First Class Project

I have been baking goodies for about ten years now and most of the time, they turn out good. There was the occasional "whoops" in timing, an un-calibrated oven dial (think 100 degrees difference), and just plain wrong recipes. Baking, to me, is addicting in a control-freak Martha Stewart way that I love! My boyfriend will agree on the control-freak portion. One thing I have never been able to "get down" is decorating! Whether it be cakes, cupcakes, or mini desserts, a little decoration can really jazz it up. The solution? I signed up for the Wilton Basic Cake Decorating class at a nearby craft store to learn how to make icing, different consistencies for various decorations, and how-to make those nifty little flowers and such. The class is four sessions long at two hours per session, and they go through all the how-to basics. I am halfway through the course and have learned how to: make frosting in various consistencies (thick, medium, and thin), properly color frosting, leveling/torting/frosting a cake, fillings, star tip decorations (fill-ins and borders), and writing.

My first assignment for this past week was to bring to class a cake, leveled/torted/filled, then frosted and ready for embellishing. We were allowed to bring a printout of a design of our choice, so I found a printout of a piggy bank with a dollar sign to represent taxes due on 4/15! I forgot to take pictures while I was working through each step since I was concentrating so hard on my "homework". Here is a close-up of the finished product, which was devoured as soon as I walked into work on Tuesday. There is a reason I nicknamed my co-workers "the vultures". *smiles* This was a Dark Chocolate Coconut Cake with Rum Cherry Filling and Citrus Frosting.