Blue-Eyed Baker: Graduation Cake

So if you read Summer is HERE you know about the graduation cake I made and if you didn't read it don't worry, a) you still can and b) I'm going to tell you all about the cake anyways.

Last Saturday an old friend of mine had her college graduation party and I volunteered to make her cake.  It was a half sheet cake and the biggest cake I've made to date.  I tried to make it the day of the party and that was mistake number one.

Mistake #1

Try to make the biggest cake you've ever made in approximately four hours.

It was dumb and I'll never do it again.  I should have made the cake the night before so it could have cooled completely and the icing wouldn't have been a fiasco.

Mistake #2

Underestimate how much you'll need of each ingredient.  

Okay, so at first I thought I was only going to make a one layer cake.  Well I didn't have enough batter to fill the pan up as much as I wanted and the first cake came out a little small so I made a second layer because I didn't want to give someone that was paying me a chincy cake.  So in short I barely had enough ingredients for both cakes and definitely didn't have enough ingredients for the icing so I had to make a few trips.

Mistake #3

Try to work with warm cake.

Just don't do it, ever.  It was the main reason everything went down hill.

It may seem like I'm being hard on myself but I'm really not.  I needed to make these mistakes in order for me to learn.  I ended up finishing the cake and admitting to myself that it wasn't my best work.  I ended up having to free-hand the design on the cake and I learned with some practice I really could become good at that.  I also learned that it's a good idea to bake for people you know because when you mess up and the cake falls apart in transit they will be understanding and still eat the cake.  The best part was later when I was told the cake was delicious and they would order from me again.  So all-in-all it wasn't that bad.

I'm not posting any recipes today because I used the Guiness cake from the Irish Car-Bomb cupcakes which you can find on my blog and a basic butter-cream icing that isn't my favorite to use but I was in a jam.

The result.  I did pipe some bad-ass shell bordering.

Happy Thursday and Happy Baking!

Summer is HERE

After the crappiest start to "summer" ever, from going back to State College alone to the rainy, yucky weather, summer is finally (and officially) here and I personally think that I started it off in just the right way.  I had an excellent weekend.

Friday

I had Friday off (well I had the whole week off but whatever) so Kyle and I went to Ohiopyle.  Yes, I finally made it.  We didn't have a picnic or take the dog but just getting to Ohiopyle for the first time this summer was enough.  It wasn't too busy and the water wasn't too cold nor was it too hot.  It was perfect.

The natural water slide.  I didn't take this picture and we didn't go on it but next time...

Saturday

On Saturday an old friend from high school had her graduation party.  Also, her mom asked me to make the cake for the part but more on that in another post.  Anywho, it was really nice to see her and her mom and some other people that I haven't seen in a while.  There was also beer and great food so that makes for a good time.  It was fun and just the kind of party I like to go to, not too big, not too small and nothing formal.

The cake, not my best work but I was told it was delicious.

Sunday

We were supposed to go see Alice Cooper but we didn't.  In all honesty I'm not a huge Alice Cooper fan so it didn't bother me all that much.  We spent the afternoon canoeing on the Yough with my family which was a blast and then in the evening after deciding to forgo the concert Kyle took me to dinner and out for ice cream and it was just the perfect night. 

The captain and first mate

Mom and Ed could not keep up

Don't rock the boat

If this past weekend was any indication of how the summer is going to go I'll be pleased.  It was so much fun and it was nice to get out and do stuff.  Happy Monday!