The Graduation Cake

So, I finally made my graduation cake.  It is, thus far, the biggest cake that I have ever made, and I really liked it.  Well, I wasn't entirely happy with it, though.  I definitely procrastinated and I feel that shows with the piping work and in all the little details.  Everyone said they loved it, but I was much more critical.

I suppose that if I had actually made the little gumpaste pieces 2 to 3 days in advance, as per directed, instead of 12 hours before (or less), then this cake would've been a lot better.

For example, I wouldn't have rushed around putting the bottom boarder on (I am ashamed of how sloppy it is) and the calculator would actually have calculator buttons on it, like a "+" or "=" or even "0" and the gavel would've looked like a real gavel (and I even had one to model from!).  And I probably would've made a few more little pieces to better display the 13 years I spent in public school, instead of just 4 (calculator, gavel, book, medal).

But I am a procrastinator and I think it shows in my work.  So before my parents go rushing off to send my portfolio to Duff Goldman or Colette Peters (I'm seriously nowhere near that good; my parents are crazy), I'm going to need to learn better time management.  And not wait until the last minute to plan the cake; this fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants cake design thing is just too stressful and seriously cuts into my sleeping time.

The cake was overall a success, though, even if the first red velvet cake I made fell apart (cake balls!) and I basically covered the entire kitchen in red dye.  (My hands are still pink, to be honest.)

The recipes I used:

• Colette Peter's White Cake (I did not taste this cake, but I'm told it was tasty) and
  
• Grandmother Paula's (Deen) Southern Red Velvet Cake (which was super dense; I wonder if self-rising flour would be better than cake flour? But I'm scared to change the recipe...)  This was an amazingly delicious recipe, and everyone (myself included) thought it was awesome.
  
• My buttercream recipe-- the BIG batch.  I filled up a 2-quart tupperwear pitcher of icing! :-)  I still have some left over which is currently sitting in the freezer awaiting further use, of course.

I also made cupcakes with my previous school colors. :-)

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