I'm off to a great start...

Probably one of the smartest things I've ever done is try to start a blog right before moving into a new house.  I'm a virtual Einstein when it comes to things like that.  How did I not realize that my weeks would become all about packing boxes and moving boxes and unpacking boxes and organizing stuff?  Anyhow, I haven't been able to do much new baking or any other culinary experimentation, but I do have my eye on some things that I hope to try soon.  Now that the functional pieces of my kitchen are (mostly) in-tact and I have my fancy gas stove/oven, I need to jump back in.

Until I do that, I thought it might be a good idea to regale you with some of my cake decorating.  Back in May I took my first cake decorating class with my friend J.  J and I signed up for Course 1 of the famous Wilton classes at our local Michael's store.  Now J is a culinary school grad and her mom has decorated cakes professionally for years now, but my experience was quite limited.  In Course 1 we learned the basics about making icing, filling bags, using the different decorating tips, and the beginner's techniques for decorating (borders, writing, etc.).  Below is a recap of the three cakes I made during this 4-week class, and in the next few posts I'll show you the cakes I made after that (and you'll see I've gotten a lot better).  J and I have been trying to take Course 2 for a few months now, but the instructor never has enough people signed up to actually teach it.  Hopefully it happens soon though.

Week 2 of class - my very first cake! 
My icing technique has gotten MUCH better.

Week 3 - already an improvement! 
I think this might have been my favorite.

Week 4 - the Wilton rose!
I definitely needed help but I think it came out well.