DIY Cake Stand

I love cake stands. I want to have a collection of them one day. Currently, I only have two stands and one plateau. Not much of a collection.

But thanks to Pinterest, there are plenty of tutorials on how to make your own cake stand. There's a good one that uses candle sticks and microwave plates, but I didn't like how plain the plates were, and I couldn't find any single-candle candlesticks at my local Goodwill. Just like the other tutorial, though, I don't like using regular plates because most of them have a curve, or a huge lip, and if you turn them over, the bottom isn't flat either.

Then I found two things that were perfect for each other: a plastic serving dish and a plastic cup.

They match up pretty darn well, so I grabbed them. Did I mention that it was 50% off day when I got them? Originally $1.68 together, I got both pieces for $0.84. The plate has some nice scallops on the edge, so when turned over it will actually look like a cake stand. The bottom of the plate also has some (OK, a lot) of grooves, but I figure that any cake drum will just slide over them, so they're not a big deal.

You'll also need some super-strong glue. I used some that my husband had on hand. It's definitely super strong, it's water proof, and doesn't have any cancer-causing agents like E6000. You'll need some gloves along with any glue you use, though. You don't want this stuff on your skin, and you definitely don't want to rub your eyes or face while working with this stuff. I just used regular latex gloves.

Make sure your pieces are wiped clean of any dirt, glue from stickers, or food particles. Being plastic, the plate and the cup have a nifty little nub directly in the center of each, so I could test fit them together before actually gluing. The plate is nice and smooth on the side where the cup is going to go. I plan on turning the cup upside-down for stability, but it has a bit of a ridge. For cleanliness, I just applied a thin line of glue on the ridge, and a dot on the nub.

Sorry it's blurry, but you can kind of see the line of glue on the outer edge of the cup, and the dot in the middle.

Now just flip the plate over and line up the nubs, and carefully set the plate down on the cup. The glue that I'm using requires it to set for 30 minutes, so I set a big can on yams on top and left it alone while I watched Mythbusters.

Mmmm, yams.

Now, the other tutorial had you spray paint the entire thing, but I kind of like the clear look. It's a bit dingy since the plastic is old, but it'll do.

Wait 24 hours before setting something on top of it. Since this is plastic, I probably won't put anything bigger than a two-tier cake on it. I'll keep looking for neat plates and things to make different stands. I'll probably also try to paint the next one, especially if it's glass, wood, or metal. I can't wait to make another!

Why Does My Custom Cake Take SO Long To Make?

I've talked about price a lot. Mainly because many people don't understand why custom cakes cost as much as they do. They don't understand that home bakers and cake shops don't operate like grocery store bakeries, expecting to pay little-to-nothing for a cake made just for them.

For home bakers and little cake shops, it's not only about money; it's also about time. Many ask customers to inquire two weeks ahead of time, sometimes a month, and even several months. This is very different than going to a grocery store the day before and asking them for a simple phrase piped onto a sheet cake with a few balloons on it, and most people don't understand why.

Cake artists usually start off by scheduling appointments with their customers. To the customer, an hour or hour-and-a-half appointment may not be much, but the to the artist, all time is valuable. They could use that hour to finish the details on a cake being delivered tomorrow, or to bake some cake for the rest of the week. Instead, they're sitting with the customer, drawing out their vision in hopes of making their event as special as possible.

After the design is set, flavors decided on, and all the details are sorted out, they have to go shopping for supplies if they don't have a bakery stocked with stuff. That's probably another hour out of their lives, not including things that may be special order, like "bling" or molds. Special ordering may also take time, apart from ordering it, like the time it takes to get from the supplier to the baker (1-4 weeks).

This is a 7 quart KitchenAid mixer.
It holds 28 cups of stuff, but you
definitely don't want to overfill it.
Picture via Love From The Oven.

After all of the supplies are gathered, it's time to bake! Professional bakers do much more than add eggs, water, and oil to a cake mix. Sure, a person could probably whip out a boxed cake in as little as an hour. A professional, however, can't go about cake that haphazardly. Ingredients must be measured out carefully, whether on a scale by weight, or in measuring cups by volume, or else chemical reactions in the cake may not go as planned. Some cakes require beating egg whites for 10 minutes or so, some batters require adding ingredients in alternative manners, rather than just dumping everything into a bowl.

Box mixes make approximately 2 1/2 cups of batter, enough for a two-layer 8" cake (12 servings, according to the box, but it can feed more, really). If a customer ordered a three-tiered cake (6-8-10), they'd need 23 cups of batter. TWENTY-THREE CUPS. And that's if the baker makes tiers with two layers. Some make their tiers with three layers. That's THIRTY-FOUR AND ONE-HALF CUPS OF BATTER. (That's nearly 14 boxes of cake mix, by the way.) Not only will it take a while to make all the batter, but a home oven can probably only fit four pans at a time. My guess is that it will take an entire day of baking, if the baker has no distractions, such as everyday life.

Now we make the frosting/filling! American buttercream is pretty easy to make: cream everything together but the sugar, and then add powdered sugar a cup at a time. Other frostings take more time, though. Swiss meringue and Italian meringue buttercreams involve heating egg whites, and whipping the buttercream until it becomes super silky, which can take up to 15 minutes, depending on the amount. Other fillings, such as fruit filling or fresh fruit will also take time, whether it be just cutting up the fruit, or mashing/blending the fruit and boiling it down until it becomes a compote. The frosting may not take TOO long, but it'll take longer than opening a can of pre-made frosting, that's for sure.

Filling the cake takes time because the baker needs to keep the layers even and keep things consistent. When fruit is involved, or any filling that could potentially leak out, certain techniques are used that are more time-consuming than just slapping on frosting. Then the baker will crumb coat everything to keep crumbs from showing up in the outer layer. Many bakers will fridge the cake between steps for stability, which does take up more time, but definitely helps the baker turn out a better cake.

There is no one way to cover the cake in its final layer. Whether the cake is going to be covered in fondant or not, it still needs to be super clean and have nice, sharp edges, which mean it can't look like this:

This actually looks yummy, but not what you're looking for from a professional. Via Cooking With Abandon.

Professionals use different tools, techniques, and lots of time to achieve a smooth finish with buttercream or ganache. It's not an easy feat, nor can a person do it in two seconds (although experience can greatly reduce the amount of time that goes into it).

Look at those beautiful edges, the smoothness of the sides, and the wonderful speckling from the vanilla.
Via Yuma Couture Cakes.

The application of fondant involves much more than those silly Pinterest pictures. For one, there's different types of fondant that act differently under different circumstances. There's also many different things to worry about when working with fondant, such as it sticking to things, wrinkling, rolling it out too thick/thin, not having enough to cover the whole cake, re-applying it if you mess up, etc. If any of those things happen, it'll eat away at the baker's time trying to fix it.

I think it's sort of common sense that any decorations will take LOTS of time. A cascade of gumpaste flowers can take DAYS to cut, mold, form, dry, paint/dust, and assemble. A figure, such as a person or animal, can take hours to mold, days to dry, and a couple more hours to paint.

No, a cake like this cannot be recreated in a day. Don't even think about asking your local cake artist that question.
Via Kara's Couture Cakes.

Custom cakes take time. Lots of time. Professional home bakers don't sit at their computers or phones waiting for people to order from them. They don't have cakes ready to go in the freezer, or cans of pre-made frosting waiting to be slapped onto a cake. For a quality cake, made with care and consideration, order weeks ahead of time. You'll be glad you did.

Settling for Less

Stop it.

Just stop it.

Stop settling for cake crap just because you, yourself, couldn't do any better.

If you ask your decorator for this:

I've used this picture before. If you want the link, see my post "R-E-S-P-E-C-T."

Don't settle for this:

"But that's better than what I could do!"

It really doesn't matter what your skill level is. You hire a mechanic to fix your car, and if they did a sub-par job, you'd complain, aside from possibly ending up in a ditch. Although a bad cake isn't life-threatening (unless you get food poisoning from a questionable baker), why would you accept a cake that looks much worse than what you asked for? You paid for professional services, and your cake should look professional.

"But it's better than anything I could do!"
Why do you eat out at nice restaurants? It's either because you don't want to cook (special occasion, convenience), or because you want a nice meal and you can't cook for one reason or another. With cakes, you order them from bakeries because you either can't bake, or you'd rather not.
Now, are you a professional chef? Did you go to culinary school, work as a cook, caterer, or have any experience in food service (not including being part of staff that did no food-preparing)? If you said "no," then why would you care that your food is sub-par? So what if the steak had no flavor? Why does it matter if the plate is dirty? "I didn't pay for mediocre food and presentation!"

Do you see my point yet?

If you're paying for professional services, don't settle for a cake that is "okay" just because you can't do any better.

Just because you can't pull this off:

No source. If you know who made this, leave a comment!

 Don't accept this for your party:

I'll go to Wally World. Thanks.

"The Best in Town!"

I've heard this exclamation all over the place, about all sorts of things, uttered by many different people.

If you're asking family, friends, or social networks, it's hard to know what they think is "the best." They could have grown up with dry cake all their life, or grocery store cake, or maybe their grandma was the best baker on the east coast. Whatever their preference, the person recommending this place or person will always be biased, so it's really hard to know who to choose.

Pretty cake board!

When a person says, "Go with so-and-so. They're the best," ask them why.

Why are they the best?

Was it the presentation?
If it was presentation, what about the presentation made you like it? Cleanliness of the work? Was the board it was sitting on plain, covered in aluminum foil, or did it look like the rest of the cake? Were there wrinkles in the fondant or gumpaste?

Was it the taste?
What kind of cake did you get? If it was chocolate, was is rich and dark, or more light and milky? If it was fruity, did it taste like the fruit was frozen, from a boxed mix, or fresh? Did the buttercream actually have a buttery taste, or was it mostly sugar?

Probably shouldn't eat that.

Was it the texture?
Did the cake seem dense, or was it more like a sponge? Was the cake falling apart as you were trying to eat it, or did it hold its shape well? Did you feel like a glass of milk would've gone nicely with it? Was the buttercream airy, creamy, and melt-in-your-mouth-y, or did it leave you with a greasy feeling in your mouth?

I know it seems like these questions are what judges at a cake show might ask, but if you're getting a cake for a big event, it's important to ask these questions so you know what to expect. If the people you're asking can't answer these, or at least one, then you probably shouldn't trust their judgement when it comes to cake.

Sometimes you can't get any sort of legit information from people. They'll say the phrase "best in town" like they literally could not have lower expectations. When that happens, it's always good to ask your cake decorator/artist if they offer tastings. Especially when it's a wedding cake, many bakers will have tastings available so you can sample what they have to offer, as well as what they think are good combinations of frosting, filling, and cake flavors.

I know, I know... most people out there aren't pastry judges or connoisseurs of food, but if they're going to make such a bold statement, they should be able to back it up. You can't possibly take advice on what luxury car to buy when this person has only driven lemons from the junk yard.