Cake Boss, Me?

Sometimes, I get myself in way over my head. I’m sure we’ve all done this once or twice! The problem is that I’m so sure I can do anything. That means I make a cake like the Cake Boss, right? How hard can it be after all. A few extra layers, some rolled fondant, a little decorating on the outside and voila…cake masterpiece! Boy, was I wrong! It wasn’t easy.

My sister-in-law and I were planning a surprise retirement party for my mother-in-law (which went off marvellously, I might add). I told her I would find a fabulous cake for the party and showed her some pictures. Low and behold, no one was available to make the cake. This is where I got silly. I told her I could make the cake myself, no problem. I started doing research online on flavours, sizes for the number of guests and it all seemed fine until I started baking. Then my first batch of cakes wouldn’t come out of the pan – they crumbled everywhere. Solution, we had trifle for supper! I started baking two cakes a night for three nights straight. I was exhausted and the kitchen was a mess! My husband even helped out by baking two layers for me – with the help of two little girls!

Finally, we had enough cake and it was time to put it all together. I must say the custard filling was easy and delicious! Once it was all piled high, I started rolling out the fondant. I thought this would be the hardest part since everyone online complains about fondant, but it was so easy! Thanks to Michaels Craft Store where I bought the pre-made fondant in a box, it was truly a piece of cake! Fun even! I made blue for the top layer by kneading food colouring into some of the white pre-mixed fondant. We all had fun rolling out fondant for decorations and shaping it into seashells.

My oldest daughter had a lot of fun doing the seaweed decorations on the outside of the cake. It was tiring, but really worth the effort as it turned out beautifully and saved us money in the long run. I’m not the next Cake Boss by any means, but it sure was fun trying! Take a look at the final masterpiece;