Never Spoiled, Always Reworkable

Last Wednesday I set out with a distinct purpose: assemble and paint my first purse cake. I had everything in order to be successful and give myself plenty of time for some detailed painting to make this Vera Bradley cake come to life. Two batches of fondant had been made, white chocolate buttercream frosting was done, cakes were cooling and the cake board had been covered. It would be a quick assembly and then on to painting. Wrong! Four hours into basic assembly I encountered what seemed like an entourage of problems.

First, the frosting had hardened in the fridge and had to be re-beaten. Then I forgot to cut the purse shape out of the cake before doing the crumb coat of frosting. An hour later after having to remove cracked fondant from the frosted cake, I was forced to make a new batch of fondant. Deciding to use my tried and true recipe for marshmallow fondant, I confidently poured my melted marshmallows into the mixer with powered sugar. My heart sank as I watched crumbs form. What was happening! I started to wonder, "Is there a lesson I'm supposed to be learning Lord that I'm missing or is this just not what I'm supposed to do?" I was on the verge of tears wanting to give up.

Slowly things came back together. I had enough fondant left over from covering the cake board to cover the cake. Praise God! I was able to find a new use for that waiting roll of toilet paper, using it to hold up the gum paste handle while it dried, already in perfect position on the cake. Praise God! I was able to match the fondant piping around my purse to the same color as the gum paste handle, which involved using reds and pink; the colors I have the most trouble getting to come out. Praise God!

During the course of the day, while constantly facing a problem and having to rework and remold things to get it somewhat right, God brought to mind how he has molded us with his own hands as I was molding this cake. Like my cake that needed a little work to make it more perfect, I need to be reworked by my maker to make me more perfect. In Jeremiah 18:4 we encounter Jeremiah following instructions from the Lord to go down to the local potter's house. Jeremiah records from what he saw there, "And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do." (ESV, 2002)

Each one of us is a sinner; we are spoiled. But God has so much love for us! We are his precious creation even though we fail him so often, he still loves us. He reworks us, fixing our bad parts and making us new we become something beautiful and of good use to bring him glory. I am ever so thankful that God didn't count me as lost, but took the time to rework me as he seemed was good to do. He chose to show me mercy. What an amazing gift!

Leveling, Filling and Frosting a Cake

Leveling: you will need two layers of cake, a serrated knife and a bag or container for the excess cake.

Step 1: Cut the dome off the top of each layer cake using a serrated knife. Take your time. You can take away, but cannot add back your cake. There will be a ring around your cake where the cake touched the pan. Use the top of that ring as a guide for cutting off the dome. I do this on a turn-table, rotating the cake as I cut ending my cut at the same spot I started from.

Step 2: Get down to eye level and spin your cake. Is it level? Carefully shave away cake to make an even surface. Again, take your time.

Leveled Cake

Bag your extra cake for cake balls! Can be stored in freezer until ready to make.

Filling and Frosting: you will need two level cakes, frosting (white chocolate buttercream recipe), piping bag with large round tip, off-set spatula(s) and turn-table (optional)

Step 3: Once both layers have flat tops, place one layer on your turn-table. Fill a pastry bag with frosting and attach your largest round tip. Pipe around the edge of your cake.
*This step can be omitted if you are filling with frosting. I typically fill cakes with Jams and therefore need this edge to keep the filling in.

Step 4: Place a large dollop of frosting in the center of the cake spreading to edges using an off-set spatula. I create fillings an 1/8 to 1/4 inch high. You can go as high as a 1/2 inch of frosting between layers. Place your second cake layer on top placing the cut edge to the filling.

Step 5: There are lots of crumbs on your cake at this point and you don't want them to show! A crumb coat grabs and holds them into the cake allowing a perfect layer of buttercream to be added later. Place a large spoonful of frosting on the top of your cake. At this point it is very important not to put your spatula back into your frosting bowl without whipping it off with your paper towel. You'll need that frosting later for your final coat and crumbs are your enemy! Using gently force, spread your frosting around the top of your cake pushing it toward the edges. There should only be a very thin layer of frosting. Push the frosting down and around the side of the cake. Wipe off your spatula and grab more frosting as needed to cover the whole cake. Wait 30 minutes to allow the frosting to crust and then apply your final coat of frosting.

Cake with crumb-coat

Step 6: No frosting should go to waste! Either save it to make cake balls later along with your leftover cake, or toss the cake and frosting in a bowl and enjoy a treat while you wait between frosting layers!

The source of my stress and insight into the Lord

***Those of you who know how to make a purse cake will notice that the above steps and the completed frosted cake is not how one would start off a purse cake. Well, this is how I did. Add another mini disaster to the list!