I love cooking but I used to have challenges with baking. Not hard challenges in baking, but challenges nonetheless. After I proposed to my schmookie, I had this great idea that I wanted to make the wedding cake. So I can at least off-load some of the cost of buying a cake.

For Valentine’s day, Jaime bought me a crapload of cake decorating tools. I was stoked! I even got a few books from her. I followed this one recipe and my cake totally came out like crap! It looked like crap and it was bland. The one recipe I followed was completely from scratch. The cake was a Vanilla sponge cake, the icing was a plain buttercream icing. The cake wasn’t formed. It was very unimpressive. It could have been on cake wrecks!

I thought to my self, this is dumb, I can make awesome food, why can’t I make a decent cake?

A month later, I made 2 cakes for my best friends’ kids. Berlin and Brenny got the cakes that they wanted, and they came out good! I then realized that I could make something awesome, but I need more guidance.

I read some reviews on Yelp.com on Cake Decorating, I found a place right near my work. About 2 minutes away! So I signed up for classes. Cake decorating Wilton Course I. I also did a lot of video watching on Youtube.com to see how some people were making cakes and decorating them.

My instructor was Donna Poulk, she is very nice and let me learn in my own style.

Donna Poulk

My own style of learning is to watch, then go off on my own until I run into something I can’t figure out, then practice something else until the instructor is where I am. She gave us a lot of helpful tips and tricks that, even though they are covered in the books, weren’t easy to grasp until she showed us. Like making a dot. Without a little bit of instruction, making a dot comes out like a Hershey’s Kiss! Before I knew it, most everybody in the office was in love with the cakes I was making because of the way they looked and because of the way they tasted.

Donna also gave me tips on baking cakes. The cakes that she makes are just those box cakes that you can get at your grocery store. Pillsbury, Bettery Crocker, etc. The magic was in the substitution of the ingredients; the temperature change; the addition of pudding.

I also got some tips on adding a filling and on icing. Icing is real easy to make but kind of nasty!
Here are all the cakes I’ve made, in order of making them, in a scrollable way.

My First Cake Ever!

For Camille’s son’s birthday

For Camille’s daughter’s birthday

A Decepticon Cake for my brother Pat’s birthday

A giant Peep cake for Easter

I start taking cake classes here. So they get better… in my opinion anyway.

The 1st time I put fondant on a cake and cut with a level. It came out kind of wrinkly.

I just learned some piping, so I piped a star and a border on this cake. It tasted really good.

My very first Icing Rose

Starting to Improve, I can see it.

A Chocolate Mint Flavored Cake for my BFF Camille

A Coffee Cake with Hazelnuts

A Cinqo de Mayo cake. Top layer was Pistachio, Middle Layer was Tapioca. Bottom layer was Strawberry..

My mom cake to visit me and I created this Mom Tattoo cake. All the girls were thrilled and took a picture with it.

Bananas Foster Cake

Devil’s Food Cake

XBox360 Cake. Chocolate.

Practice cake with Basket Weave design

Whipped Cream and Strawberries Cake. Yum!

A Birthday Cake that prototype’s Brandee and Brent’s Wedding Cake

Fourth of July Cake. Present Arms!!!

First Wizard of Oz Cake ever.

Butter Cream Cake

Intricate Edible Flowers. Cake looks like a hat (it’s not) the fondant matches the stand.

Certified Cake Decorator (My Food Handler’s License is not online because it’s got my SSN)

Topsy Turvy Cake for my Pastry Chef friend Kelly Rose

My son didn’t want icing. lol

Jack Skellington’s Head on a Platter

A Girly Cake

Raspberry lemonade cake. I like the flowers.

Brent’s Desert Dessert

Amanda’s Lady Gaga Cake

A Nightmare Before Christmas Cake for Halloween

A Baby Shower cake

Another Wizard of Oz cake

Assorted Cupcakes

A Girly Punk Skeleton Cake

Pumpkin Cake with Twix

Graduation Cake

Christmas Present Cake

Nurse’s Scrub

Engagement Cake

Guitar Cake

50th Anniversary Cake

Hello Kitty Cake

Valentine’s Day Cake

Irish person’s birthday

Hippie Cake

Bridal Shower Cake

Puppy face Cake

Karate Cake

Bachelor Cake

Girly cake (matches the person’s toes)

Surprise birthday cake (no fondant)

Wedding Cake for Brandee and Brent

Lady Bug Cake

Camille (like Metallica)

Garth’s (likes golf)

Another Mother’s Day Tattoo Cake

MY 6 FOOT MONSTROUS WEDDING CAKE

Graduation Cake

Boobies! For someone’s 21st Birthday

Check out http://www.cakecommando.com/ and http://www.cakesinphoenix.com/

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