Its a jungle out there....in the kitchen

I just have to say that this may be the coolest cake I have every made! This cake ROCKS! And I don't mind saying so.It really bothered me that the kids devoured it in a matter of minutes and tore into my little animals like they were the animals. I mean this cake took a lot of work, I'm just saying that maybe we could have had a moment of silence before consuming it like ravenous jungle creatures. If you want to know the truth this cake took ALL WEEK to make and I shed many tears over it. I almost had to check myself into loony bin and don a straight jacket or join a fondant-gumpaste support group. I'm telling you my anxiety level was through the roof as I tried to craft the perfect animal (my first few attempts didn't even resemble living creatures).Eventually, with lots of support from my kids and hubby and hours of watching You Tube videos I finished my little herd. The hard part was over or so I thought.

With the house quiet I started making the buttercream but something went horribly wrong. I followed the recipe exactly but the frosting was soupy. Not fluffy or creamy but soupy. I cried. I searched the internet for answers. I cried. It was Sunday and I didn't have the supplies to start over. I cried some more and pulled myself to together and started dumping in more powdered sugar....anything to thicken to sugar soup. It seemed to work so I frosted up the cake, stuck it into the fridge, and went to lay down.

Fast forward an hour or two. I'm still recouping in my bed from the buttercream disaster and the kids come home. The first real sound I hear is "OH, NO!!! MOM, I'M SO SORRY. I'M SO SORRY. SORRY...SORRY....SORRY!" I knew by the frantic pitch and accompanying thud that my precious cake with the precarious icing job had landed on the kitchen floor. It had taken a beautiful swan dive off the top shelf of the fridge. I couldn't even get out of bed to console my daughter or asses the damage....I was paralyzed. My sweet husband sensing my predicament brought the cake to me. Quickly I pulled the pillows over my head and meekly said, "I can't look please take it away." He assured me that it was still edible and in "fine shape" but I couldn't bare to look. I knew that my cake making days were over and that my birthday boy would have no cake.

But like all good cake decorators I managed to pull myself together, drag myself out of bed and face the cake, which actually had survived the fall. We renewed determination I slapped on the fondant, threw the animals in place, and sang Happy Birthday to my little guy. With vision of straight jackets out of my head I'm ready for my next adventure.

Robin

'Tangled' in the cake

Disney's Rapunzel never had this problem!

 When we are not eating cake for breakfast, our typical diet is relatively healthy, so once that grocery legal white sugar drug arrives in the house, we lose our heads a little (and a few hairs).  Clearly, kitchen safety needs to become more of a priority while baking with my children.  So, here's a review for me to refer to before the next cake-tastrophe.  The kitchen experts at Kraft's number one rule, of course, being:

Before you begin roll up long sleeves, tie back long hair and remove loose clothing that might get in the way or catch on something.

Closely followed by number two...

Wash your hands and dry them well, wet hands can be slippery.

...which we should have known to translate as:  ALWAYS buy extra eggs!

If you can't quite reach the countertop, use a sturdy stool or wooden step to help.

I know 'sturdy' is the operative word here, but I would like to emphasize 'stool' and not Great-Grandma's long wooden plank bench with which the kids like to slide one end over and bridge the kitchen counter to the dining table.  No amount of clever efficiency is worth a head injury!

Keep cabinet doors and drawers closed so you won't bump into them.

We really need to post this reminder on the floor so I don't get another goose egg.

Wipe up spills as soon as they happen, wet spots can be slippery.

Gee.  Wet spots can be slippery?  Thanks for the news.  Grateful as I am for this informative direction, I should quit for now since I was trying to follow this rule in the first place!

While I was occupied wiping egg varnish off the bench, floor and out from between my toes, Tia volunteered to take a turn with my new hand mixer.  My $14.99 bargain works great except that the low setting just seems to mean 'quieter' and not a slower speed.  So the drama all played out silently as she became mesmerized by the creamy batter and leaned in to take a closer look.  Distracted by painful contact with my cabinet door, I didn't realize how completely and suddenly she got caught up in her cake theme, until I no longer heard the whirring of the beaters.  My heart went out to my poor daughter, who was genuinely scared, minimally hurt, and painfully tortured by her mother's uncontrollable laughter.  What a brave heart to give me a smile as I rallied the paparazzi with a promise to her that "It will be funny later, sweetie!"


No, she didn't lose her hair, it is safely braided behind her!

Jacobi

Pretty in Pink

January, the start of a new year, a time for each of us to reevaluate our lives and make resolutions to eat less sugar, exercise more, go to bed earlier, turn off the computer and reconnect with our families. Sounds good, right? Perhaps, but it isn't happening around here!! Nope we are starting out our year with some lofty sugary aspirations that will require total commitment. This type of complete devotion requires one to taste test every imaginable buttercream recipe while devouring spoonfuls of cream filling. The only running will be to Walmart for supplies or after a toddler for stealing gum paste flowers. Complete devotion requires one to sacrifice sleep in order to create amazing works of edible art in peace, usually between 1-2am. Finally, children must be ignored, chores left undone, and laundry piled high in order to give cake blogs, fondant tutorials, and various internet recipe searches their due attention. It's going to be a good year. Having said all that I present to you.....my first cake of the year!!! Actually, if truth be told this cake should have been the last cake of the year 2010, but the birthday girl didn't mind waiting. This cake went off without a hitch. Of course, I did assemble it well after the munchkins went to bed. However, looks can be deceiving. What this picture doesn't tell you is the number of times my 2 year old put his hand in the butter cream or how many times the fondant was dropped on the floor or....well....I guess I can spare you some of the details. Let's just say it was a good thing this was a "family party."

Normally I'm a bit of control freak, and I don't mind saying so, when it comes to decorating my cakes. After all it's my hobby. For the sake of family unity and passing on creative fulfillment to my children I'm starting to let them "help" just a little. My first baby step was to let Elaina make the smash cake. She did a great job and it wasn't as hard as I thought letting her join in on my fun. Next time I'll do better about letting her make her own creative choices...baby steps...baby steps.

Robin

Go Seahawks! Go Walmart!

I have to thank Robin for turning my heart over to the sweet side.  I am posting first because I made the first cake of the year, but really, she has been making Amazing Cakes for her equally amazing children for their birthdays every year.  It was the love going into her creative tradition that touched me and sparked some life into my grey January.  Swept into the world of cake decorating, with no experience, I had the ultimate inspiration from an earthshaking game.


Uncle Jimmy's Seahawks Jersey Birthday Cake

What the pretty picture doesn't tell you is all about the behind-the-scenes action.  I don't think even watching 3 seasons of Cake Boss prepared me for the potential for disaster involved with every sugary step nor the next day's blue toddler poo.  Maybe if I had taken some Wilton classes, or at least read Robin's cake decorating books, I would have hired a crew of professionals or stuck with pancakes.  But instead, I had my enthusiastic children, who had drooled with me over online cake ideas for days, encouraging me towards my vision.  Somehow, my dream forgot to include the trip to Walmart for supplies.

Have you ever taken a child into Walmart?  How about 9?  Robin came along to help me with my first foray into cake world.  At least we were smart enough to leave some home....wait....we left the babysitters home and brought all the babies.  Not so smart after all.  But after threats of no cake and promises of video games, they all behaved quite nicely.  "Mommy, did you want to buy all these styrofoam globes?"   "No, dear, but leave them in the cart."  "But, Mommy, does Garett get to keep all those toys?"  "Of course not, honey, but shhhhh he doesn't know that."  "Hey, Mommy, I thought you didn't like toy guns and did we pay for that candy bar he's eating!?"  "Whatever it takes, sweetie, now go look at those cute little office supplies so I can find the gumpaste."

Cobi