during the shower the roses kept popping off the cake onto the floor!!! (It's the white tiered cake in my pix) I was so embarassed when I was cleaning up after the party and found so many half eaten pieces of cake!! By the way, both of your cakes are great - bumps and all on your "evil" cake. Most people don't even notice that!
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