I am a little discouraged. I tried to make a stacked cake yesterday. It was terrible. I made the cake on Tuesday which was the morning of my Aunts funeral so my head wasnt really in it. I forgot to level them before I froze them. It was a mess last night when I tried to frost them and ended up not bringing a cake to work as promised.

When I frosted the cake and lifted it to place it all the icing came off. I had to basically refrost the sides. Why would this happen.

My sister and husband say I need to slow down and take my time. What is your time line for your cakes. I bake the cakes on day and freeze. Then I deforst and ice and decorate the next day. Maybe I am not giving myself enough time at all.

I do enjoy it and have alot of money invested in the supplies and the cakes I have done people enjoy but I am getting a little discouraged.

TIA

So sorry about your aunt. Read your post, you said it all....bad day for you to even try a cake. Don't give up!!! I am very new to all of this and when I screw up (and believe me, I DO screw up) usually I am the only one that can see it. Keep on caking!!! Hugs to you.

When I first started off it took HOURS to do a cake, almost 5-6 hours just to level and stack and ice, not even decorate. Now, it take maybe an hour to an hour and half. Relax, it will get better

Hi there. Sorry about your Aunt.

Were the cakes completely defrosted when you iced them? I think if there is too much moisture or condensation on the cake that could make the icing slide off.

What I do when I freeze is wrap the cake in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil and freeze. To defrost, I take the cake, wrappings and all, and leave it on the counter for a couple of hours until it's completely defrosted. Then I remove the wrappings and there is no condensation or wetness at all, just a moist cake.

Definitely take your time, too, when decorating. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. If you need to take longer, take your time.

I have also heard that Sugarshack's cake decorating DVDs are excellent, although I have not seen any of them personally. Maybe watching one of those will give you some tips and either way you will gain more confidence the more you do.

Just keep going......don't give up

I am sorry to hear about your aunt.

I have had many a cake disaster and I have been where you are now. Keep at it! You will get better!

I just lost my brother a few months ago. If I am in THAT frame of mind and he is on the brain I still have trouble concentrating and not making little mistakes. It takes time when you are dealing with loss to be back to yourself. It affects every area of your life...I know.

I'm so sorry to hear about your aunt.

First off, you're trying to bake a cake when your aunt passed away? That is a lot of pressure to put on yourself especially when your heart is just not into it. Crazy as it sounds, when you just don't feel like doing it, everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Anytime I'm stressed or pressured, my cakes look awful no matter what I've done to make it better or no matter how often I've baked cakes.

Take a deep breath and relax. Was it a really humid or hot day when you iced your cakes? The combination of removing it from the freezer might have resulted in too much condensation.

Your timeline is fine. I do the same thing you do. There is no way I could do it all in one night. You're fine.

Next time your coworkers want a cake and it's just "not one of those days" take a cake mix, bake it, throw store-bought frosting on it, and deliver it. Sometimes, even we bakers need an off-day.

Thank you all. I was really in a bad place when I made the cake, but I had commited so I tried. The cake may have been a little cold still. I do usually let it sit out longer but had to get it done ya know.

I agreed to for our monthly office bdays to make the cakes at cost. That gives me practice so I agreed. But you are correct next time box cake and frosting when my head just isnt in it.

I always thought that being proficient meant being fast. I would try to whip through icing a cake and would get frustrated when it didn't look the way I wanted it to. Then I watched Sugarshack's video and realized it takes her a long while to get her cakes looking perfect. Take your time. Try again when you're feeling up to it. Most of all, don't worry about mistakes. They're bound to happen. With time you just get better at covering them up.

I too am sorry about your aunt.

You were stressed out, your mind wasn't into caking at that time, and now you are beating yourself up. Please don't do that.

I looked at your cakes and I can see a lot of talent there. Sure, you are starting out, but we have all been at your level(I'm there right now also), but your figures are wonderful, especially the poolscape. It shows great talent, and you will get thru this low spot.

DON'T GIVE UP!

I caught something in your post. You wrote that you frosted it and then when you lifted it in place the icing came off. I always place cakes before icing. Is this a typo or do you need some help with mechanics? OBTW...I once promised a free cake for work and didn't really "feel it"...so I bought a lovely cake from a small bakery and told everyone that I tripped over the dog and dropped my masterpiece on the floor.

Not a typo... I had posted yesterday that I was going to make a stacked cake and that my plan was to frost then stack and a few people said that is what the way they do it, so I did it that way.

How do you frost stacked cakes. Stack them and then frost?

Sorry...brain f__t. I had a picture in my head of just picking up a layer (by itself) and it crumbling in my hands. Obviously I need more coffee, LOL.

Don't be discouraged...everybody has a bad day. Terribly sorry about your loss, I know it's not easy and that it can really put one in a funk.

Out of curiosity, if you are baking the day before, why are you freezing your cakes? Most folks I know don't freeze unless it's going to be more than two to three days prior to the event. I would think that if the cake hasn't defrosted completely then the icing didn't have anything to adhere to the sides with (on that note, do you crumb coat?).

Nobody is perfect...if God intended us to be perfect then there wouldn't be a need for Him!