Back in 2014, I decided to make a cake. I wanted one for my house to eat, and decided to give one to my father, who had just had a birthday. I went to town, bought new cake pans, cake mix, and frosting.
This was the result.
It doesn’t look too bad, does it? The yellow is the tub of frosting, the red is an aerosol frosting with a star tip, and you can just see the sprinkles I covered the sides with. It doesn’t look that bad.
Until you see it from the side.
There was a height difference of almost 1.5″ between the left and right sides. I was so embarrassed. My Dad ate it anyway. He’s kind of a human vacuum or garbage disposal, and he’s always willing to eat whatever, especially if he doesn’t have to cook.
That was an embarrassing cake, and to top it off, it was only okay. The frosting was too sweet for me, it was uneven, and I felt like a failure. This was only the second cake I’d ever baked, and the first, a black forest cake, was like frosting a rubber dog turd. I don’t have a photo of it anymore, but it was fucking terrible. I made it back in… 2005? So I waited almost 10 years to make another cake, and it turned out better, but still awful.
I was not going to let another 10 year gap go by, especially after getting married last August. We had a simple wedding, with a 6″ cake to cut, and cupcakes for the guests. Our cake maker, Sherri, did a wonderful job, and I was envious of how smooth and beautiful the icing was on our cake. And the inside? Cinnamon swirl and fantastic!
In December, I decided 2016 was going to be the year of cakes. I watched videos, bought some equipment, and decided I was going to master making a tasty cake that looked decent. I didn’t intend on gaining skills to become a professional, I just wanted cakes that didn’t look like crap.
To celebrate non sucky cakes, I am going to be showing my cakes here. Maybe it will help me see at the end of the year that I have improved.