Cake Decorating Disaster

Note: This is a true story that occurred 7 years ago, but I’m telling it hear in the hope of saving a new mum from the pain…and tears…oh my goodness!!

How hard could it be to make a Shrek cake… really???

That’s the rhetorical question I asked myself on the eve of my oldest daughters 2^nd birthday

My little daughter loved Shrek! I so wanted to see her face when I revealed to her the stunning, almost life-like Shrek cake that was in my imagination…how hard could it be?!

For her 2^nd birthday I had organized a lunch time BBQ. Family was due to arrive from Sydney and I had invited various other neighbors, family and friends. I had the food and drinks taken care of. However, in my confidence (or inexperience), I left the cake to the morning of the party….surely the length of my babies morning nap would be sufficient to decorate a cake…..

I figured that having a toddler, just turning 2 and a 6 month old baby, I’d take the easy option and buy a slab cake from Woollies….well, never a drier crumblier, tasteless cake was ever baked…let me tell you!!

Not letting a simple thing like quality deter me. I cut the crumbling cake into the shape of Shreks head and ears. Armed with a bottle of green food colouring I read the instructions on the back of the icing packet.

Who knew there were actually different types of icing?? Who knew there was such a thing as butter cream…or fondant or frosting. Who knew that the directions on the back of the icing packet made a simple glaze icing…that would harden into solid gloop making spreading it on the cake an impossible task. Who knew that the directions made icing that  that was not meant for cake decorating….who knew…certainly not me!

Icing the cake was a complete and utter disaster. The icing was setting as I was trying to spread it causing me to gouge out great big holes and chunks in the crumbly cake. I was also attempting this precision cake decorating techniques holding my wide-awake non-napping 6 month old!

It soon became glaringly apparent that I was not creating the amazing Shrek cake of my imagination…the self deprecation started to set in as the I pictured the disappointed look on my little daughters face…

what sort of mother was I that couldn’t even ice a cake???

I persevered through tears determined to make that Shrek cake for my little girl…until I saw the result….desperately dejected, I ordered Grumpy Daddy to go and purchase a Shrek cake….through tears I admitted defeat.

At the party, after a few glasses of ‘false confidence’ I dared to show my horrific creation to some of the other party goers…who immediately stated rolling around on the floor laughing…but at the same time, trying to reassure me that it was not so bad…really…

After a few more glasses of wine, I boldly decided to bring both the cakes to the table, my Shrek cake and the commercial one……just for a laugh…

…well you should have seen my daughter’s face, and the other kids! They just loved my Shrek cake. When given the choice they all wanted a piece of Mummy’s Shrek cake…who would of thought…certainly not me!

Beauty truly lies with the beholder!

Which Cake would you choose??

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