The Spontaneous Jewelry Box

I have met some amazing people out here in California, particularly my Zumba ladies who have become such great friends! It's always so much fun meeting up with those wonderful ladies; believe me they're a bunch of fun! This week we met up for lunch and I brought along a homemade cake. The original idea was to make a handbag since some of them really love bags but then I run out of time and ended up with what I chose to call the 'spontaneous jewelry box'. The other reasons for changing the cake idea will be covered in 'Lessons Learned'. Since this blog covers the learning journey, I decided that I should share those cakes that turned out as I planned and those that didn't; afterall that's part of the learning process right! Oh, for those who enjoy scrapbooking as well, please visit my friend's blog at http://www.naughtystamper.blogspot.com/.

Let's get to Baking!

I have been using Craftsy for classes to continue to learn new techniques and ideas for cake decorating. One of my favorite classes is the Designer Handbag Cake by Elissa Strauss. I will be sure to share pics of the cake when I actually get to design it.  I did use her Vanilla Cake recipe! This recipe has good reviews however, I thought that it was too sweet and that it was crumbly. I may need to try it again before deciding whether it will be one of my go-to recipes.






Elissa's Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe was really good though. It was not too sweet, yet it was fluffy and tasted good. The texture made it very spreadable as well! This was my first time making Swiss Meringue Buttercream but it won't be my last; next time I may add some Kahlua to add extra flavor!

For today's design, the batter (Vanilla Cake) was divided between two 9"X13" or quarter sheet cake pans. The cakes were then cooled, double wrapped in cling wrap and foil and then placed in the freezer for a few hours. This step helps make the cake easier to handle without crumbling.

The cakes were then torted and each cake was cut in half (with the knife parallel to the width of the cake). At this point, there were four pieces of cake which would be used to make the cake layers. With buttercream between each layer, the cake was crumb coated and refrigerated so that the buttercream can set, after which the final coat of buttercream was applied.

And then it's fondant time again! I think that it is easier to cover a round cake than it is a square/rectangular cake. For this cake, I covered each side of the cake individually including the top. I then used borders to detract from the parts where the fondant pieces were joined together. Roses were then affixed to each side and the top to add to the decoration.

The ladies enjoyed the cake and we had a mighty good time together!

Additional items used:

Swirl pattern rolling pin - The fondant would need to be rolled out first and then the patterned rolling pin can be used to add the design. This was used on the fondant that covered the entire cake.

Fondant Mold - Used for the borders and the rose embellishments.

Lessons learned:

• Plan ahead - I had a lot of plans in mind for how I wanted the cake to turn out but I didn't set aside enough time for the design. For cakes that require carving or special details, it is best to work on some of the cake in advance. Also the meringue buttercream needed more time than I had anticipated so that should also be taken into account.
• Humidity - The temperature in the working area should be conducive to cake decorating. I had read about that but I didn't consider that fact when I started working on my cake. My heater was on, so the kitchen was warm but I didn't pay attention to the temperature until my buttercream started melting and my fondant became very sticky; they just wouldn't cooperate and it can be very frustrating especially if working within a short time frame. The imperfections in the cake like the borders sliding off and the 'bumps' on the cake is as a result of the humidity. 
• Be gentle when moving the cake - This one is a given but honestly all that sense goes out the window when I'm nervous about not making it on time. Note to self; I need to keep calm at all times when handling the cake! The cake actually bumped around a bit in the cake carrier before it got to its destination though. Next time the non-slip mats can be used to prevent that.

Don't forget to share pics of your edible 'kreations'. Till next time, "Happy Baking!"

I look forward to reading your comments!