Shoot for the Stars

This was my very first attempt at decorating a cake using actual bags and tips designed for that purpose. I call this one "Shoot for the Stars" and plan on using this same color scheme in a few weeks on a cake with a more contemporary design.

I used a butter cake recipe found here. The recipe calls for only 1 cup of granulated sugar and uses milk which I felt gave the batter an almost sour taste. My concerns about the lack of sugar were confirmed after baking when the cake seemed a little dull to me. Although the recipe called for vanilla, which I used, I still found the cake lacking in flavor.

I used the traditional Wilton Snow White Buttercream Icing recipe and substituted butter flavored shortening for the regular. I also omitted the almond extract, replacing it with extra vanilla instead. The shortening gave the batch of icing a light yellow tint which caused my colors to be slightly different than originally planned. I had some trouble with smoothing the overall icing out. I followed the instructions I was given on using waxed paper or a paper towel to create a smooth surface but the icing actually stuck to the paper and I spent an extra 5 minutes smoothing it out again. It seemed like the icing was actually melting and I thought that may be contributing to the problem so I put the cake in the refrigerator for about an hour until the icing firmed up a bit. (I was told later that I should never refrigerate a cake until it is completely decorated. I'm still not sure of the reason behind this but will be doing some research to learn why.)

I used Wilton icing colors in Teal and Brown. The teal came out slightly more to the green side than I thought I wanted but, in the end, I am really happy with the color. I will definitely be making a note of how the butter flavored shortening can work in my favor for future reference. The light brown was relatively easy to get but the dark brown used almost a full 1/2 ounce of color. Using that much coloring also gave the icing a unsatisfactory taste. (Not something most people would probably notice but with my palate, I certainly did.) Some people will say that Wilton Buttercream is unsatisfactory to begin with and I would tend to agree but, in this case, the brown made it worse than normal.

All in all, I'm happy with my first creation. I think the colors came out really well and I think I got the overall effect I was going for. It's not your normal "Happy Birthday" cake with balloons and a rose or two. It's........ "me"...... which I'm happy about. I will be making another cake in a week and my goal for that is to get the icing a little smoother before decorating the whole thing. Also, I plan on using a scallop border of some sort as well as having lettering of some kind.

This looks like the beginning of a sweet friendship.