Photo via CraftsyHave you ever wanted to make a vintage-looking birdcage cake?
Omigod, has Craftsy got a course for you! It's called Vintage Cake Design and it's taught by famed UK cake designer Lindy Smith.
OK, so maybe you'd never fantasized specifically about making a birdcage cake. But wouldn't it be cool if you could create cakes of the caliber of the one pictured above?
Believe me when I tell you this class will help you cake--er, make--it happen.
Listen, between you and me, I can write about cake design, cakes, and recipes, till the cows come home, but when it comes to creating intricately decorated works, I am not quite as confident. I know what fondant spacers are, and tools. But the ease of decorating doesn't come as easy to me as, say, watercoloring.
I knew right away when I started this course that Lindy knew what she was doing. Things I hadn't really considered, such as "polishing" the fondant to ensure a perfectly smooth finish, were presented in an informative way--she didn't assume a certain level of expertise, but at the same time, didn't simply dumb things down. I appreciated that.
As she presents the various steps that go into this cake, something magical starts to happen. The project goes from completely inaccessible and daunting, something other people, people more talented than you do, to a number of manageable tasks.
It's not a matter of "make an amazing cake"--it's more a matter of, follow these steps, from embossing the baseboard to properly leveling and shaping the cakes to assembling using dowels to covering them with fondant and decorating with silhouettes and various layers...and after you've done all of these manageable tasks, you'll have this amazing cake.
And you know what? I think that even if you never make the cake (because honestly, I haven't yet, but I now believe I can, and that's pretty important), this course is absolutely worth the price. Because you'll pick up all sorts of tips for cake decorating that can be applied to other projects, including stenciling techniques, clever application of luster dust, what types of cake stack and shape well, and too many more little tidbits to name in one short blog post.
So not only will you learn how to make a cake that will impress all of your friends, but you'll naturally and easily develop some skills that might just have you impressing yourself. Look, here's a cake made by someone who took the class:
Now that takes the cake, sweeties!
Oh, and lucky readers, Craftsy said that since I posted about the class they'd give my readers a totally sweet discount on the class. Lucky you!
Use this link to navigate to a 25% discount on the class: www.craftsy.com/ext/110813_jessie_vintage
Note: I'm not on a referral program or anything, so please don't feel like I'm selling you some cake version of Amway here--I just think it's a nifty course and Craftsy, a business I believe in and work for as a freelancer, was kind enough to offer the discount for my readers. Sweet!