Wilton Course 1, Week 2 (And A Review)

Here's my cake for week 2 of my Wilton class. Only one more week to go! In this week's class we learned how to pipe a shell border, make hearts (I suck at those!) make dots of various sizes and how to pipe drop flowers.

Oh and we learned how to pipe using parchment triangles. I officially don't like those. My paper kept shifting at the base by the tip. It was messy and far more problematic than I ever thought possible. I see how they can come in handy and I see how they could be used in a pinch for scribing out a name with melted chocolate on a cake, but if I don't have to use them, I won't be.

The drop flowers also look simpler than they are. They're not hard, but you have to twist your hand while squeezing out the icing. It just takes practice. I think mine came out alright. I was going to pipe a shell border on the cake but my icing was too thick and the ends kept breaking off, causing it to look a little jagged, so I left them off.

This is how I chose to incorporate clowns and flowers. Last week she told us we had to have clown bodies on our cake, but that we could use any head we wanted. Some people did Hello Kitty, others did Sponge Bob and Darth Vader! I chose the clowns because I was determined to make them un-scary. So I piped a field of wild (read: overgrown) grass, some pink flowers (totally not scary!) and the clowns sitting on the side.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out, but I had one minor problem with the clown in the red collar. The orange cream cheese icing below him had gotten a little soft and the weight of the clown body made it look like he had a saggy butt. As soon as I got home I put it in the fridge, but as I was trying to fix it, the other clowns foot fell off- ha! Oh well. Next time I'll use a more stable (a stiffer) icing to frost my cake in.

On to the review part of this post. I love carrot cake so when I saw a commercial for this cake mix I thought I'd give it a try. I like how the box says "decadent" and "ingredient rich". If by that they mean, a spice cake mix with a baggy of dried shredded carrots and raisins, then okay.

It was not bad, but I don't think I'd make it again. The "recipe" calls for rehydrating the carrots and raisins in hot water for 5 minutes. I let them sit for 15 minutes before adding the eggs, oils and cake mix. The end result was a very moist cake, but it was a little too spicy for me and the carrots were a little chewy. Of course if you like spice cake, then you might love this one. I, on the other hand, will be making mine from freshly grated carrots. I prefer a carrot rich cake with added spices, not the other way around. On a good note, those that tasted the cake said it tasted homemade. I iced my cake with orange cream cheese icing.

Has anyone else made this cake mix? What did you think of it? Are there other mixes out there that you love that I should give a try?