I took cake decorating level 1/basic course. It was not as easy as I thought. There were a lot of things to learn, like how we direct syringe, hold the triangle plastic and prepare butter cream in the plastic before we start using it. Every move has it’s own detail of how to.
When the exam time, I had troubled that the plate moving faster than my hand so the result was not pretty. I was also somehow not in the mood to do the exam, so I forgot that I had prepared a design. I was just improvising but not in a good way.
Another basic technique that is also difficult is image transferring. Until now, I still have not mastered it.
There is one difficulty when practicing at home: temperature problem! My kitchen isn’t installed with air conditioning/AC. So, it’s always warm or even hot. It makes decorating more difficult; the shape is not firm.
The positive of taking this course is : decorating cake is quite comforting my brain and exercise my focus.
This was my red velvet cake. I should sifted the red crumb more so it was prettier.
That was my first applying technique on cake. IT IS NOT THE SAME! The difficulty is so different. Thank goodness, I’ll be taking second level course which will be using real cake. I thought it was going to be the same as when practicing with dummy. Apparently not. The cake was moist and if I did not apply the cream evenly, it would be leaning. The buttercream on this red velvet was not just regular butter-cream. It’s a cream cheese frosting. I felt like “running” against hot temperature even more than when using buttercream for practice.
It’s so worth it taking the decorating course. I was inspired by how cute Japanese bakers/chef decorate their cake. Looks simple but so cute, sweet, and appetizing. Even though, they decorate it simple, I want to learn the whole “cream” decoration because I always experiences, what looks simple, it doesn’t look THAT simple.
Creativity is also important. I’m still not too creative as I almost never decorate my cake and did not have intention to do it back then. So, I must also “learn” to be more creative.