Okay, so I was hesitant to go into the professional cake decorating business. I really didn't think my cakes were all that well done. I mean, I'm proud of the work I have done in the past, but to be honest, it isn't usually anything terribly difficult. And I'm my own worst critic, naturally. I know where my mistakes are, so I see them, glaring at me, sticking their little tongues out at me. I can feel them pulling faces when I'm not looking, only to quickly look all innocent when I turn around again. I know they're there. Mistakes happen. Every decorator makes them. The trick is to know how to cover them up so that your customer is always happy.
Customers. Up until recently, all of my cakes were done for free, so I didn't really consider the people they were made for to be customers. Sure, I have worked really hard to make each cake look as fabulous as possible, and of course I've cared how they've looked, but now it really counts. My family hates when I am doing cakes. I get frustrated easily when something isn't working the way I want it to. So they graciously eat the cut-off rounded top part of the cake (that in most cases would not be used for the finished cake) and then politely but nervously excuse themselves for the duration of my baking and decorating time. Since I decided to start charging for my cakes (at the urging of several people), I have warned my family that if they thought I was hard to be around before, I will very likely be even more unbearable now that someone is actually paying me to do their cake. Thankfully, my better half understands this and said that it will be different because I'm getting paid. Does that mean they won't leave any more when I start baking?
It's been three weeks now since I decided to take the dive. I've had three people place orders for cakes, one for cupcakes and two for cake pops. I have some good ideas for the cakes, based on what the customers have told me they want. Without giving too much away, let's just say you'll soon be seeing pictures of rainbows, skateboards, hat boxes, girly zebra prints and multi-coloured tattoos. Then there are the cupcakes. LOTS of cupcakes. 150 to start with. I can't really say anything about these right now because they're supposed to be a secret until the event. But they're going to be very cute. And finally, the cake pops. *Sigh.* I've made cake pops one time. ONCE. They didn't look all that great, but they tasted really good. When a co-worker asked me to make some cake pops for her, I told her straight up that I hadn't perfected them yet and they really are anything but pretty. So, I told her I'd use has for practice and not charge her for them. She laughed and said she'd pay me anyway. Then another co-worker placed an order for them and gave me the payment in advance. Sheesh. I was really hoping to get more practice with these before people started ordering them. Oh well, as they say, baptism by fire! I just finished making 30 cake pops. A dozen for each co-worker and half a dozen for practice. I've decided I don't really like making cake pops all that much. They're so messy to make. I tried dipping the first one in candy coating, and quickly realised that was not going to end well. I resigned to scooping the candy coating with a spoon and rolling the pops in it and then using the back of the spoon to try to smooth it out and fill in tight around the stick. These are definitely not the most beautiful creations, but I did try one and it tasted rather good. That's all that really matters, right? Most people start with the extras and practice on them. Not me. I went ahead and used the candy coating on all 24 pops. The six I had left over got wrapped in fondant. Why the heck didn't I think to do that instead of the candy??? Live and learn. I did say I hadn't perfected them yet. Next time I make them, they will be really adorable because now I have all kinds of ideas for them. =)
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