Cakeitude

Ace of Cakes came to life Friday night for Becky and me. A little, mini, one-person-knows-what-they-are-doing and one-person-can-hold-the-frosting-roses version, anyway!

Two late nights and one afternoon after first commencing "Operation Get Cake to Church before MAF Game Night on Friday", we were off to the church with the cakes and gear in the car. And me riding in the passenger seat, holding the white roses you see in the back...the blue ones could stay back there because we didn't care so much if they got munched. The white ones...very important.



We arrive and there is a table waiting. There are little pillars already inserted in each layer, so icing gets squirted in between to act like glue.


Becky tried to tell me that if I ever worked with icing enough, I might not be so inclined to chomp the little rosettes of sugary delight. She said it loses its appeal after a while. Yeah, right. I told her about my colored-frosting-tongue photo collection (currently available in blue, maroon, and black). I have many colors yet to capture.

More icing gets piped around the edge of each layer to fill the gaps created by the pillars. What did I contribute thus far? Ever seen those guys on ships landing planes with orange, glowing sticks? Picture me doing the equivalent of that for Becky to stack the layers, making sure they were centered well. But instead of orange sticks, it was lots of, "Go, go, wait, back, no, this way, hold on a sec, more this way" and fingers pointing while I did laps around the table and the cake. I was also a human lazy susan for the individual layers for last minute touch ups before stacking. Becky said my speed was excellent :)


I also found a place to stash the roses so they would not get all soft and thus very difficult to attach to the cake. Classy, huh?


Oh, and I helped assemble and fill the fountain. We wanted it nice and full. So we filled. And filled. After we had it running for a bit, we noticed that the little holes were not able to keep up with the volume, so water was also running over the edges of the tiers, lessening the effect a bit. We want the bride to have the perfect little fountain of her dreams...but it's already assembled under the cake and surrounded by tulle...so....


We are set up in front of the church's coffee and snack bar, so Becky grabs a coffee stirrer. And starts sucking. And swallowing. Water from a plastic fountain that I am sure must have had some warning in the directions about "Do not use this to drink from. Made in China and coated in melamine." or something.


I at least find a regular size straw. After a few swallows, I realize this cannot be the most efficient way to do this. However, I am not a particularly efficient girl...just better than Bekcy. So I grab phase three of "Rescue the Fountain", which is a cup to spit the straw-sucked water into.


I have to tell you that while I was sucking and spitting, Becky just kept using the skinny little red stirrer to drink. Between my sucks and spits, I am yelling across the cake that she is nuts, get a regular straw for God's sake, and really, I don't think you should be drinking that water, there are more cups behind you, woman. Oh, and Becky, I don't think it has to do with the amount of water in here...isn't it just a pump power issue? If it wants to be a volcano with this little ridiculous motor, then so be it, don't you think? And do people think we are getting snockered right now because this fountain has a light in it which makes the water look kinda beige, like champagne? Also, does she need her car's gas tank siphoned any time soon? I am becoming a pro in a matter of minutes...plus, I am a little light-headed. Is she still standing over there?

Of course, as evidenced by the above photo, much laughing commenced while we were engaged in our rescue. It was a heroic feat not to blow trumpets of water from the straw or stirrer when we started to laugh. A little voice in my head kept saying, "Don't hose the cake, please don't let me hose the cake."

Whew! I finally can't stand it anymore...mostly because the laughter has rendered us useless... and God directs me back behind the snack counter again and I find a little paper cup that I can dip into the fountain and use to pour water back and forth to the bigger cup until we finally get the level right. Oy. Note to self: no tiny cake fountains at my wedding.

The actual cake results are lovely and Becky received much praise for her work. And I can claim that I pointed out where icing holes were, and I stuck some of the tiny blue fabric flowers in...the ones in the back :)

Vanna and Vanna with the completed masterpiece.


And, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and indeed there comes a point where you have watched enough icing be scraped around, wiped on surfaces, and treated like paste that you decide you can take a break from eating it for a while. Who knew?