Just A Little Giggle For You...

Decorating By jimandmollie Updated 22 Jun 2009 , 11:40pm by jimandmollie

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jimandmollie Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 11:47pm
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So I did my first big wedding-style cake this past Saturday for my sis-in-law's 25th anniversary. I started on Thursday with the baking and then leveled, crumb-coated, decorated etc. right up until the moment to deliver. I worked my arse off on this thing for almost 3 days. I had a great time making it and learned a lot. So anyway, here is the cake:

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And here is the funny part. I walk in and bring this thing in their house in 3 pieces. The bottom tier is so heavy I can barely lift it! I pull out all my stuff and put on the borders, arrange the flowers/topper, etc. I am finally done and I am standing there, admiring my work, basking in all my glory (lol) and my sis in law's sister comes in and says "Wow! I bet you got up pretty early this morning to make that!"

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22 replies
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cakedesigner59 Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 11:51pm
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Non-cake people have no clue. If you told her you actually made it on Thursday, she'd probably accuse you of giving her "stale" cake. Great job, it's lovely.

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online_annie Posted 21 Jun 2009 , 11:58pm
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icon_eek.gif Thanks for the laugh. But I get that alot. Kinda takes the wind out of your sails a bit though didn't it. Only someone who has baked one before has any idea the time and effort that goes into it. Your cake looks fantastic! I hope you were able to brush it off and enjoy the day.

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newmansmom2004 Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:02am
post #4 of 23

Ahhhh....cake civilians! Gotta love 'em. icon_biggrin.gif

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sugarcheryl Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:02am
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No they do not get it. I just did one this weekend after being sick early part of the week. Then started on Thursday like you and traveled to 3 hours away to deliver. Non cake people have no clue what we go through. Wasn't it great to bask in the glory after all the hard work. You did a wonderful job icon_biggrin.gif Keep up the good work.

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dorie67 Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:03am
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You did an absolutely beautiful job! It looks amazing, but I too have to agree that non-cakers have no clue as to how long "we cakers" have to work on something, the time,energy,patience,love and sometimes blood, sweat and yes I'm going to say it tears! Again simply amazing! princess.gif

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jlynnw Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:08am
post #7 of 23

Great cake! I love the story. I have been in the market for a kitchen and found a place to rent. I was so excited especially when they said $50 for a week. Cool. I wanted more details. They thought I could make 2 cakes with all the details I do in one afternoon! icon_lol.gif Like they jump out of the oven decorated!

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dinie Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:11am
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I had baked a cake for a very close friend, she called a said she did not want it for another week so I wrapped in plastic wrap then in freezer paper and froze it. Got it out to get ready to decorate it and she called again after it had thawed out and said she did not want it until the end of the week. I could not put it back in the freezer it was a checkerboard cake so I just left it all wrapped up in a cool spot. I unwrapped it on a Wednesday night it was still as moist as the day I baked it, I had talked with her after she had taken it to school for teacher friends and she said it was awesome and moist. I had bought cakes in the past from bakerys and grocery stores before that have been so dry you had to have something to drink as you ate it. I had just been to a wedding a couple of weeks ago and the cake was dry, it was chocolate and it had no chocolate taste at all.

dinie

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jimandmollie Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:13am
post #9 of 23

Thanks for all the compliments! I know I can still improve but I am so thrilled over my results on this one!

online_annie: It didn't bother me at all! I think she may have been a little offended when I burst out laughing at her though! icon_lol.gif

At this point nothing anyone could say would make me upset. I have been basking in the glow of this cake since yesterday! I have even been carrying my camera around with me on the off chance I might run into someone and can show them the pics!

jlynnw: I'm not licensed at all. This cake was for a family function so I didn't get paid. Everyone pitched in $100 total for most of the supplies but that was it. This was my labor of love and my gift to them. icon_smile.gif

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dinie Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:14am
post #10 of 23

I fogot to say your cake is beautiful.

dinie

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jlynnw Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 2:08am
post #11 of 23

I am fine with whatever you do and how you chose to do it. I am not into the legal/not legal thing. I feel it is all about caking and not the drama. I am sorry if I offended you. I just would like to do more than the friends and family thing. I had to laugh that the owners of the kitchen thought that I could do the cakes in one afternoon. Cake muggles - gotta love them.

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indydebi Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 2:27am
post #12 of 23

That was a big "Burst Out Loud" laugh!! icon_lol.gif

I commented one day at work that I had to start baking a 4 tier cake that night (Thursday). Co workers was SHOCKED that I was going to bake it "so early". I said, "It's 8 hours of baking time (the early days ... at home ... teeny tiny oven!). When do you THINK I'm going to bake it?"

She said she thought I'd bake it the morning of the wedding. What ..... TWO in the morning?????? icon_eek.gif

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tinygoose Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 2:30am
post #13 of 23

Oh my!! That is funny!!

"Yeah I got up on at the crack of dawn on Thursday!"

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TJCanadian Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 12:54pm
post #14 of 23

ROFL - because I came equipped with the ability to pull a cake out of my butt.... I don't think people want butt cake, so they might have to learn to appreciate how much time it takes to create a good cake!

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Kitagrl Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 1:04pm
post #15 of 23

That's like this week some friends of ours planned a surprise outing for my husband and I, from Wed through Sat a.m. I only have one cake for Saturday that I took payment for before I found out, so will just have to make it Tuesday and let it sit in the fridge until Saturday (oh well, it will be fine.)

Anyway some other "friends" (????) of ours are having an anniversary party on Saturday when we get back. They knew about our trip before we did (but did not participate in the planning). They wanted me to make a cake for them for 200 people, in their favorite flavor that I do, a homemade chocolate with ganache.

So I just said "No I'm sorry, that's too big, I really can't pull that off" (They wanted sheet cakes and that's too many sheet cakes to get done since I'm already pulling off a three tier before I leave Wednesday morning). So the mom (who is nice) came back to me and said apologetically "I'm sorry but they want to know if you can at least just make the cake for 100 people instead?" (And mind you no offer of money, I have done small free cakes for them before as a favor, they are in our church and do not have alot of money). I told her as a gift to them I will be making them a small round cake for their table in the flavor they love but NOT for 100 people!!!!! I explained to her about our trip, which she understood...but her son already KNEW about the trip!

Its like THINK! Let's see....I could make that cake between 9am and noon, just in time for the anniversary.....I could bake it in the microwave of my hotel room.....or I could try to find room for 3 or 4 full sheet cakes covered in ganache in my house to sit around for a week (I do have three fridges but still...I don't have time between today and tomorrow to do all that! Especially with no promise of much pay...and NO cake civilians know the out of pocket cost of homemade chocolate cake with ganache!!!! To feed 100 or 200 people!!!!)

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LSW Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 1:17pm
post #16 of 23

I had a bride and her mom come to order the wedding cake. It was to be a 4 tier cake with 4 round cakes surrounding the main cake. They decided on the flavors, icing and design and as they were leaving the mother asked " You will be baking these on Friday?". (The wedding was on Saturday) I said absolutely! LOL Gotta love em!

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Kitagrl Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 1:20pm
post #17 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by LSW

I had a bride and her mom come to order the wedding cake. It was to be a 4 tier cake with 4 round cakes surrounding the main cake. They decided on the flavors, icing and design and as they were leaving the mother asked " You will be baking these on Friday?". (The wedding was on Saturday) I said absolutely! LOL Gotta love em!




HAHAHA I know, they all are paranoid we are going to be selling them stale cake we've had sitting under the counter for three weeks or something.

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indydebi Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 1:27pm
post #18 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitagrl

Quote:
Originally Posted by LSW

I had a bride and her mom come to order the wedding cake. It was to be a 4 tier cake with 4 round cakes surrounding the main cake. They decided on the flavors, icing and design and as they were leaving the mother asked " You will be baking these on Friday?". (The wedding was on Saturday) I said absolutely! LOL Gotta love em!



HAHAHA I know, they all are paranoid we are going to be selling them stale cake we've had sitting under the counter for three weeks or something.



Yet they think nothing of buying pastries, cakes, cookies, etal from other retailers that have been on the shelves for who knows how long? icon_lol.gif

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cutthecake Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 2:01pm
post #19 of 23

Some people just don't get it! When I ran a small cookie business, I was making a sales call at an ice cream shop. The owner loved the free samples! (Don't they always?) Then I explained that the large decorated ice cream cone shaped sugar cookies sold for $3.00 (at that time). She was astounded that they were "so expensive", but did not hesitate to charge more than that for a soft -serve ice cream cone from a machine. The cone took about 30 seconds to serve from the machine into which the ice cream ingredients were dumped and mixed--by machine. No hand-scooping involved. Not very intensive labor.
I explained that I had to make the cookie dough, roll it, cut it out, bake it, make the two kinds of icing (which I used at the time)then decorate, outline and add details, wait for it to dry, then package and label it. Then deliver the order.

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ccr03 Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 2:13pm
post #20 of 23

This reminds me of the Bridezilla episode last night. It was such a completely staged scene. She goes in the DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING for what is supposed to be a final 'tasting'. Whatever. Anyway, a week before the wedding she changed her flavor from chocolate to vanilla and now wanted chocolate again. Well, the bakery person cuts her a slice from the vanilla sheetcake for her to taste and she says no, I wanted chocolate. the bridezilla goes on to say that she's also disappointed that the cake is already ready - they should have baked/done it Saturday morning for her evening wedding. WHATEVER!!!

That whole scene made me upset - SUPER FAKE!!!

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Kitagrl Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 2:18pm
post #21 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by cutthecake

Some people just don't get it! When I ran a small cookie business, I was making a sales call at an ice cream shop. The owner loved the free samples! (Don't they always?) Then I explained that the large decorated ice cream cone shaped sugar cookies sold for $3.00 (at that time). She was astounded that they were "so expensive", but did not hesitate to charge more than that for a soft -serve ice cream cone from a machine. The cone took about 30 seconds to serve from the machine into which the ice cream ingredients were dumped and mixed--by machine. No hand-scooping involved. Not very intensive labor.
I explained that I had to make the cookie dough, roll it, cut it out, bake it, make the two kinds of icing (which I used at the time)then decorate, outline and add details, wait for it to dry, then package and label it. Then deliver the order.




I've been amazed lately at what we pay for and what we don't.

I was thinking how most of us will say that to go out for dinner and pay $60 for dinner is okay for a special occasion. But then to buy a $60 bottle of perfume that lasts two years "Oh man that is so expensive!"

Too funny that the lady would rather buy a $3 ice cream cone than a $3 cookie...and the ice cream cone melts! (Ok so I prefer ice cream too haha but STILL!!!!)

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jimandmollie Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 11:31pm
post #22 of 23

jlynnw: No offense taken at all! icon_smile.gif I have only been making cakes about a year now and I had the dream of getting licensed. I am lucky and can have a seperate kitchen in my house (WV) but I have a lot of back problems. I slipped another disc about a month ago and was down for over a week. I thought "My God, what would I have done if I was a professional and had cakes that were due?" It took me a few weeks to talk myself into it but I accept the fact that I will never be a professional. I look at it this way though: I get to do all the fun stuff and if I mess it up then what are they gonna do? Not pay me? icon_lol.gif I am lucky, I get to have all the fun and not nearly the amount of stress that some of you guys have!

Thanks everyone for all your kind words of encouragement. You have made me feel confident enough to make this cake again this week in a different design for my Eastern Star Chapter. I will post a pic of the cake when I get it done but here is a rough sketch of what I am going for:

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I already have the glass apple that I will use for a topper. The Worthy Matron's theme is apples so I hope it will go over good. I am going to make the sides covered with fondant mosaic tiles. I have seen a bunch of cakes like that on here and I think they look awesome.

Anyway, I talk too much! Thanks everybody for giggling with me! icon_lol.gif

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jimandmollie Posted 22 Jun 2009 , 11:40pm
post #23 of 23

Oh and I forgot to say:

Thanks indydebi for the icing recipe and Melvira (spelling?) for the whole high density roller smoothing thingy! This was my first buttercream cake and I was terrified but you guys made it so much better! You guys rock!

(See, I told you I talk too much!) icon_lol.gif

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