S trying to balance my full time job and my home business i bake in the evening,frst cakes in the morning and hubby delivers on his way to work. last night i was si tired but had to make a big cake for a 3 yr old's birthday.while i was waiting for the cake in the oven i fell asleep only to wake up in the morning with my clothes and bra on...and am thinking huh why did i sleep in my clothes.Only then did it hit me that i was waiting for a cake.went to the kitchen it was a disaster

Had to make another one ,wait for it to cool then frost it.Was three hours late for work.

you need to slow down! I was having the same problem because I work full time as an RN and do cakes on the side.....I also have a problem telling people no, lol! Anyhow.....now that I am able to take only the cakes i want to do and have plenty of notice I am so much less stressed! Learn to say no would be my advice! =)

jeez oh, you're lucky you woke up at all!!!! I know I don't need to tell you this, but I'm surprised your house never burned down. Glad you are OK though

Geez, woman. Get a little bit of inventory in the freezer!

I second Leah! Try freezing your cakes. Works great. You can bake all weekend and freeze. Pull out what you need the morning and frost that evening and hubby can deliver next day.

didnt know you could freeze cakes.how do u then defrost it,put it in the microwave?thank u so much for the idea,wud love to give it a try

Oh yes freezing works great, they are even more moist if you freeze. I take the cakes out the night before and leave on the counter,leaving them in their saran wrap and foil, and work on them the next day.

You can bake months ahead if you know the size and flavor. What you can do is tell client what you have on hand as their choice when they want to order. No, dont say "I only have choco and white on hand.....just say 'let's see how does a choco or lemon or white cake sound?" Or something like I suggest an 8" round in choco for th at order - sound good?
Now you take the already baked cake out of the fzr and put it into the frig or on the counter to defrsot the night before or in the am so it's ready to be iced and decorated when you get home. You can even ice and decorate a day or 2 ahead. If you have an order for Wed, then take the cake out of the fzr on Sunday night; ice on Mon a.m. and decorate it Mon night. It's now ready for delivery on Wed a.m. and you aren't in a frazzle
Do be sure to not bake too many too far in advance and to wrap them well. I often place in a plastic bag which is then put into an airtight container (like tubberwear) to be stored in the fzr.
*IF I'm sure* I'll use it within a week I just use the plastic bag but be sure there is a flat place in the fzr to put it. Cakes can get warped if not fzn flat. Putting the wrapped cake on a cookie sheet for a couple of hrs before removing the cookie sheet for the cake to stay in the fzr help when there is limited space. Then they can be stacked 3 or 4 high.

Don't mean to laugh but I did when I pictured you knocked out from being so over-extended. This ha happened to me so many times before. Great advice. So far Ihave frozen both regular cakes and gluten free cakes and never had a mistep. I tort them and do a thin buttercream filling a crumb coat them, then wrap each one individually. I wrap twice in saran wrap, then thin plastic bags, henheavy foil, then plastic bag, yes, overkill, but absolutely no other odors get through.

Whenever I'm really tired and have to bake,I always set an alarm, so in case I fall asleep (which I will),I'll still be able to check the cake. Freezing is great as well.

My God was your house filled with smoke? Thank goodness there wasn't a fire. wow!

OMG you were lucky you didn't have a fire.

Regroup.... take a breath.... maybe take on a little less.....

Jennifer

on the bright side huge hockey puck to play with...

Ovens these days come with a timer right, that will auto-off the heat once the cake's done? So the issue of having a house full of smoke shouldn't arise.
But I'm pretty sure the cake became rock-hard in the oven and dried out.

Yes OP, try freezing your cakes from now on, you'll be amazed how much time you can save plus how moist they will be.

Wow, you're one lucky lady to have woken up in a house that was not on fire!
I freeze cakes all the time, just make sure you wrap them really well.