Turn my Hobby into a Business!

I love to bake, specifically, I love to bake cakes. I don't know when I started to enjoy baking, but it just seemed to happen...somewhere along the way. Personally, I blame reality television like "Cake Boss", "Ace of Cakes" and the like; they made me believe that I was actually capable of making large, sculpted cakes because it just looks so easy! Believe me when I tell you this: they lied.

Cake Boss...Makes it look soooooooo easy!

On "Cake Boss" they don't show you all the times Buddy messed up. They don't show you when the cake comes out lumpy, or when the icing is too runny. Production cuts out the parts where Buddy and his team just need to step away, or risk throwing the cake against the wall. They edit out when the icing doesn't quite stick to the cake without getting covered in crumbs and no one ever sees when the cake just kind of...falls over.

I'm not exaggerating either, all the stuff I've listed above has happened. To me. Multiple times. Somehow I got it in my head that I'm the next "Ace" of cake-making (much to my parent's dismay...I seem to pick expensive hobbies!). It looks so easy on tv and Pinterest!

However Baking doesn't seem to be the biggest problem for me, I'd say that honor goes to the decorating. For starters, pre-made cake mix tastes like crap with added sugar. Not to mention how difficult it is to get the right colors of fodant to match your design! And carving a cake? Don't even try. 

So, for all you Cake-Boss-Wannabes, here's a few tip's I've picked up along the way:

1) Start Small. The first cake I tries to make was way out of my league, It was like running a marathon before I'd taken my first steps. The cake ended up making its debut in the trashcan, as the whole thing imploded in on itself and the birthday boy ended up with a store-bought cake instead. 

2) Bake from Scratch, especially if you're going to be decorating! Those Betty-Crocker mixes just crumble the moment you try to cut them, and pre-made fondant tastes terrible!

3) Take a class! Un-guided experience is an expensive teacher...take it from me!

Before I'm Pushing Daisies, I'd like to turn this hobby into a business, make a few picture-worthy cakes...and see a few more smiles! Because even more so than baking and decorating, I love to see people's reaction to my cakes! They make the hours spent fighting with pound cake, icing and fondant worth it!

I've attached a few pictures of the cakes I've made so far (And the people who enjoy eating them!)...they can only go up from here!

Licking the Candles..My Favourite part!

Cheesecake & Toblerone....OMNOMNOM

 

This Purse cake...definitely caused a lot of headaches!

 

But totally worth it, to see the look on this little Diva-in-training's face!

 

Lego Star Wars. May the force be with you, if you dare to try this one at home!

 

Baby grand piano! Chocolate *EVERYTHING* Chocolate cake, chocolate icing, modeling chocolate piano keys/book/flowers and, just for kicks, covered in a hard shell of melted chocolate :)

The best part of making these definitely has to be seeing the joy on the birthday-peoples' faces! That's when you know you've nailed it, and the long nights agonizing about whether or not your cake will still be standing in the morning is all worth it!

-RB