I just delivered my first paid cake order today. I'm very relieved and just wanted to share my excitement with all of you who can relate to being so giddy over a cake! I've been doing this for just a few months for friends and family, but always for free. I've never taken any classes, just practiced as much as possible. A coworker ordered her son's 3rd birthday cake from me after tasting some cupcakes I brought in to share. While I'm overall happy with the way the cake turned out, I know I have some things to work on - particularly getting my buttercream to have a smoother finish. I've included a picture below and would appreciate any feedback from the veterans and others on this site. Both cakes are white vanilla sour cream, with snickers buttercream filling and buttercream icing. The stars and border are rolled buttercream. The cake on the left is an 8" round, and the one on the right a 6" round (intended just for the birthday boy and his cousins). I've picked up so many tips and useful tidbits from everyone, so a BIG thank you!!

great job! im in the same boat and have sold two cakes now and i understand how nerve wrecking it is as a beginner! those are lovely and you should be very proud! Happy Christmas!

These look awesome! I bet you start getting lots of orders now. Doing a cake with no border on the top is not easy (at least for me) and you did very well on these.

I think you did a really great job...they both look neat and clean.

I did notice one minor thing, and even though I don't feel qualified enough to critique anybody, I have a tip that might be useful. A few of the balls don't look uniform. What I do is use measuring spoons, usually the 1/2 tsp. size is the look I like. I press a blob of fondant in there, and with my thumb, sort of even it out and press the outer rim, so the teaspoon itself cuts the excess off.

I almost don't want to write *my balls are always even* doing them this way, LOL, but they are.

Forgot to ask...for the Snickers filling...do you just chop some up and add them to your favorite BC, or is there a recipe that you can share?

Oh, you're welcome...I've used the large tablespoon to get the same sized cookies before, and the fondant felt like dough, so it just sort of clicked.

Edited to add: my measuring spoons are stainless, don't know if plastic would work as well.

Congratulations on becoming a professional!!!!! Both cakes are just beautiful!

Very, very nice! You are well on your way to being a great decorator

Absolutely fantastic! LOVE the colors!!!

Very nice job on the cakes!
FlourPots, thanks for the tip on how to make fondant balls a uniform size.

Congrats!!! Beautiful. I get my balls the same size by a silicone mold. So as you make more money, you can invest. GLobal Sugar Art has plenty. Best of Luck!!!

You're welcome, but OMG...I just realized something...I'm not sure if it was clear that the tsp. is just to get the same amount every time. I do roll the fondant that comes out of the spoon into a ball, I don't use the actual shape the spoon makes as the ball.

I'm so sorry if I've misled anyone.

FlourPots, your instructions are very clear to me...thanks again!

Wow! that is fantastic! Beautiful colour combination. You have done a brilliant job!

They came out awesome..

I love your cake, congratulations it is really cute and the colors .

Your cakes look really good. I am sure the customer was happy.

Wesha

Don't know if this will help anyone, but to make uniform size pearls/balls I roll my fondant out to an even thickness and punch out discs with the other end of a decorating tip and then roll them up! I add 1 or 2 more discs to make a larger sizes.

Great job on your first order. You should be proud of yourself.

To get the same size balls or pearls, I make a long "snake" or rope. Then I use a knife and just cut off the same size pieces, then roll in balls. I know it is more of an "eyeball" technique, but after you have done it a few times, you can get pretty uniform balls and it is quick.


The bigger the balls or pearls, then the thicker the rope.

Thank you all for your kind words and suggestions for getting the balls of fondant even. There's always room for improvement!

For the Snickers buttercream, there was no special recipe. I do have a Snickers filling that's fudge-like with peanuts and caramel in it, but the customer just wanted Snickers candy bars in this one. I laid down a thin layer of buttercream first. Then I sliced the bite-sized Snickers squares very thinly and laid them on the buttercream. Then I added another thin layer of buttercream on top. I was worried about shifting since this is a thicker filling than I normally do, but by keeping the buttercream thing this worked out well. There was no instability or shifting at all. The customer said today that she also didn't have any trouble cutting the cake - which I was also worried about. I think the trick is to just keep the candy bar slices small and thin.

Happy Holidays!

Man that sounds great...thanks for the how-to.

The cake looks great! One idea to smooth out the buttercream, that I recently learned, is..... when you put your final coat on put it in the fridge so it gets nice and firm. Than..... use a "bench scraper" and my gosh..... WORLD of difference. It has certainly helped me heaps!
Other than that... keep on cakin'!

Really cool Cakes! I'm in the same boat as you- self taught, and nervous about screwing up! lol. I just did my first paid cake tooo. It's the blue basketweave in my photos. I felt odd charging someone, but I didn't really know her and it was right before Christmas, so the money helped a bit. I think you have very pretty cakes ahead of you, and they sound tasty!

Congratulations! Very nice job. It's neat and your colors are great!! Color can make a big difference in the final effect of your cake.