Cake Experiment: Attempt One

Experiment Status- FAIL

The Layers

The cake recipe itself turned out a bit dry compared to normal. It would have been okay if it didn't crumble at the slightest touch. I placed it in the freezer to firm it up for all of the handling that it would be getting, but the little cakes still crumbled significantly. Frosting the layers was a bit of a nightmare because of it. I just couldn't get a nice, smooth base for the fondant.

The Tinted Fondant

The fondant turned out pretty decently, but I will need to practice color combinations to get the shades of blue just right. I just have to get gloves or something to keep the dye off my hands, though. I turned them purple! I think the risk of wearing gloves for a few minutes is better than finding out what all this dye will do to them.

Rolling the fondant was difficult. Despite generous amounts of confectioners' sugar, it stuck to the counter and rolling pin. When I transferred it to the cake, it ripped. I think I will have to roll it out just a little bit thicker. I will also try adding more confectioner's sugar to the dough. Maybe chilling it longer would have helped?

 A Mess

The icing under the fondant started to melt from the weird humidity and the fondant sagged along with it. The more I worked at trying to fix it all... the worse it started to look. I wanted to cry! In the picture, you can see the chocolate icing starting to puddle from under the top layer and the spots where the fondant started to crack as it sagged. The black dye from the upper layer got all over everything. I got fingerprints all over my blue layer and there are spots of deep purple on the kitchen counter.

A Bigger Mess

In the midst of it all, Xander was screaming bloody murder. I had asked Ross to take care of him while I figured out the cakes, but he was too caught up in his game to change a diaper and feed him lunch. The frustration of the cake combined with Ross not truly helping with Xander and the stye in my eye hurting every time I blinked got me very frustrated... so I took it out on the cake. It's still edible. I just sort of "cut" it up into bite-sized pieces. Hehe.

For the record, Ross did come upstairs shortly after the cake smashing. He fed and changed Xander. He cleaned up and hand-washed all the dirty dishes. He put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher. He's also volunteered to deal with all of Xander's needs until bedtime and to cook our supper. I made dessert... it turned out smashingly. LOL