I've been getting a lot of these lessons lately. The ones learned only by completely messing something up and learning through trial and error... Here are mine...

1. Pay attention to the recipe... umm yep, do not read OR but do AND. Oops. Doubling up on certain ingredients can go horribly wrong!

2. Do not put fondant over whipped cream cheese icing.

3. Violet cancels out natural butter yellow. Voilet DOES NOT cancel out that double dose of buttercup yellow that got added to the icing all at once. Violet + Buttercup = Babypoop.

4. Royal Icing breaks... A Lot. Make extras!!!

5. We should all have a KA mixer... "Dear Santa, this year...."

6. Do not use Wilton cake release on the sides of your pan unless you were really going for the total dome effect.

What are your lessons that we can all learn from??... you might save others some grief!!!

Do not over-microwave the marshmallows when making MMF. For the first 3 times I made it, I microwaved them till they melted. The recommended 20 seconds works fine, cause you can stir them till melted. My MMF turned out so dry and was really hard to work with.

give yourself plenty of time! i have a habit of waiting to do things and i am always stressed out at the last minute.

Dont take shortcuts!
sift your powdered sugar
take your time
wait until the kids are in bed
Always test a recipe before selling it

1.- Plan ahead. Everything. Even meals for the days you're going to be busy. Buy everything (eggs, flour, cake mixes, pipping bags, dowels, cake boards and wood boards, etc) in advanced.
2.- Print edible images several days in advanced (in case your printer is not working properly the day you need to deliver your cake).
3.- Order fresh flowers in advanced.
4.- Test your new recipes before you need them.
5.- Diddo on the Royal icing breaking up.
6.- Check twice for a well greased pan. I had some stuck and break for trying to save some cake release.
7.- ALWAYS have fun. If you're not having fun your cake won't look that good!!

I have learned to make sure to not fill the cake pan too high

Don't use light pink color to make a HOT Pink. It is bitter...

oh, the things i've learned from messing up... lol

let's see:
1. do NOT put your mixer on high and then add ingredients. crisco everywhere!
2. don't bake with a sprained elbow (or if you do, ask for help). as much as you think you can do it, pulling a half sheet cake out of the oven with one arm (your left, when you are right-handed), will end in disaster.
3. melted marshmallows are HOT. don't stick your finger in there (as yummy as it looks).
4. don't let your husband touch your stuff. putting cake pans in the dishwasher will make them look weird and for some reason unknown, he might just melt all your oreo molds... then deny it.
5. don't try to change the color of a frosting. either use it how it is, or make another batch. some colors don't mix well with others and end up looking like poop/baby food/alien barf/etc.
what else? oh yeah:
6. ovens are hot when they are preheated to 350. don't touch.

ha ha. i shouldn't be allowed to bake! lol

draw your cake before you start making it. color it so you know what colors you have to make. forever i just started making it with the picture in my head and then it didn't go together or i would change it and be disappointed

make sure you look at the size on the marshmallow bag before trying to make mmf. it calls for 16 oz not 11oz.

1/2 tsp of almond emulsion in a half batch of bc icing is too much. that stuff is potent

don't touch bettercreme after you airbrushed it. you will dent it no matter how lightly you touch it.


you cannot use a little dab of crisco to help smooth out you fondant seams and then airbrush it. it colors differently and will totally come off if touched.

In addition to those already posted, one thing that I have learned:

1. Never assume that what you did last time will work again this time. (Example: Never assume that because you stacked your cake without dowels once before and it worked that it will work again! Assuming gets ya....everytime!)

when making rice crispies... add the marshmellows.. how i missed that one i will never know

always wear your oven mits when taking a pan out of the oven... learned the hard way...

Wet/damp oven mitts transfer heat VERY VERY well...owww

Mark all cakes/pastries/candies DO NOT EAT if you have a husband who likes to have midnight snacks.....

Always be sure the paddle has stopped spinning on your KA before you flip it up!

Keep dragees in double bags! There is no good way to pick them off a tile floor when there are thousands of them! 8 months later - I'm still finding them!!! The little suckers roll great distances!

Where good comfortable shoes when on your feet all day in the kitchen - your feet will thank you later!

Great thread!!!!

Well I've learned alot in the past few years but mainly keep your husband and children out of the kitchen unless he's really helping out by washing the dishes.

Kiss him extra special for doing all the dishes and then staying up until 3 am on a work night making the buttercream icing for you because you've been baking and cleaning and tending to the kids and cooking dinner and being a housewife and mom all day lol....

Don't think just because that cake has sat there for 30 minutes cooling off that you can pick that sucker up without a pot holder to turn it out of the pan.

NEVER EVER EVER!!!! try to flip a sheet cake onto one cake board that's laying on your arm and think it'll work... it falls in the floor on the table on the chairs and all over you as well lmfao (I tried to turn it out onto a cake board that was laid on my arm long ways and the plan was to quickly place another board on top of it and flip again for leveling.... didn't work lmao....)

ALWAYS!!! use a clean dish towel to "smash" the crown down on all cakes as soon as they come out of the oven... saves from having to level them out

Never let your 7 1/2 year old color the icing for that nipply cake lmfao (came out more of a purplish pink then a fleshy pink lol)

Never send your 7 1/2 year old daughter to her father for an explanation of what kind of cake mommy is making just because you don't want to tell her it's a nekkid woman for her uncle lmfao

Ummm I think that's it right now lol I'll let ya know more after my first stacked cake next weekend lol

Flip your cakes over and let them cool upside down in the pan.

NEVER waste anything. Something you think might be a mistake may be useful in something else (I broke a loaf of biscotti dough trying to remove it from the pan because I forgot to put in on parchment paper. Couldn't cut it and re-bake - it was in a million pieces - but it baked it anyway, turned it into crumbs and used it for cheesecake crusts and pudding pies). Throw those "mistakes" in the freezer until inspiration hits.

Never decorate on an empty stomach - your finger will be magnetically pulled into the icing and then your mouth.

If you're going to experiment with a recipe - don't do it the day your order is due.

NEVER loan out your decorating books/supplies. Tell them to come to your house to read and/or decorate and make a day of it.

Don't put citric acid and tangerine oil in MMF. You will eat it all and none of it will end up on the cake. (Just learned this one two days ago)

Double check to be sure that the bottom of your springform pan is securely locked into the sides....unless, of course, you enjoy cleaning cheesecake batter off the bottom, shelves and door of a pre-heated 475 degree oven! *fanning the flames and smoke*

The "sticking your finger in the melted marshmallow" thing holds true for melted caramel too!

Don't leave a bottle of vanilla out where your 3 year old can grab it and drink it, unless they need to throw up anyway!

Oh...not a cake thing, but students that cannot afford to bring pencils, crayons, lunch or field trip money to school WILL bring crisp $20's to Picnic Day!

Always crack your eggs into another container and then add them one at a time to your mix. Nothing worse than getting a nasty egg and having to throw out the entire batch of batter.

Buy one of those tiny levels and make sure each layer of cake and filling is level before adding the next one. Really makes a difference in your tiers.

Try using cake spackle. Great for stability of tiers.

Make sure you turn your oven on. No matter how long you leave a filled cake pan in an oven ,that isn't turned on ,the darn thing won't bake. (my record is 50 minutes)

1. Never talk on the phone while writing on a cake....BITHD OH S#*&

2. Don't try making black fondant without gloves. My hands were pink for about 2 days.

3. I second that... MARK DON'T TOUCH.

4. Don't add double the baking powder EVER

What is this CAKE SPACKLE??? Never heard of it and I'm wondering lol

Spackle is cake crumbs, buttercream and filling. Blend it all up and coat your cake with it between your crumb coating and your icing. It works well for 3D cakes and stacked cakes.

i had a cupcake cup overturn once and land on the oven floor. i didn't realize it, and the next time i baked, it caught fire! ha ha... it was scary at the time, but pretty funny to see dh's reaction when i told him i caught the oven on fire! ha ha. we all came out okay.

OMG!! I am so glad hubby is at work and DD is in bed! There's only the dog here to see me falling out of the chair on my as I laugh!!! This is too great!!

LittleLinda....it was awful! The burning smell was horrible and trying to clean the hot oven was almost impossible. At the time I had a standing order of 4 cheesecakes a week for a restaurant. The other 3 were in the oven already when the bottom fell out of the fourth. I pulled them out, turned off the oven and scraped up as much burning goo as I could.

In the end I had to throw out all 4. I was afraid all the smoke had flavored the others and I thought they sat for too long to try and bake. So, it was a LOT of ingredients that got wasted!

But, I've double checked every pan of every cheesecake I've baked since!

don't leave the cake in the oven and go to another part of the house to play on CC.....
or your DH will come up and ask if you are trying to burn down the house...and you will realize that it is entirely filled with black smoke....

Never bend over a freshly iced buttercream cake with reading specs on....or they will drop into the cake and take out something very important...this is the one I have to repeat to myself!!!

I learned metal tips don't sound nice being in the garbage disposal when it's turned on...............and they don't look very good after you pull them out. BE SURE they don't go down the drain when you are not looking.

I also learned that the Agbay is REALLY REALLY sharp. Trust them when they tell you it is.

I learned not to over fill the 3D bear pan. It will flow all over your oven and fill your kitchen up with smoke.

Never RUSH a decorating job. It will take you 10 times longer then if you slow down and take your time. You see, having to do it over and over again takes a lot of time.

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I learned metal tips don't sound nice being in the garbage disposal when it's turned on...............and they don't look very good after you pull them out.


OOPS! Done that one. Take our word those tips look pretty bad.