Behind the Oven: How Am's Cakes and Bakes came to be.

"I can do that. How hard can it be anyway?"

These are the words that escaped my mouth in July of 2008. My son was just about to turn one, and I had never baked a cake from scratch, let alone decorated one. However, I had seen plenty of cake decorating shows. So really, how hard could it be?

The day before my son's birthday, I set out to bake his birthday cake. I followed all the directions on how to make the cake, carefully measured each piece, cut it into small blocks, and painstakingly added frosting to each little square. I had a vision, and I worked hard to get it there... well, sort of.

Allen's First Birthday Cake - aka - the first cake I ever decorated.

You may look at this cake and say, "It's cute." I look at the cake and see all the flaws, everything that I did wrong. I remember all the frustration, all the tears, and wanting to give up. You see, I didn't really know all the ins and outs of decorating cakes.

I didn't understand

• Crumb coating

• Frosting consistency

• Cake texture

• Proper Tools

The truth is, I didn't know what I was doing at all! There is much more that goes into decorating a cake than I ever realized. I had always envisioned it as simply coloring frosting and applying it to the cake. How wrong I was.

So, let's break all this down quickly. The texture of the cake was too soft - yes, this can be an issue. With how I was decorating this cake, I needed something firmer. This can be achieved through the recipe and proper cooling. This cake was too soft and not properly cooled. Crumb coating - I didn't even know what this term meant! It was non-existent for this cake. Frosting consistency is key - I didn't realize this, a softer frosting would have been easier to spread. I thought you followed the recipe and got what you got. Proper tools... I was using a butter knife and a spoon! Having proper tools allows you to manipulate the frosting the way you want it.

I consider myself an artistic person; I am also very competitive. So, when this cake defeated me, it set me on a path that would change my future. We were a young family without a lot of extra. I worked part-time while taking care of my son, but not long after he turned one, we found out we were expecting number 2 and realized that I had to go back to work full-time to make ends meet. I was also attending college at this time. After long days of work, school, and being a mom, I would sit down and research. I researched everything. One answer would lead me to ten more questions and a lot more time watching videos, googling, and learning. I would show my husband what I was learning and what I NEEDED to be able to decorate better. And he would surprise me by bringing home the next tool, item, or ingredient I wanted to try. I kept practicing.

Before long, my tool collection grew, and my knowledge grew.

Practice, practice, practice.

I learned how to properly base coat a cake and prepare it for decorating. (I also learned that base coating and decorating were not the same thing.) I learned that there are tips that allow decorators to do different and amazing things with frosting. And I practiced, I gained confidence, and I found that I was good at decorating cakes.

This cake sold for $25

I began to play with other forms of decorating cakes. People were starting to recognize my talent and began to pay me to decorate cakes for them. While I loved to do it, I learned quickly that I was way undercharging. The leaves on this tree were each individually cut out, textured, shaped, and added to this cake. Since I was still fairly new at decorating, it took me many hours to decorate this cake. My best estimate is that I spent nearly 8 hours working on this cake, and I was paid $25 (That's just over $3 per hour). Today, that wouldn't even pay for the ingredients.

Full fondant decor.

I fell in love with decorating with fondant. I learned that you can do almost anything with fondant and texturing tools. BUT - I also learned that fondant ends up in the garbage most of the time, and it is time-consuming. Eventually, I pivoted back towards buttercream cakes and charge appropriately for fondant cakes when they are requested.

When I look at my cakes, I still see the flaws, but I also see how far I have come. With each cake, with each request, with each technique, I learn something new. Why do I love decorating cakes so much? Each one is unique; each one is a challenge. I enjoy learning the techniques and putting them into practice. I love the art that goes into each edible masterpiece.

"Turns out, it's not hard anymore - I just had to learn the next step."