Ice, Ice Cake-y

First, let me begin with an apology for two weeks ago. I COMPLETELY forgot to post anything and by the time I realized it, it was better to just let it go and apologize the next time (this time). At the time I was beginning a new position at work and I got all wrapped up in learning all this new stuff - I literally had one day of training, and everything else so far has been jumping in head first.

Oh, by the way, my new job is what I'm writing about this week: I'm now a cake decorator.

Now before you get excited and think, "Way cool! You get to make whatever you want, right?", the answer to that is no, not exactly. I don't work in an independent bakery, I work in a bakery within a retail store. We have certain things we have to make or keep on standby to keep the case filled, but we are encouraged to practice and experiment if we happen to have a little time.

But then there's customer orders, and that's really what can make or break you. I'm sure a good majority of you have ordered a cake a one time or another, so you understand what I mean when I talk about the designs in a book. We have some things that are generic designs which can be tweaked and changed however the customer would like it to look, and we have licensed designs - these color schemes are 100% not interchangeable; we can deviate slightly on the placement of any kits (the little toys that come on these cakes) to account for any writing, but that's it.

And sometimes customers will have you write awesome things on their cakes, such as:

Luke, this cake is from your father.

Most of the time though they just want Happy Birthday [person they're buying the cake for] or Congratulations.

One thing I've learned quickly: whipped icing is great for icing a cake and getting it smooth, but it's horrible for details and writing. It's too soft and once it warms up enough it gets even softer and starts to run a little. On the other hand, buttercream can be a pain to get smooth, but it's stiff enough to create whatever you want to put on a cake (I'm still learning roses, but I'll get there - eventually).


Today (Friday, by the time you guys read this it'll be Saturday) I got to make a Sesame Street cake for a little girl turning one, and with one-year cakes they get a free smash cake - a smash cake, for those who may not know, is a separate small cake decorated to match the main cake just for the child to rip into all by themselves so everyone else can still enjoy a slobber-less cake.

I'm two weeks in, but so far this job has been really fun, and I work with some of the coolest and most helpful people. It's a lot different from making and decorating cakes at home, which I do on occasion, but until starting in the bakery I only ever really worked with fondant to get a smooth finish on a cake. I can definitely take the skills I'm picking up at work and apply them to my free time.