Trial Run #1

I couldn't wait until tonight to make the cupcakes and try out the fondant so I ended up doing it last night after I posted the previous blog. With this trial run I learned a few key things:

1. Don't let this stuff get warm, it's too hard to work with, no matter how much you think it will help.


2. Have very sharp instruments on hand, it's a pain in the butt to cut when it gets warm.


3. Make sure you use a dense, heavy cake mix. My cupcakes were too fluffy and just wanted to squish when I put the fondant on.

Luckily I only made one set of cupcakes and saved the rest of my batter for this weekend. (Either I would have eaten them all or ended up throwing them in the floor and stomping them out of frustration.) I only made one with the fondant covering it. I really think they are just more for looks than taste because the fondant is heavy....it just doesn't go well with the traditional kinds of cake I'm used to.

Luckily for me I didn't put fondant on all of them, that way I could eat one. (Or two!)...(Okay, okay, I had 3. Plus one at 3 am when I got up to get Drew's bottle. It doesn't count if you eat it in the middle of the night.)

Tornado Alley!

Oh my, did I get myself into a mess tonight...As soon as Drew went to bed I decided it was time for me to start tackling my latest obsession: making Drew his 1st birthday cake, custom-style. Now, to most this would probably seem fairly simple however, I don't really enjoy cooking all that much. Actually, I just don't enjoy the cleaning up, the cooking isn't that bad. I can cook, my mamaw made certain of that, I just hate cleaning all the stuff up afterwards....and don't tell me you're supposed to clean as you go because that's a bunch of bull. I clean before, during and after and there's still a big mess.

So, back to my original thought....for the last few days I have been thinking a lot about Drew's upcoming birthday, (well, it's not until November but my OCD requires that I be well prepared), and trying to decide what kind of cake he will have. Since he loves dogs, I have decided to make a dog cake with cupcakes with dog themed shapes that are covered in that really cool, smooth icing professional decorators use. My friend Shannon also has her son's 1st birthday coming up (this Saturday) and she came to show me the cake she ordered for him yesterday. I didn't see it, but it is going to be a Very Hungry Caterpillar themed cake. I looked at the link of the lady's previous cake designs and was a bit overwhelmed. First, there's no way I can afford to purchase one of her custom cakes and second, I am really into doing special things for my first 1st birthday as a mommy.

(Here's a link to some pictures of similar cakes that are covered in fondant:

http://www.pinkcakebox.com/ )

Last night I came home and began researching these cakes and what I needed to do to begin my project. First, I had to find out what that fondant stuff was and where I could get it. Now, I could have taken the easy way out and ordered some, but it costs an arm and a leg and I wanted it now. Waiting 3-4 days for it to be delivered was not an option....again, OCD. So, after some searching, I found out how to make the fondant, yes, as in homemade. After going to Wal-Mart before picking Drew up today, I headed home and began getting my things ready. Now, my house is definitely lived in and is not the neatest with a baby, 2 dogs and a husband throwing things everywhere, but after I began my fondant making, this is what it looked like:

As the process went along, I began taking pictures of my work. Here is the fondant after I got it all kneaded and rolled out...

After separating and putting food coloring in half....

And finally, my kitchen after clean-up...ahhhh.

I have decided I would practice my cake making skills on Hayley and my dad this weekend. My dad is turning 50 next Sunday and Hayley will turn 19 this Sunday. We are having a big cookout and Mom and Dad's and she's having a cake made, etc., etc. I decided since I had an occassion, I would do a trial run. I am going to make cupcakes, ice them, then cover them with the green fondant. After that, I will attempt to make flowers to go on the top. Whether that comes together is a different story. When I get them done, I will post more pictures....maybe. We'll see how they look, then I'll decide if I would be too humiliated to post them!