'This one will be easy'

Now, for those that know me, know that Fondant was/is my arch nemesis when decorating. I have attempted to cover a Cake with Fondant multiple times and guess what? That's right, I fail EVERY TIME! But of course, people still request Fondant Cakes... How about we meet in the middle? Making Fondant decorations or adding Fondant to the Cake isn't the issue, it's the frustration of rolling it too thin or even too thick, it's the 'Elephant skin' as they call it when it starts to pull at the corners, not to mention the lumpy bumpy sides... It sounds frustrating, right?

Anyway...

Every year, I make my Niece and Nephew's Birthday (and of course everyone else in my family) and the part I love most is the genuine amazement on their faces (but most of all, my Brother's). They of course have no idea how long an art like this takes or the effort that's put it, not to mention the bad back I get!

My Brother on the other hand, he laughs a quiet little laugh with a slight shake of the head and that's when I know... 'OH YEAH! I've done it again!'

Every year, my Brother will send me a photo of what Cake he wants me to make (Not my Nephew... I mean, he gets to choose the theme, my Brother on the other hand gets to decide the complexity of it) and every year he says:

'This one will be easy'

'You could do this with your eyes shut'

Now, I never used to have confidence in what I could achieve and at this point the response was always:

'I'm not a professional, can I make this, this or this? (showing his a variety of other photos)'

Of course the answer was a 'No' so there was only one thing for it... Suck it up and do everyone proud...

Both my Niece and Nephew have always had Chocolate Cake as they're the definition of Chocolate monsters however who doesn't like Chocolate Cake? At least I know it won't be wasted!

The baking part is of course the easiest part of my job... the decorating is the time consuming part to which I have surprised many people with how long certain Cakes actually take to complete!

Now, the assembling process can be rather challenging at times! Many questions float around my head...

'Will it hold?'

'How many dowels do I need?'

'Have I cut too much Cake off?' (Shame, more Cake scraps for me)

Times like these, it's a case of trial and error. There's always a way to fix the issue!

This Cake required me to individually cut out hundreds of Fondant squares (in various colours) and cover the whole Cake in them.

I naively thought that the decoration wouldn't take as long as it did but more fool me!

5 HOURS LATER...

The Cake was finally decorated. My back was broken, my feet were numb and I was seeing double vision due to the amount of squares I had to cut out!

The state of my kitchen was something else but thankfully, I have a dishwasher!!

After I made myself look half presentable, it was time to travel this (masterpiece) Cake to Crawley... I hear you, 'What was I thinking?'

It all got there in one piece although I did in fact add the characters and the trees once I arrived at the destination... Phew!

Of course, I am always responsible for carrying the Cake out to whoever's Birthday it is because no one wants to carry the blame on their shoulders if they drop it! Could you imagine?!

Although the house was full of Friends and Family, not everyone had seen the Cake before I carried it out and although everyone is singing, I can still hear the 'Oh wow' 'Look at that' 'That must have taken ages' comments and that's when I know that I've done them proud and that's what I long for!

What may I be in for this year, I wonder!