HI All!
I just had my first Wilton course I class and have been practising this week and am getting very discouraged because I can't seem to get the icing smooth enough! Sometimes I wonder if I should even be doing this. Plus, my cakes seem too moist! I know I shouldn't complain about that but I find it harder to ice. The instructor made it look so easy! and I am having a hard time with it. I'm going to practise my second one tonight.......hopefully I'll do better, if not I don't know what I'll do!
Just needed to vent, thank you for listening!
HI All!
I just had my first Wilton course I class and have been practising this week and am getting very discouraged because I can't seem to get the icing smooth enough! Sometimes I wonder if I should even be doing this. Plus, my cakes seem too moist! I know I shouldn't complain about that but I find it harder to ice. The instructor made it look so easy! and I am having a hard time with it. I'm going to practise my second one tonight.......hopefully I'll do better, if not I don't know what I'll do!
Just needed to vent, thank you for listening!
Dont get discouraged, it all takes a lot of time and practice. I did the Wilton course 13 years ago, and because I didnt get much practice in the time following, i still find it hard to smooth a cake properly, i can sort of do it, but it just takes me more time than other people. This doesnt mean im going to give up, just that i need more practice. I've only in the last couple of years been making lots of cakes, but for the first 11 years i would only make a cake a year. There are no miracles in this industry, just a lot of hard work and perseverance.
Keep your chin up and keep the cakes coming
Nati
Don't get too discouraged....I just bought some springform pans and for the life of me can't figure out which end is up or down and why they are leaking!!!!!!!!! 
Practice Practice Practice....I tried roses last night for the first time and felt the same way....oh what in the hell-o am I doing thinking I can do this!!!!
We'll get there~~
do you crumb coat your cakes? That might help with the icing problem.
Have you tried any of the neato techiniques outlined in the forums for getting your icing smooth?
How stiff is your icing? Sometimes you need to thin down the icing for basefrosting your cakes and use the stiffer stuff for the decorations.
I too am getting a little frustrated but know that practice is the answer. I am only going to class 2 of course 2, and am looking forward to learning all the flowers. My problem seems to stem from the fact I never seem to get the icing consistency right. And I really should practice more than once a week (not counting class). My questions is, besides the practice board, do all of you bake a cake to practice on? I was thinking of just doing a one layer cake each time I want to practice so the family does not get "caked out". Then again, there is always those at work who will eat cake all the time - hey, my victims! LOL!!! Might be a good advertisement to have folks buy something from me once I get alot better at decorating!
deb
It took me probably about 6 months after I finished all three wilton courses before I ever got close to getting my icing smooth enough. Still isn't as smooth as I would like it sometimes. Don't give up. One problem I realized was that I wasn't putting quite enough icing on mine. Have you tried the Viva paper towel trick? I won't do a smooth cake unless I have plenty of Viva towels around. Don't get discouraged like everything worthwhile this to just takes time.
Good luck!!
Maybe you can make some dummy cakes and just practice smoothing. I've learned alot from this site about different techniques such as the viva trick...dipping the spreader in hot water...now there's a trick with blue shop towels! And all the different fondant tips. The how-to section is so golden!
Thank so much you guys! I just needed a little encouragement right now and I knew I would get it from the members here at CC. You guys are great! I guess I'm just frustrated, I know it takes practice (I knew I spelled that wrong! LoL!) and I will do more cake until I get this right but I don't know who I am going to give them to....we still have some left over from the first cake and I'm going to do another one today (giving that one to the in-laws) than I don't know who else after that.......maybe the seniors home.....I'm sure I'll find someone who will take it! LOL!
Thanks again for the support!! 
I have been using the big icing tip and the hot spatula method. I think some of the problem is I should have made the icing a little bit thinner. I thought it was thin enough.....I will try making it a little thinner this time. I just love the support you get from this site!
THANKS AGAIN! I feel a lot better now!
I feel your pain! I just had my second class of course I and we all walked in complaining about how bad our icing looked...so we laughed, because at least we were all bad at it! Our instructor made it look easy, too. Well, let me tell you, once you are home alone with your cake and icing, it's a whole other story.
The more I tried to fix it, the worst it looked 
Don't give up. I got some great tips on this site and from class. What really works good for me..
Use LOTS of frosting. I thought it was too much, but it wasn't. Just pile it on. It makes it so much easier to frost.
Crumb coat. Some don't do it...but I'm new and I need all the help I can get!!
Let it crust and smooth over with the VIVA method or wax paper and a spatula, even. I finally got it to look good and accidently poked my finger in the side when I was proudly showing it off to my hubby. 
Just find what works for you, and don't give up! You will always be your hardest critic.
And you're right, the people on this site are sooo great. I just recently discovered this site, myself, and I am so motivated and inspired.
Good luck to you!!!
Angie
On my first cake, I was so obsessed with making the icing smooth and perfect and avoiding crumbs... I used over 7 lbs of frosting! People were going into sugar shock!
Parismom, that's funny! I did exactly the same thing!! 
Of course your instructor made it look easy -- that's how he/she got to be an instructor. And I bet when he/she started out, she faced the same problems. Just keep practicing and remember why your taking the classes in the first place -- to learn the techniques that will make you better at it. Most of all, remember to have fun!! It's just cake after all!!
You'll get better the more you do it!!
Hang in there and enjoy your classes!!!
Ok, now I have to tell you all a story. I teach and one of my first classes 9 yrs or so ago, I had a mother daughter team. I happen to know them from when I was is HS. Well the mom came in saying I was going to flunk her she wasn't able to do this. I said let me see. It looked like the Leaning Tower of Pizza. I asked for her icing she asked her daughter where is it. At home on the counter, the daughter went home to get it, and by then others were coming into class and we begged and borrowed until hers got there. I slid the cake back together and reiced her cake, showing her once again the right way to do this. When her daughter got back she asked her mother where her cake was. It was sitting right in front of her but she didn't think it was the same cake. This lady now does cakes for her coworkers. So all it takes is some practice
I was thinking of just doing a one layer cake each time I want to practice so the family does not get "caked out". Then again, there is always those at work who will eat cake all the time - hey, my victims! LOL!!! Might be a good advertisement to have folks buy something from me once I get alot better at decorating!
That's how I got started. I didn't want my family to eat a cake every week, so I sent them to work with my husband. After the first few cakes, I started to get requests...a year and a half later I usually do 3 cakes a week. The last two weeks I had 6 to do each week. Whew, I was busy.
See if the instructor will let you use a dummy cake if you don't want to bake a new one each week.
Just keep practicing with smoothing the icing. I know you get tired of hearing that word...PRACTICE...but you'll get there.
I too am getting a little frustrated but know that practice is the answer. I am only going to class 2 of course 2, and am looking forward to learning all the flowers. My problem seems to stem from the fact I never seem to get the icing consistency right. And I really should practice more than once a week (not counting class). My questions is, besides the practice board, do all of you bake a cake to practice on? I was thinking of just doing a one layer cake each time I want to practice so the family does not get "caked out". Then again, there is always those at work who will eat cake all the time - hey, my victims! LOL!!! Might be a good advertisement to have folks buy something from me once I get alot better at decorating!
deb
When I took the classes, I was working in a Restaurant and took them on Sunday's right before I had to work. People making not so much money and working hard for it, will eat anything in sight. I only had one time when my cake wasn't eaten, that's when I hid it because I wanted to take it home for the family.
As for Stiffness of icing, the easiest thing when I was doing the classes, was to make all my icing stiff and thin down to whatever I needed after that. It's a technique I still do. I only have stiff icing on hand, so I can make it whatever I want later.
I recently started a new Course 1 last week. This week I had several students inform me that I made the icing of the cake look too easy and when they got home it wasn't that easy for them.
Keep in mind that your instructor has probably been doing this for a while. I took my Course 1 back in 2001 and have been teaching for over a year and a half. So I have had 5+ years of icing cakes.
Your instructor had to start at the beginning as well. And I'm sure her cakes did not start off looking perfect. Hang in there and have fun!! Try not to stress yourself out of every detail of the cake. The more you practice, the easier it should become.
Thanks guys!!
It's good to know that I'm not the only one getting frustrated!
Just an update, I just iced my second cake and it turned out better than the first! So that makes me happy! I still have to practise a lot more but I'm hoping it will only get better!
Thank you all again for the encouragement it really does help!
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