Drum Set Cake

I had a cake-filled weekend this past weekend.  I only had two cakes to do, but I'll tell you in a little bit why it was so cake-filled.

But first, the first cake.  Josh's cousin Julie called on me once again to do a birthday cake for one of her boys.  This time it was her husband's birthday.  I did Davis's in November and Dallas's in January (for his December birthday).  For Jeff, she wanted a cake with a replica of his drum set on it.  I use the word 'replica' lightly.  I did my best, but it is by no means an exact replica.  She sent me a picture of his drum set and I took it from there.  Here's what I did:

Now, I debated whether or not I was going to share this next bit of information.  Because I never want anyone to know that I struggled with their cake.  But the truth is, some are easy and fun and a great experience.  Others are harder for me, still fun, but a more stressful experience.  And hopefully you never can tell which ones are which, and hopefully the stressful ones are getting fewer are farther between.

But I'm going to share this particular experience because it's amusing (it will be to you, and it is to me now that it's over with) and because this cake was for family.

So.  I had to do this drum set.  Well, I've never done a drum set before, so I thought I'd better get started early on it to make sure I didn't run into any unforeseen issues.  So on Wednesday I made a pound cake and started making my drums.  Pound cake because it's a little more sturdy and can handle the fondant covering better than a fluffier cake.  So I cut out all my drums, doing my best to get the sizes right, I put a coat of buttercream on them, I color my fondant, roll it out, measure it, cut it out to fit each drum, apply it and set it on a cookie sheet to set.  It took a good deal of time.  But I was so happy that they all turned out really well on the first try and I wasn't going to have to do anything over.

Then I went to pick up Bennett from Montessori.

Bennett loves it when I'm working on these cakes.  He just loves to see what I'm making each time, and sometimes it's hard to keep him from getting right up under me, wanting to get a front row seat to the action.  But he's learning that these cakes are not for us and we are not to touch them or eat them.  I have only had one incident involving him and a cake, and that happened to be for a family get-together (although he didn't know that), and it was just a little finger poke that was easy to fix.  But even though I feel like I can trust him around the cakes, I usually put them in another room, away from any potential danger.

Can you see where this is going?

So I had my cute little drums sitting on the cookie sheet on the counter Wednesday, and they were still there when I brought Bennett home from school.  They were also still there when I went into the other room to check my e-mail while he watched an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (have I told you that Curious George has finally been surpassed?).

I get done checking my e-mail and facebook and walk back into the kitchen.  To find Bennett sitting at the kitchen counter with my cookie sheet of drums.  With a pizza cutter in one hand.  And a black tint to his lips.  Oh.  MY.  GOSH.  NOOOOO!!!!!! 

He had eaten one entire drum, half of another, and rolled the pizza cutter through another one.  There were two that were salvageable, but he had stacked them on top of each other and the black fondant had stained the white, so I had to redo them anyway.  Oh my.  What a lesson I learned.

Now matter how much you think you can trust your 3 year old, don't be silly.  YOU CAN'T.

I very calmly sent him upstairs to his room and when I knew he was out of sight, I let myself have a little stomping fit in the living room.  I never do that.  But, this called for it.

Once I had calmed down I went upstairs and explained exactly why he was in trouble (as if he didn't already know).  He had to stay up there a little while longer, but I think I handled him well.  It really was my fault.  I mean, no, he shouldn't have gotten into the cake, but what was I thinking leaving them where he could get to them?
 
Lesson.  Learned.

So the next day I got started again.  Let me just tell you how thankful I was that I decided to start those early, because I had plenty of time to do them over.

Oh, and once I baked the actual cake, I realized that I had had another mishap with baking powder and had to rebake that, too.  !!!  Yes, yes I did.

So that's why even though I had only two cakes due this weekend, it was so very cake-filled.