Wilton Cake Decorating Class I; Weeks 1, 2, 3

My first "decorated" cake ever:Not too shabby! It still needs some work, and these flowers were really easy, but I'm pretty pleased. The cake itself didn't turn out quite as well - somehow it was really dense and kind of dry.The recipe I used looked promising, so I'll try it again sometime and post it once I figure out what I did wrong. I used the Wilton frosting recipe, which I will post next, since this was for my cake class.

For those not familiar, the Wilton Method is a way of cake decorating that is popularly taught in many craft stores across the nation. There are a few different classes available, but the first class covers the basics, and a few weeks ago, I enrolled in Class I. The class is supposed to be 2 hours a week for 4 weeks, but since my class is so small (uh, theres 2 of us), we will finish in three classes.

The class itself only cost me $17.50 to take (thanks to a special from the store), but I did spend about $40 in materials for the class (yea 40% off coupons!). I didn't buy the kit recommended for the class, just the pieces my teacher said I would need (since I had some of the stuff on hand already).

In the first week, the teacher went over the basics, and then we practiced everything from the second lesson on the cake she brought instead of baking and bringing our own (you don't actually need anything for the first class). For lessons 3 and 4, I have to bring my own cake and icing (normally you would bring a cake and icing for classes 2, 3, and 4). Next week, which is the final class, we will finish learning the Wilton rose and I will be perfectly prepared to decorate cakes at any chain grocery store bakery! (You know, just in case I get bored with engineering or anything...)