I baked a cake today.
Nothing new about this. I bake cakes
all the time. Mostly carrot cakes. The most yummy, moist, decadent carrot cakes you've
had.
The children's school had an Arts
Night, and there was to be a bake sale. My contribution was to make a carrot
cake. It was the easiest thing to do, plus I could do it in my sleep!
So, I got baking. Cake was all
baked. I decided to do a cheesecake frosting. This was different.
In the last three years that I have been
baking carrot cakes, they have always been naked cakes. No frosting, no
covering, just plain cakes. I figured the kids already got lots of sugar from
God knows what and didn't want to add anything else to it.
The last time I covered a cake was
during Ryan's 3rd birthday, during the COVID-19 pandemic. We looked the other
way as the red-velvet cake was imperfectly perfect. I used whipped cream, and
sprinkles. Did I mention it was my first attempt at making red-velvet? It was
my first and best attempt so far! Because it was for us by us, we didn't even
give the frosting a second thought. we were too excited to make our own red-velvet
and dig in!
This time was different though. I
was presenting the cake to school, and for sale too! After making the frosting,
I set up the cake, frosting, and all other things I would need on the table and
dialed my mum. Haha, mum to the rescue!
She walked me through the process,
and in no time, I was dancing and giggling away! We settled on a rough swirl,
and decided it was too stark. I got some food color and added it to the
frosting, it was a beautiful shade of peach, and we agreed to make some
concentric swirls in different spots. I must add here, my hands were shaking,
it was the most imperfect circle ever, but the peach color was a good contrast
for the stark white, and we decided it was perfect!
With more practice on a tray, my
hands got steadier, and the swirls were smoother.
I baked a cake and covered it!
Lessons I learned:
- Do it afraid anyway. No matter how difficult a task
seems, just start. You'd most likely figure it out along the way.
- Have a great support system. My mama cheered me on and
told me I could do it. This made me willing to try. All you need is a
little nudge.
- Focus on the big picture. I saw the imperfect swirls,
but I decided to forge ahead regardless. I mean, it was too late to change
my mind anyway.
- Never give up. I'm sure you get this by now.
