If I ever owned a bakery I’d call it Ugly Cakes with the tag line “It’s what is on the inside that counts”.  Cake decorating is a pain, you guys.  Making a cake nicely decorated is an even bigger pain.

It’s not until recently that I got into decorating cakes.  Not only decorating cakes, but even making cakes in general.  I love baking, but to decorate with icing you have the piping and the bags and the powdered sugar that has gone places you didn’t think it could reach.  The air just picks it up and carries it far, far away.  (I wish it would pick me up that easy sometimes and drop me off somewhere no one can reach.  That would be awesome.  But, that sounds like a much heavier blog post or therapy session for another time…)  ANYWAY, decorating cakes requires a whole new level of patience that I have never been ready for until recently.

Cookies are just mixed and dropped on a pan.  King Cakes are just topped with a simple whipped up glaze and smothered in happiness (sprinkles).  Cupcakes were the stretch of my cake decorating.  It’s like cake, but smaller and just a dollop of icing.  I can deal with that.  Cakes require trimming and effort.

I started selling cookies and brownies and cupcakes here and there last year. Because I was selling those things people started asking about cakes and because I love baking, they assume I know what I’m doing.

My aunt texted me a picture about two months ago asking if I could make a bake a cake.  Not just any two layer birthday cake.
Apparently, we have high expectations in my family.
“WOAH!  I don’t know.”

But, I stared at the picture and broke it down to how I thought it was made.

3 tiers.  Topsy turvy. Chocolate iced. Neon white chocolate sprinkled all over.  It looked like something you’d put under a black light.

Challenge: Accepted.

Long story short I made the cake.  I’m an all or nothing person.  Why make a one layer cake and see how that goes when you can make 3 tiers…3 layers each.  With my work schedule it took me a few days (measured ingredients one day, baked the cake the next, made the icing the next, put it together…).  I couldn’t wait for the weekend to assemble it.  And because I didn’t know what I was doing, waiting until 5 minutes before assemble time was obviously the perfect time to finally watch the youtube video on how to do it.  I had to ride my bike for an hour after to analyze/build up my courage on how I was going to attack this.  Filled with doubts and hopelessness when I cut the first layer, “There’s no way this ends well.” is what ran through my mind.  (It’s just a practice cake.  It’s just a practice cake.)  Surprise.  It turned out better than expected.  It could be cut and trimmed more evenly.  It could be iced smoother.  My white chocolate was too thin and all the colors ran together.  (They (picture) probably piped it on with a bag and small tip instead of tossing it with a spoon.)  It could be a lot better, but it was a practice cake.

While it looks nothing like the picture my aunt sent (I’d post it, but don’t know the original poster and would love to give credit), I’ve never been prouder of something so ugly.  It’s not only my first 3 tier cake, but my first topsy turvy cake as well.  It was me and the cake for days.  It was being thrown into an unknown situation with a stranger, but you build trust and loyalty and you find out that giving up is not an option.  Together.  In the midst of the storm.  You grow as a person.  They’d write stories about you.  Angels take notes to report on your good will.  Time would have you on the cover: A heroic story of how two strangers (baker and cake) stuck it out until the end and never left (or ended up in the garbage can.  Progress.).

I’ve never climbed Mount Everest or participated in an Iron Man event, but I’m pretty sure this is the same accomplished, joyous feeling.

Tom Hanks and Wilson in Cast Away.  I get it.  (I also watched The Money Pit.  Another very relevant Tom Hanks movie to my weekend.)

Baking is not just about having dessert. Push yourself. Persevere. (Like Job.)

You never know unless you try. 😀

The Train Wreck in all its glory.