The cake was supposed to be simple...in my mind, at least. so I didn't work on it until the day before. I thought I had everything I needed.
Instead of carving my own dome, I thought, since I have a 50% off coupon from Michael's, I could invest in a doll pan and thus avoid wasting cake through the carving process....I was WRONG!
First attempt: the cake did not cook in the centre at all!!!
Second attempt: I lowered the temp and cooked double the time...almost the same results.
Third attempt: I was so frustrated by then (and in and out of watching the kids and thinking I'm running out of time). So I baked my cake on 2 9" pans so that I can carve my own
The results? the cakes were almost perfect. Perfectly round and leveled...only that when I turned it, it didn't come out clean. I probably was so frustrated by #2 attempt I did not grease the pans well enough. Well, no big deal...icing can fix a million errors...
I put the cakes in the freezer cause I was running out of time. I had to let the cakes cool so that I can work on it without it crumbling. That was my second problem - not enough time in the fridge.
Once I started carving, things just weren't looking the way I wanted...more frustration.
Then I moved onto my design and the fondant...couldn't get the fondant to roll the way I wanted to, third problem.
Then I went back to my dome cake...the waist looked way too big....fourth problem!
Thank God Stephen came down by then and gave me a little break. He encouraged me and helped me out a bit.
Once I got the skirt on the cake, things started rolling again.
Lessons learned?
1. You really need to let the cake stand in the fridge for a good 1-2 hrs if you are going to do a lot of carving/icing on it
2. If frustrated, move to something else first
3. If you don't have a dome pan: 2 8 or 9" pans AND a cupcake (for the top). I was missing the cupcake, thus the frustration
I still need to find out why my cakes won't cook in the Wilton Doll Pan. I still suspect is just my temp and length in the oven...so I'll give it a 3rd try again sometime soon...I am not about to give up! I googled for possible problems others might have had...but I couldn't find anything so I suspect the pan is perfectly fine....it's the temp and time. I'll just use cake mix to ease my frustration if the cake turns into a disaster again :P
What matters most at the end? I have a very happy 5 year old :P That is what matters...the memories
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