***Moving On***
So, this week I was determined to go more traditional. The cakes I'd made for class so far had been way out of the box when compared next to what we were "supposed" to do. I used the techniques we learned but just never fit into any kind of mold so I ventured out on the first two. Well, at it turned out, I didn't stick to anyone else's ideas this week either. I iced the cake in white. That's about where the traditional part stopped... even though I had every intention of making this one all "sweet and pretty." (HAH! I've never done "sweet and pretty" in ANYTHING... I don't know what made me think I would actually start now.)
In class this week, we learned (or attempted to learn) roses. I'll just say roses and I were not getting along last night and, after half an hour, I got frustrated and decided it would be better to move on to something else and come back to roses when I'm alone without distraction and am not under any pressure to produce something to put on a cake.
The plan was to make the cake straight out of the book, altering the colors in order to appease that "I hate NORMAL" voice inside me. I used Wilton's delphinium blue and kelly green. Blue roses? Sure, why not? After my attempts at making the roses went belly up, I practiced sweet peas and bows with the rest of the class and, in the end, just started adding stuff to the cake as I went along. The only thing I planned was the shell border along the bottom. The rest I made up as I went and this ended up being this week's final result:
The writing, after two attempts did NOT come out like I wanted. My handwriting, in my opinion, is normally OK. (Click here to take a look at my To-Do list for yesterday and to see what my normal, every day handwriting looks like.) And when I practice my icing writing on my practice board, it looks good for the most part. For some reason, I just didn't get this one down. Maybe it's a matter of more practice on an actual cake. I don't know. We'll see what happens as time goes on with the whole lettering issue.
I learned bows literally 5 minutes before I added them to my cake. Considering that, I would have to say "not bad" to the ones I pulled off. One was lower than the rest and my technique will get more refined as I go but, overall, I really liked the bows. I'm not too crazy about the gap that is left on some of them so I added the little blue stars in the middle just to make them look (to my eye, anyway) more complete.
Double shell borders bore me so I was stuck for a while on what to do on top. I added the sweet peas first. (Not perfect but not horrible, in my opinion... not bad for my first try.) The squiggles came later. I actually used to use squiggles as space filler a lot when I was majoring in graphic design in college. (Don't ask how I got from graphic design/web site building/desktop publishing to being obsessed with pastry arts in less than a year. I have no idea, but I am having a PHAN-TABULOUS TIME!)
As far as recipes go, this week I used a different cake recipe. (Thank you Betty Crocker.) I substituted Rum flavoring for the called for vanilla in order to make an Eggnog cake. (My hubby buys up eggnog by the gallon around Christmas and freezes it so his stash will last a bit longer. So, I figured he might enjoy such a cake.) The cake, like the other 2 was bready and dry. I read in my American Woman's Cook Book (an original print from 1941 that I got, literally, for less than 10 cents at an estate sale and would have paid $50 for) that I'm probably using too much flour. Ummm... it struck me that I was measuring then sifting instead of the other way around. Great! So, next week I'll try baking it correctly to see how it turns out.
I used a traditional Wilton recipe for the icing. I can't remember which one off the top of my head and it doesn't really matter because it sucked. Even adding a whole extra cup and a half of powered sugar didn't keep it in decent condition for decorating which, according to me and confirmed by my instructor, was one of the reasons I was having such a hell of a time with my roses. To be exactly accurate, it was OK until it softened from the heat of my hands. The other recipes I've used didn't "fall apart" from the warmth of my hands like this one did.
To compliment the eggnog cake, I flavored the icing with rum flavoring as well as with a bit of butter flavoring. Butter rum over eggnog? Hey, it sounded good to me. (Of course, what do I know? I'm an insulin dependent diabetic who hates the taste of most sweets. Again... how can I hate the taste of sweets and want to be a pastry chef? I know, I know... and the answer is: I don't know. LOL!)
The hubby said the flavors work well together. He liked the cake a lot and said the icing went well with it. I have to give him credit for trying it since he's not an "icing" person. Also, he's trying to lose a lot of weight and I keep asking him to try all these horribly fattening desserts. He's a trooper. After 21 years in the Army, he should be.
So, that's one more down with several thousand more to go. I start my Wilton Course 2 next week as well as the Fondant and Gum Paste class. Can't wait!
1 comment:
Great work.
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