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Toughest Cake Week ever (long/vent)

post #1 of 14
6/23/11 at 11:14pm
Thread Starter 
My cousin's wedding cake is due tomorrow around 4 (ceremony at 5).

This week of caking has been as close to a total disaster as I could imagine. The design itself was going to be a challenge--6 tiers, 4 of them shades of purple, fondant, outdoor wedding in the So Cal heat.

Baked & froze everything over the weekend.

Monday--My dad goes in for an angiogram that turns up a severe blockage.

Tuesday--Up at crack of dawn--defrost/torte/fill/cakes, leave them to settle. Spend 7+ hours at hospital while dad is in surgery for a triple bypass. (He' fine & recovering now) Home--burned midnight oil crumb sealing & then frosting cakes so they would be ready for fondant.

Wed--Start fondant in AM. Visit at hospital. Finish fondant. THINK that all is well

TODAY--Stenciled tiers are a disaster. Fall back to Plan B with pearls instead of swirls. I've had bubbles in the fondant. Elephant skin. Out of 6 tiers that looked fine yesterday. I've had to strip & recover 2 of them, 1 of those 3 times. The Ivory Satin Ice fondant has been the worst--no matter how much I knead it, I keep getting elephant skin & cracks. The texture feels dry.

I finally got everything to an acceptable status, not perfect but doable. Started stacking components using SPS.

The 8in tier (ivory) cracked in 3 places. I don't have time to rebake. I don't have enough ivory fondant on hand to recover and I don't even know if I can since the SPS pillars have already been pressed in so I have 4 big holes down the cake. I filled the cracks w/tinted royal icing and will reeval in the AM. I'm HOPING that I can turn that tier so the worst of the issues are to the back. If I have to recover it, I can get ivory Duff fondant from Michael's at 9am.

All hope I had for seeing my dad at the hospital is shot. I'm hoping I can get this thing to the wedding w/o more cracks forming in the dang ivory fondant. My cousin obviously knows about dad's situation & has been pretty reasonable but this cake is no where near what we planned and I feel awful.

Kristy
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post #2 of 14
6/23/11 at 11:49pm
So sorry to hear about your week. I hope everything turns out okay with the cake. Saying prayers for you and your dad.
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post #3 of 14
6/24/11 at 1:55am
We are our own worst critiques. Just do what you can and don't worry about it. Sending a big hug your way and hope your dad is doing well. Once you get it together it will look better.
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post #4 of 14
6/24/11 at 1:49pm
It is difficult to create anything when you are stressed out. Happy cooks make happy food. It's perfectly understandable that what would be minor setbacks in ordinary circumstances are magnified as you worry about your dad.

Sweetie, it's only a cake. It may not be what you envisioned or even what you are capable of, but you'd be surprised at what no one notices but you. Can you punt with an alternate design that covers a multitude of sins? The kind I use all the time? icon_lol.gif

Praying for your dad. Hope all turns out well for him, you and the wedding.
Oh the time I have wasted trying to come up with pithy signature lines!
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Oh the time I have wasted trying to come up with pithy signature lines!
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post #5 of 14
6/24/11 at 2:17pm
No fun! I quit using Satin Ice for that very reason last year. I can't stand it. I'll buy the colored kind every once in awhile if I HAVE to have a bright color, but you have to knead tons of shortening in it to make it soft enough to use.

I use FondX...try it!
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post #6 of 14
6/24/11 at 2:25pm
Sorry about your Dad. Hope he is better soon. I won't be using Satin Ice any time soon...
We definitely see flaws in our cakes that others won't notice. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.
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post #7 of 14
6/24/11 at 5:05pm
Bless your heart. I am praying for you and your family. You are going through a lot. I'm glad your dad is recovering well. You are a lot stronger than I.

Doing a wedding is stressful enough ... but doing it on top of everything with your dad is unbelievable.

Try to breathe...it will get better.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:28
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Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:28
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post #8 of 14
6/24/11 at 5:59pm
So sorry you have had a tough week, especially with your dad too. I know what you mean, been a stressful week for me too. I just stenciled a band of fondant for a cake I did, and it gave me fits. Black royal is such a pain, I redid the band 3 times. I'm getting so tired of not being perfect, no matter how hard I try, I just can't do it. The more I try to fix something, the worse it gets. lol. I'm liking fondant more than buttercream now, I get so tired of sticking a finger in soft buttercream and having to fix, getting dark crumbs, and the black royal frosting dropping down on the buttercream. Was wondering if you have ever used jennifer dontz's recipe for fondant, never had it crack on me, she adds white chocolate to pettinice fondant, it has worked great for me.
your cakes are beautiful, i'm sure it turned out great, and they didn't even notice.
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post #9 of 14
6/24/11 at 6:31pm
Sorry you had a tough week. I can't wait to see pictures of it. I am sure that it looks ok. I hope you dad is feeling better.
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post #10 of 14
6/24/11 at 7:23pm
I'm glad to hear your Dad is recovering well.

I look forward to you reporting, "5 o'clock and all is well."


(are you able to stick a dummy in there and keep the cracked 8" in the back to serve?)
"Be the change you want to see in the world."- Mahatma Gandhi

miniature cake tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyNewSneakers?feature=mhsn
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"Be the change you want to see in the world."- Mahatma Gandhi

miniature cake tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyNewSneakers?feature=mhsn
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post #11 of 14
6/24/11 at 9:41pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you for all the kind thoughts.

My baker friend & teacher saved my bacon today. She put together a plain ivory replacement tier for me today while I crammed in some "down" time for a pedi & facial stuff.

I was able to pipe the swiss dots about a half hour before we needed to leave for the wedding.

Here's the final cake:
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2079076

The bride & groom loved it and I got lots of compliments. I saw the flaws but no one else did.

On a happier note. My dad has been moved out of ICU to the "step down" room and is on the road to recovery.

Kristy
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post #12 of 14
6/24/11 at 9:48pm
Great job! That sure is some intense purple goin' on! Did you color it or buy it that color?
"Be the change you want to see in the world."- Mahatma Gandhi

miniature cake tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyNewSneakers?feature=mhsn
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"Be the change you want to see in the world."- Mahatma Gandhi

miniature cake tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyNewSneakers?feature=mhsn
Reply
post #13 of 14
6/24/11 at 9:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by all4cake

Great job! That sure is some intense purple goin' on! Did you color it or buy it that color?



Bought it. Satin Ice purple and lavender with luster dust over the top.

kj
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post #14 of 14
6/24/11 at 9:58pm
Thanks! It really is purple, ain't it?
"Be the change you want to see in the world."- Mahatma Gandhi

miniature cake tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyNewSneakers?feature=mhsn
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"Be the change you want to see in the world."- Mahatma Gandhi

miniature cake tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyNewSneakers?feature=mhsn
Reply
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