"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tightly closed in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to BLOOM…This is the Element of Freedom"

-Alicia Keys

07 June 2010

My Not-So-Martha Martha Stewart moment


{This was what I was imaging the cake would look like- no, not the whole thing, just one of the sections!}
So, in the spirit of letting go of perfectionism and in the tradition of making Reese her birthday cake, I embarked on the journey of making a 3 layer yellow cake with buttercream frosting, tinted with natural food dyes to achieve Reese's favorite color, Lavender. She also specified that she wanted "pink, green, yellow & blue polka dots." So, I bought all of the ingredients & set out to make The Cake.

I found this recipe on Bakerella.com and couldn't wait to use it. Here is what the cake was projected to look like:


I have made a layer cake once before & I have seen them being made (and frosted!) on TV, so I really thought that I could do it with this cake. I made the three layers last night, wrapped them up and planned on making the frosting this afternoon, before the little party we had for Reese.

I sort of forgot that frosting a cake in a kitchen in a house that lacks air conditioning when it is 97 degrees outside may lead to some serious cake issues.

it did.
As I watched the frosting stick to the cake & then pull parts of the cake up, I quickly realized that Reese's 6th Birthday cake wasn't going to be the 3 layers of lovely-lavender-polka-dotted-goodness that I had imagined.

Then something miraculous happened. I laughed my ass off. I finished it as best I could, put it on my cake stand from Crate & Barrel and put that baby in the fridge.

I let go of perfection.
You know what? It felt good to be able to laugh at myself & not beat myself up over it. Shit happens. I thought about how fitting it was, considering what I have been posting about lately. Embracing Good Enough. I knew that I had given the cake my best effort and isn't that really the point?

You know what else? The cake was damn good and the frosting was a lovely shade of lavender.


Plus, we ate it on the back patio and it was sort of dark out there.


P.S. And the icing on the cake (yes pun intended!) I can't upload my pictures from my camera for some reason. I will definitely post them tomorrow!

3 comments:

  1. I was just about to comment on how I want to see pictures of the final product. I am very proud of you for just enjoying the day despite the cake issues. And no matter what it looked like I am sure Reese loved it.

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  2. Can't wait to see the pictures, but remember we all know what cake turns into (poop)...so wasting too much energy on perfection is silly. That's what I tell myself when things look like poo. I am just helping them reach their ultimate goal a bit more quickly. Really it's just super-efficient multi-tasking.

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  3. I'm sure in years to come Reese will not remember that you messed up making her birthday cake, but that you cared enough to make what she wanted on her birthday - lavender frosting an all! You are so wonderful!

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