The Cake Challenge

Well, the competition came to an end on Sunday. I drove out to Burke VA to pick up my creation a bit early. I didn't win anything but scored pretty high I thought for my first competition. I got a whopping 46 points out of 50.  I did especially well in the creativity and color categories. 

This cake was a huge undertaking. I have never worked with fondant before and for good reason, the stuff is like Play Dough and covering a cake with it is not an easy thing to do. I had to patch up so many spots that I was forced to create a very artistic crack on the side of my cake. I figured...pots can crack, so why can't mine have a crack strategically placed where the fondant wasn't exactly perfect. The sugar flowers were key. And I was very grateful that my gumpaste classes came to good use. I spent nights making God knows how many Jasmin blossoms and leaves. My mother and partner was the one to credit for the beautiful Sweet Peas (naughty little flowers those are). But I had to add a little cupcake love, so the roses were cupcakes and I piped on the petals...yes, with no help. I thought I did a fabulous job considering I had never piped a rose petal by petal before. The little clay pots also had a cupcake inside them.  I made the pots by using my cupcake pan and turning it upside down. The shape of the cups was perfect to cover with fondant. The soil was made by pulverizing chocolate cookies. It looked so real that it made the cake a tad unappetizing. I worked and worked on this cake noticing imperfections and tried to solve them as best as I could every step of the process. In the end though, I walked into the competition like a proud peacock. I did the best I could and the end result was beautiful, maybe not perfect, but beautiful and made with a ton of love.  The experience helped me realize that I can do anything I put my mind to. And that gave me more confidence that I can do this. This being my cupcake business. I can really do it if I just put my mind to it. I love what I do even if it means staying up until 1am making 150 cupcakes for a bridal shower and looking like a big old mess in the morning. So.... I am signing up for the next competition in May. I already thought of my next creation. Now I just have to find a place to teach me how to cover a cake in fondant.