...done anything so stupid, and highly embarrassing, and completely DUH! in regard to cakes?

I have to wait for the dryer to dry, and the washer to wash, so I can get my daughter's sweat shirt clean and dry, that she wears EVERY DAY, so I thought this could be fun, and at least humorous ;-)

I have 2, I will share right away, but I am pretty stupid at times, so, who knows?

I was about 21, had never had a job decorating cakes, it was before I had ever been on the internet, so I didn't have any way to look it up, but I was unknowingly, illegally selling cakes. I had my second wedding order, ever (another funny story about the first!) and the lady wanted a 3 tier, heart shaped cake, with separations with the clear twirly looking pillars. It is in one of the Wilton books from the early 80's. Anyway, the picture showed single layers, and I saw it said in the text that it served half as many servings as needed, but when I looked in the back of the book at the chart, it showed those same says pans serving the amount she needed. I have never been one to read the directions, (or the fine print, and I wing everything I do, at the last minute, and hope for the best!) so I assumed the serving count in the front was wrong.  But, I was so torn about how little the cake actually looked, and with her guest count, I didn't know what to do! So, I just proceeded with the cake in the picture, and delivered and set it up, and the bride comes in, and I see the look on her face, and I KNEW she was completely disappointed, and was expecting a LOT more cake! Whoops! I was so embarrassed, because I was trying so hard to be professional, and she bought it, and I let her down :-( (I am so sorry, Barbara, if you ever see this!)  I know now, that OBVIOUSLY, the serving chart was for a 2 layer cake, duh...                                                                                                              

Another I stupid thing I did was make a wedding cake for free, as a gift, for some friends of my recently x'ed boyfriend. (He literally broke up with me days earlier, but I had promised the cake to his friends, so I did it, then had to look at his stupid fat face when he came to get it!) (Then collapse in tears one he was gone, lol!)

But anyway, they weren't choosy, so I picked a 2 tier (2 layers each, lol) white iced cake, off set with the top tier centered, toward the back of the bottom tier (supports? what supports?) It had pale pink roses going down each side, like an open curtain, with cornelli lace all along the back, from one side to the other, then smooth in the front.

Anyway, I used royal, and hated something about the cake, so rather than it occurring to me to scrape it off, I dropped the whole thing, board and all, into the garbage!

I had to rush to a store around the corner, buy everything again to bake and ice and decorate, and was trembling with fear, and it was the first time I cooled cake in the freezer, but I finished it about 10 seconds before he got there, and I was SO happy with it

AIn a moment of sleep deprived insanity and over excitement, I agreed make a 5 tier wedding cake for a wedding of nearly 200 guests. It was some time in the wee hours of the morning when I was up feeding my baby and I had received a facebook message for a young girl in my town, who had been shown a pic of a dummy practice cake I had made (I was just playing around with icing and learning new techniques) incidentally this is the dummy; [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2922390/width/200/height/400[/IMG] she basically said can I make her this, in ivory and silver, 5 tiers, white chocolate mud cake and how much would it be. forever the optimist, I say sure thing, no worries, let me work it out and get back to you. the next morning when I wake I check my phone to see if I was dreaming, and then tell my husband. his response: omg! are you crazy? do you have any idea what you have agreed to? is it even possible to make a cake silver? (lightbulb moment- how am I gonna get that thing silver?) this is going to end in disaster! you are going to mess this, they are going to sue and we will loose our house! ( got a lot of faith, doesn't he?) Well anyway, at the time I was teaching myself decorating techniques in the hope that one day I would be able to sell cakes. I had no business set up,I had no portfolio, only a couple of birthday cakes I had made my own children and this dummy. I went ahead and worked out a price for this girl (the wedding was going to be about 5 months away) and then went crazy! I bought cake tins to actually bake the cake, I learned how to stack tiers (in theory, my first real trial was the wedding cake) I researched silver colour and bought an airbrush and then taught my self how to use it. I had my kitchen inspected and registered and set myself up as a business, and launched a facebook page. the whole time my husband was shaking his head declaring he would have no part in any of it. Anyhow, the weekend of the wedding arrived and I delivered them the cake, set it up at the reception venue and was pretty damn proud of it and all I had learned along the way. this was the finished product [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2922394/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

There were a few moments along the way I started to think 'omg, what am i doing' and in the end it was not perfect but the bride and her family loved it!

LOL! That is right up my alley! I pretty much promise a cake, then figure out how I will do it ;-) It makes for a stressful time, doesn't it? I am glad I am not the only with a hard time saying no, or "Let me get back to you on that!" I am such a people pleaser, I shoot myself in the foot, then hobble through the task.... But then, when your'e done, it is so amazing to look back and be able to say, "It's not perfect, but I did a great job!"

And, YOU ROCKED IT!!!! It is gorgeous, nice straight sides, no bulging, I wish you had a better picture! It is really fabulous! WAY better than my first wedding cake!I am proud of you for this, and I don't even know you! 

 I assume you learned online? I never even saw a cake on a computer until about 6 years ago, after caking for 17 years. I was blissfully unaware of how sweet the internet was, since I was poor, but my caking has gotten WAY better since, lol. And, consequently, I am not as poor as I was ;-)

I am sure there are many dumb things that I have done, but here's one that immediately comes to mind.  A while back I was making one of those checkerboard cakes.  I forgot to take the plastic divider out of the third pan before baking.  Yes, it melts.  Had to throw that cake out and set the other two completed layers out for snacking.  It's just not a checkerboard without 3 layers!

I was used to buttercream made with butter...and cream cheese. Well, I heard you could make frosting with shortening. And to me, shortening was the same thing as lard (ah my foolish mind) because I don't use shortening or lard when I cook. I made a frosting using lard and was wondering why it tasted funny.

I figured that maybe people were used to this funny taste and this it was just me. So I colored it, and piped it on some cupcakes. My boyfriend tried one and had to spit it out because it was so disgusting! I had to go back and minutes before the party, scrape off the frosting and make a new one.

LESSON LEARNED. I laugh about it now but I wasn't laughing then. 

Athanks Anna! yep learned most of it on line, and a few books. it was the first cake order I took ever that wasn't for family :) I have only been teaching myself since I started my maternity leave 11months ago. that cake was made in November, but I am still waiting for the wedding photographer to send me some pics she took, hopefully they will be better :) I turned around and made this one the very next week on 10days notice (nothing like being organised for your wedding) [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2922690/width/200/height/400[/IMG] I am still amazed that these brides trusted me for their big day! I now have 5 wedding cakes booked for march, so maybe by the end of that I will be used to the idea lol! Wedding cakes are my greatest cake love, there is just something about them... so elegant, i never imagined i would be making them yet, i am still just amazed when people call or email about any cake, but most of my business comes for 3d cakes. When I work out how to put images in the galleries on here I will (I only use my phone) but I have a facebook page at Ashlea Brown Cakes.

and I am just like you, Anna, I can never turn a cake down! I have had weekends with 3 cakes and will still except another late order, even knowing I will be stressed and up all night for 2 or 3 nights doing them I only do my cakes at night because I have 3 young children to look after during the day.

My first time taking a wilton cake class, we learned how to do frosting. It called for crisco, so I used crisco oil....I didn't now about crisco shortening as it was on the bottom shelf of the grocery mart and my eyes never went there, I never new it existed. So, I'm at home making this cake for class and wondering why my buttercream wouldn't thicken up.  So back to the store to purchase more sugar, thinking that was why.  two 5 pound bags later and it finally gets to the point where I can spread it.  When I got to class I was wondering why my cake was so much shinier than the others. When I realized, I laughed and  just threw it away when I got home.

Okay! I can't begin to list all of the stupid things I have done or still do but I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I am also in the group that says Yes then figures it out! My poor hubby! One of the first cakes I made was a bell (My MIL collects little bells). It was about 18" High by about 10" round at the bottom. I tried covering the thing in fondant in one fell swoop. Well at about 5AM (cake was due at 10A, 45 minutes away) and 9 (count them 9) attempts to cover it in one huge piece of fondant, we figured it out! I can't tell you how many cakes I baked in the beginning and had to scrap them & start over b/c I wasn't supporting or stacking or whatever right. Thank goodness for CC & Youtube! I learn something new with each & every cake!

Here's Ashlea's cake lightened up a bit.

AOne of my dogs once ate 3 12" cakes, which i had ready to get frosted and layered, while I took the trash out...

Yeah, THAT was fun...

AFunny (yeah right) she is only a German Shorthair Pointer mix so not that big but I am convinced she is like a cow and has 4 stomachs.

You should have seen me. She was standing in the kitchen looking all innocent and I was like "didn't I just put cakes on the counter?!?". I started to question myself until I looked at Bandit - she was as wide as tall and wagging her tail. She knew she was in trouble but just happily walked away and crated herself in her crate.

A

I would be FURIOUS! Not embarrassed...Heck, I get mad when my husband eats scraps without asking...I do use them for other things!

I have Celiac disease (since I was a little girl) so the dogs occasionally get cake scraps. Guess this one got the taste for it ;)

I am curious, what do you do with the scraps?

Oh yes, I had become very proud and overly confident with my newly acquired "cake decorating skill" that I promised everyone at work a free decorated cake on their birthdays, after my first Wilton Class! Buh  humbug.After the third decorated cake I realized, that I had shot myself on the foot! I shut down. That was two years ago, the only thing I did not stop doing was hoarding on any how to decorate books and magazines, last Aug.2012 , Kathleen Lang of Confectionary Chalet, showed me how to create loops, commas, squiggles etc. with a few piping tips. I rediscovered cake and sugar art . I'm still learning.,and best of all I learned not to promise free decorated cakes to anyone, but I continued to bake and decorate and surprise a friend. Thank you for your time.

Hello crustdust, you make cake pops out of them.

Annabakescakes, I use photoscape. You can download it free from cnet download.com 

Here: http://download.cnet.com/PhotoScape/3000-2192_4-10703122.html?tag=mncol;1

It has LOTS of editing features, and its free!! LOVE IT!!
 

Oh, the dog stories that could come from my kitchen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But one of the best is about our granddog, Morpheus, a giant schnauzer. I had just taken a 12x18 layer out of the oven and set it on the cooling rack on the counter. Walked out of the kitchen for something, and when I returned I discovered that he had flipped the entire HOT HOT cake, pan and all off the counter and was devouring it. I'm surprised he didn't have 3rd degree burns on his big old mouth!  I even managed to grab the camera and take a picture of him looking not one bit guilty. Now if I could just find the picture.... We now have an Old English Mastiff puppy who is tall enough to lay her jowls on the kitchen table without even stretching, so I'm having to be extremely careful where I put things!

Anyone have any cat and cake stories?????