I cannot believe this is my final learning project post. Over the past semester, I taught myself everything from whipping up the perfect buttercream to turning a round cake into a heart. Each week brought something new to learn, test, and let’s be honest…sometimes redo. I have enjoyed this journey so much. Looking back at each week here are some of my takeaways:
Week One: Learning the Frosting Basics
- I began with cupcakes to focus on small wins and build my confidence.
- Techniques Learned: Piping clean swirls and buttercream flowers.
Week Two: Mastering Cake Layers
- Learning to Layer Cakes: Focused on crumb coating for clean and smooth layers.
- A very helpful resource:
- Used Canva’s video editor, for the first time and it was easy to navigate. I will definitely use it again.
Week Three: Experimenting with Fillings
- Recipe Discovery: Tried a recipe from Cooking with Carlee.
- Substituted vanilla pudding for cheesecake pudding for a unique twist.
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- Learned it was okay to not follow the recipe to a tee.
- Learned it was okay to not follow the recipe to a tee.
Week Four: Decorative Piping
- Patience & Practice: Decorative piping took more time than expected, but it was rewarding.
- Creative Twist: Followed a TikTok tutorial but added my own touch to it.
Week Five: Exploring Color
- Adding Color: Learned how soft pastel shades can add to a cake’s aesthetic without being overwhelming.
- Buttercream Coloring: Thanks to Sugar & Sparrow, I learned the importance of:
- Using a white base.
- Gel food coloring.
- Starting with small amounts to achieve the perfect pastel tone.
Week Six: Reshaping Cakes
- New Skill: Reshaped a round cake into a heart using a TikTok tutorial.
- This week I felt so proud, I got to change the whole shape of a cake successfully. It was so rewarding.
Week Seven: Engaging with an Online Community
- Facebook Group: Joined a cake decorating group, where I asked for buttercream recipe advice and received lots of helpful tips and personal experiences.
- Takeaway: Online communities are incredibly valuable, offering more than just tutorials. This was so cool and I will never forget to use online communities.
Week Eight: Editing My Cake Decorating Process
- Exploring Video Editing: Tried out CapCut for editing TikTok videos.
- Techniques Learned:
- Trimming and speeding up clips.
- Adding music and voiceovers to make videos dynamic.
- CapCut was a beginner-friendly tool that made my process fun to share.
Week Nine: Adding Non-Icing Decorations
- Non-Icing Touch: Tried making bows for the first time after finding tutorials and inspiration on Pinterest.
- Learning the Art of Bow Making:
- Focused on symmetry, trimming the ends at an angle, and attaching them carefully to complement the design.
- The bows added a sweet and vintage charm to my cake. It pushed me to learn outside traditional icing techniques.
Final Thoughts
Cake decorating has been about experimenting, learning new skills, and finding my creative voice. Things got messy and frustrating at times but each mistake has taught me something valuable.I’m excited to continue exploring new cake decorating techniques and building on the skills I’ve learned so far!
Here is a then and now:
THEN
NOW
Thank you for following along on my journey!