A Rose by Any Other Name Smells Just as Sweet...Unless it's a Buttercream Rose

...and then it's just tasty! Well, if you like frosting that is...which I don't (well, to be more accurate, not this kind of frosting). But they sure are pretty! I am now a very proud recent graduate from a Michael's Craft Store Cake Decorating class - I even recieved my Certificate of Merit (whatever that means) from Wilton because the class is based on Wilton's methods. I had been enthralled with a new show on the Food Network called Sugar Rush for the last several months (okay, not enthralled with Mr. Warren Brown himself, but the cakes and the sugar art - so cool), so for Christmas, my Loving Boyfriend, being the Best Boyfriend he could be, did some sneaking and calling around until he found a cake decorating class and proceeding to bestow upon me a reservation in the class and most of the supplies I needed to get started in cake decorating (maybe I should just call him Best Boyfriend from now on?).

So for the last four weeks, I have been spending my Wednesday nights baking up Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines' cake mixes (preferred for the class) and whipping up two batches of Wilton Class Buttercream frosting (read: Tub o' Shortening; EW)...so needless to say, Wednesday nights were busy and I was grumpy. But come Thursday evening, I gathered up all my supplies, trudged off with my cake, my shortening...er, frosting, I mean, and my supplies and went off to learn how to decorate cakes. The class covers pretty things like star and shell borders, two or three different kinds of flowers and leaves, figure piping, writing, and of course, my favorite: roses. Obviously, I still have much to learn, and I don't dare show you my first two cakes, because I had only 10 minutes to decorate them at the end of class each week and they are positively ugly. BUT...even though it's not perfect, I'm very proud of my third cake:


It's like ART, with FOOD. What more could I ask for? I get to use the side of my brain that sits in hibernation for 99.8% of my daily life and I get to play with food. Plus, it's a quick way to make friends - bringing in a cake every week for people to gorge themselves on has people running to your lab (or office) to have some. (Yeah, we eat in lab - don't worry, not off the floor or around the chemicals!). So, here's a big THANK YOU to the BEST BOYFRIEND EVER...and a little pat on the back for me. yay!

We are off to the land of the Gourmet Ghetto (Berkeley, CA) so I won't be posting for a few days...we've got interviews for jobs down there (well, LB does...I'm just "visiting" a lab who has graciously offered to take me in if we move there!) and are visiting friends we've known since we were in diapers (please don't picture that). Have a wonderful first of March, happy cooking and I'll be around to see what you've all been up to when I get back on Monday.

Cheers!