Call me a liar

So in my first post I wrote that i have no formal training.  Okay, that is maybe not 100% true.  I never went to pastry school.  I have never taken an actual cooking class.  However I AM taking a Wilton cake decorating class at the local Michael's store.  I am not sure that the class actually counts as formal training because I am not learning to actually bake anything.  I am just learning to decorate cakes.  I have to say... the class is kind of fun.  A friend of mine, MZ, and I are taking the class together.  After the first class we joked that it seemed like a big commercial for Wilton because our teacher kept telling us about all the "great products" that were mentioned in our coursebooks that we should run out and buy.  And the class nickels and dimes you a little on making you buy extra stuff all the time for class.  But other than that stuff, its a great class and I am learning some neat things.

The first week we decorated cookies and learned how to fill a pastry bag and make butter cream frosting.  I already knew how to do all these things, but I learned a few tips and tricks to use.  Like did you know you can rub a Viva brand paper towel on a freshly frosted butter cream cake to smooth it out?  Wow, I know.  Just sit back and let that soak in.

Week two we actually frosted a cake.  Here is what mine looked like:

we had a choice to either do a cupcake decoration, a fish, or a hamburger.  At one point our teacher polled the class on who was doing which design.  When no one indicated they were doing the hamburger she said, "no one EVER does the hamburger!"  She has taught the class for 5 years now and not once has a student made the hamburger decoration.  I don't know about you, but I am not surprised.

I took the cake to work, and it was promptly gobbled up (yellow cake with chocolate pudding filling and butter cream frosting). I think it was success.  and I think I did a decent job on the decoration.  I mean, the frosting on the cupcake is a little lopsided.  But other than that I think I did okay.  Oh and I also neglected to give the cherry on top a stem.  But honestly, the guide picture didn't show a stem on the cherry.  So I didn't add one.

Week three we made cupcakes!  I love cupcakes.  Just ask my friend Gabby.  I organized a cupcake crawl for her birthday, complete with these t-shirts:

"Muffins are just ugly cupcakes"

In the class we learned to make 4 different types of flowers: drop star flowers, drop swirl flowers, pompom flowers and shaggy mums.  I think I liked making the pompom flowers best, but they took the most frosting to do.  Plus there was the issue of the frosting not being stiff enough to transfer the flowers from my flower nail to the cupcake.  So I had to try to do some freehand on the cupcake.  These are my results:

I promise to start taking better pictures of food

 So next week is the last session for this class... we get to make our own design as we wish.  And we are making roses!  Well, ribbon roses.  Not anything super cool.  But one day I will be able to make something like this:

JUST KIDDING. This thing is a hideous example of egotism.

Okay this is what I would like to be able to do for reals:

 It has lace made out of frosting.  Flowers made out of frosting.  Its layered.  It stacked.  Okay, I don't need to be able to make this exact cake... but something similarly skilled would be pretty neat.  Of course I am not really looking to get into the wedding cake business... but it would be cool to know I could do one....

So there you have it.  Call me a liar.  I can decorate a cake.