Frustrated beyond belief!!!!

Hi! I am a new kid too, and I find myself sometimes biting of more than I can chew...are you new to scratch baking? or are you doctoring boxes? Have you tried getting the hang of butter cream before you went to fondant?
It seems like you are just beating yourself up with all these new amazing things you want to try! Give yourself a game plan or curriculum =) and then stick to it. "I will not try that recipe until I master this one" "I will not try fondanting a cake before I can get a smooth buttercream" have you purchased any DVDs? Sharon Zambito is remarkable, I now only say buttercream in her accent, and my kiddos followed suit! =)
Keep having fun though...have you ran into any of the amazing blogs out there? Sweetopia, Sweetapolita? those are my favs! Relax and maybe grade yourself on a curve for a little bit!!! =)

Happy caking!!

You should have seen the first time I tried cake pops! Wow!

I think you're trying to do too much at once. Take one thing and practice it until it's second nature. Then take the next thing, and so on. Recipes you'll be experimenting with from now on so concentrate on 1 or 2 that work for you every time. Starting with a mix is not sacrilege, so try that. And read, read, read - - this is a great site for information on everything and there are discussions in the forums for a lot. You tube is great also and you can see how other people do it. It's not going to happen overnight, so don't rush. And even the pros have days that nothing works. Really.

Let me tell you how to fix a couple of things now:

Mix equal parts (1/2 cup, 1 cup, however much you want) of oil, shortening and flour and keep it in the fridge. Use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat your panswith it before you pour in the batter. Easier than greasing and flouring. When you take the pan out of the oven, immediately set it on a wet towel. You won't ever have anything stick in the pan again. Your cake will flip right out in 2 minutes.

Filling icing bags - - have you heard about the icing plugs? Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Plop a good pile of frosting in the middle of it. Roll it up loosely and twist one end closed. Put the whole thing in your piping bag - open end first. Voila! You're set to go.

Main thing is - - don't give up and don't expect perfection. Nobody starts new and has everything fall into place - - it just doesn't happen. They're either not part of the real world or they're not telling the whole truth. And everyone here is ready to help. Good Luck!

If crumb coating doesn't work for youskip it and just ice your cake.

If fondant is too messyskip it and just use buttercream.

Try filling your pastry bags with the tops turned down over your handthat way you can use your hand to "grab" the icing inside the bag--it stays in the bag, repeat until full to what you're comfortable with, then there's no mess that gets on the outside of the bag. It helps if you can keep your hands clean and your knife handles too.

I think cake decorating takes more than patience--it also requires an artistic talent. Are you artistic too?

Have fun with your classes!

Ok here are some specific tips

Crumb coating - I no longer crumb coat since I started using home made cake release instead of grease/flour or spraying my pans. Cake release is 1/4 cup shortening, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 veg oil. Mix it up really well and store in a sealed container in your cabinet. Use a brush (pastry or silicone) and paint a light coat all over your pans - Nothing sticks and I get beautiful edges...no falling apart or crumb coating. I do use the icer tip so that helps to keep me from crumb coating as well.

Filling Icing Bags - You will love this trick and never go back. Put a piece of saran wrap on your counter. Put a few big dollops of BC in the saran wrap and roll it up like a sausage, twist the ends. Cut off one end and drop it into your pastry bag. When you are out of buttercream, you just pull out the saran and drop the next one in. It's awesome and super clean. If you're visual there is a sticky with pics here

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-588591.html

Fondant - now there is no easy solution to this. Just practice. Start with Wilton fondant. It taste terrible but has a great easy texture to work with. if you really hate the taste, add some of the Lorann's flavorings to it. You can get these at Hobby Lobby with the hard candy making stuff. . I like the lemon and orange to give a nice citrus hint and it goes with most cake flavors. You're not trying to "flavor" the fondant, just trying to get rid of the wilton taste. Once you get Wilton down then switch to homemade or a brand name fondant. They're more expensive and sometimes harder to work with so it's better to start with something easy.

In general, I LOVE SugarShack's DVDs. Start with Perfecting the Art of Buttercream and then move on to Flawless fondant and the others.

www.sugaredproductions.com
She does every single step so it's easy to follow. I re-watch them A LOT.

Hope that helps. Remember every person on here was a beginner and had the same struggles.

It is very important to remember that there isn't a member here who hasn't had their share of disasters. I read on different blogs how very experienced bakers (with shops) will be looking for help because something went wrong somewhere and they're not sure why.
I think you will find your Wilton classes very helpful. I still stay in touch with my Wilton instructor years later. I recently made a cake four times, yes four, and it still didn't come out. The people here showed me there was something wrong with the recipe and gave the best suggestions. This is fun stuff so hang in there!!

Jeanne

OMG, you sound just like me for the first TEN YEARS! I only attempted 2-3 cakes a year, but each time I would throw something across the room and scream, "Why do I think I can do this????"

Yeah, a handful of people have a natural ability (and I hate those people), but the rest of us have to work at it. It's all about PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

If you look at my pictures, you'll see that I finally got the hang of it. But, I can assure you that I do very few things the same way I did when I first started out. I always try new techniques. Some work. Some don't. Most require PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

Sillywabbitz advice regarding filling icing bags is priceless. I use the Saran wrap method every time. And that was after I had pretty much mastered filling icing bags the regular way. There's a YouTube video on the plastic wrap method, but I don't have it bookmarked. Look it up, and try it. I promise you'll never go back.

I also encourage you to try SugarShack's (Sharon Zambito) educational DVDs. She is very thorough and takes the guesswork out of it all.

Regarding the Wilton classes, do you have a friend who might want to take the classes with you and would be willing to drive?

I wish you the best of luck in your journey. Cake decorating is too much fun to cause such angst. Believe me, I know.

OMG.... this sounds so much like me, that it made me laugh reading your post! I've gotten much better but I still have my days where nothing goes right! I buy lots of DVD's, plus I'm a member of yummyarts.

Hang in there!

I think, the biggest and most difficult part in this hobby is patience and this will be tested everytime you have a new machine, oven or new ingredients, different brands of the same ingredient. Ask all thode people, who use box mixes, sizes change and NOTHING is the same.

Filling piping bags, use a large drinking glass, put the assembled bag in it, and fill with icing. other than that, you need petince and a load of people willing to try your recipes (better for your hips, if others try) Choose ONE technique and practice until it becomes second nature, only then move on to the next. Keep notes, especially when trying new recipes, remember, it also can change not only when using diffrent brands but also for example altitude

I make things up as I go along. I've come to near disaster about 40 times. Don't beat yourself up. It takes time, experience and a whole lot of experimenting!

I would phone Hobby Lobby and see if you can sign up for the class and pay for it over the telephone with your credit card. I do that, because I take classes that are 1 1/2 hours from my home. Yes I'm crazy, but I love the teacher, she is awesome.

Don't give up on decorating, take a deep breath and remember to keep breathing and relax. You will get it, like everyone else says, practice is the key. But take it one step at a time, sounds like you are moving too fast.

This is really a lot of fun, I love it. I put on my music and relax and just go to it in the kitchen. Good thing no one has me on camera, I'm in there singing and baking & decorating, LOL. Neighbors must think I'm nuts! LOL

You should also check the Wilton website:
www.wilton.com

They have a section called new to decorating and it is very informative.

Good Luck and don't give up, we all know how you feel, been there too. We will help, support and hold you up when you need us.

Take Care & Remember to Breathe

The easiest way on the planet to fill a pastry bag is to stick it inside an empty Pringles can, then fold the top over the can. Fill up and grab -- easy peasy!!

A tall drinking glass works too. But, I still swear by the plastic wrap method - especially when I need to fill an extra large bag.