i haven’t really decided what direction to go regarding my little cake side hustle gig. at one point, i thought i might want to work in a bakery, but after an interview (and “audition” where i decorated a cake), i didn’t hear back from one local bakery and thought maybe i was better off just sticking with doing them at home. (maddie cakes in advance, if you’re reading this, thanks for not even bothering to let me know i didn’t get the job).
anyways, i am still getting orders for cakes here and there, and in september, i had an order for a cow print themed baby shower cake. cookies and cream was the obvious flavor choice, given it’s similar appearance to cow print. so, i began working hard in the test kitchen to discover/create the perfect cookies and cream cake. my kids were glad to offer their services as taste testers and disposers of failed attempts….
once it was stacked and frosted in the most delicious oreo buttercream, i gave it a layer of white butter buttercream and scattered some black fondant cow spots all over it. then things took a horrific turn. it was a little warm and muggy that day, and the fondant started sweating and shimmering. not ideal. so, i set it up with a fan blasting straight onto it to dry out the fondant pieces and it seems to have worked. crisis averted.
the family asked for a red border and told me they would also be decorating with sunflowers. of course, this prompted me to suggest i make the sunflowers. they turned out a little more flat than i had imagined, but i was mostly happy with them.
the aerial view is the best (because you can’t tell how flat they are. haha).
the family was quite pleased with it. and all my fears about the sweaty spots were assuaged when i found out the shower was in a barn, in the sweltering heat, in the afternoon. it was destined to sweat and droop a little either way. :/.
in the end, i likely made very little profit, thanks to some failures, all the testing, and my inability to quote cakes very accurately. but, it’s all a learning process. right?