#CakeProblems

Sometimes life gives you lemons... and sometimes life gives you a mental breakdown at 3am with a kitchen covered in powdered sugar. Welcome to the world of cake decorating.

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Hi! I'm a cake decorator "beginner" at a local grocery store. I've been to culinary school and everything... How would I go about finding more of an baker/decorator job? Like pastry chef or something along those lines? I have thought about working from home but again I'm a "beginner". Thank you! Anna

Hi Anna!That is such a tricky question! It’s really hard for us to answer because it totally depends on where you’re from and what your area is like. Kez works from home in New Zealand and I (Taryn!) work as a Pastry Chef in Australia. I studied a Diploma of Confectionary Art and then began looking for suitable jobs. I connected via LinkedIn with one of my Pastry Chef idols and it just so happened that she was looking for someone to join her team! A month later I had moved interstate and had a full time job.I think it’s all about making the right connections and meeting the right people. I’d suggest going to the sort of places you would want to work, introduce yourself and have a resume & portfolio prepared! Talk to them about what they look for in employees. They might not be hiring, but they might give you some useful advice! It may also be beneficial to do an internship or volunteer work (unpaid) to get some more experience. I really hope this helps. You really just need to be brave, put yourself out there and take risks! - Taryn @ #CakeProblems

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When you’ve been waiting over a week for a delivery from your ingredient supplier and every single thing you need to make has an ingredient missing.

#CakeProblems #notfine

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When a friend or family member is trying to convince you to make them a cake for free and you’re just like...

#CakeProblems

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When you work at a high volume production bakery on a team of six for the evening shift and have been working for ten days straight gearing up for a huge event (while everyone else has had days off) and two people call in sick on the same day, leaving your team completely screwed.

#CakeProblems Submitted by: anon

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Hi,my name is Franca, I live in Nigeria, West Africa, am mostly self taught. Pls I notice most of the time I bake a fruit cake, it has so much crumbs when it's cut, what can I do to improve on it?

Hi Franca,

Now I can’t say I’m an expert on baking science so fellow readers please feel free to add some input here, but here are things I would be checking...1. Is your cake over baked? This would be one of the most obvious causes of a dry and crumbly cake if it has been baked so much that all the moisture and steam has escaped. Perhaps your baking time is too long, or your temperature too high. 

2. Maybe there’s not enough moisture in the recipe to begin with. Sometimes you just get a bad recipe! With a more in depth knowledge of food science you could make your own recipe, but if you’re using someone else’s it may simply be a case of too much dry ingredients and not enough wet!

3. Varying ingredients and measurements could cause an issue. For example, 1 standard Cup in America is a different size to 1 standard Cup in Australia. If you have found this recipe on an international website, there’s a possibility the measurements could translate incorrectly. Also ingredients themselves, such as flour for example, can vary depending where you live in the world. Flour has different levels of gluten and this can alter the texture of your final product. Using a cake flour might be beneficial for this recipe! 

Of course, saying all this: I’ve never actually baked a fruit cake before because they aren’t very popular here in Australia (most people think they’re gross and I kind of have to agree haha) so I hope this helps but unfortunately I can’t give you a magic answer to immediately fix your problem!Anyone else have any ideas?

- Taryn @ #CakeProblems

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I just wanted to say that the last couple of Saturdays at work decorating cakes has been just terrible for me, but your blog has made me feel much better! :)

So sorry to hear you’ve been having some bad days anon!We do what we can to make our readers smile - and if it makes you feel any better, our lack of updates is because I’ve had some mental few weeks at work as well! It’s simply the nature of the business - but we love what we do anyway!- Taryn @ #CakeProblems

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When you meet someone and they say they’re a cake decorator.

#CakeExciting!

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When a repeat customer acts like you’re old friends and you can’t even remember their name. 

#CakeProblems 

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The moment you end a conversation with a customer who has been trying to haggle your prices down.

#CakeProblems

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When fellow cake decorators refuse to listen to you and make mistakes as a result.

#CakeProblems

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When you’re finally succeeding in your career.

#CakeProblems

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When you need emergency ingredients and the shops are closed so you have to borrow from a friend or neighbour.

#CakeProblems

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When a customer complains that you can’t make a cake and deliver it to them the very same day they order it.

#CakeProblems

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When you’re already working 50+ hours a week, and then you get a new order for 4000 decorated cookies.

#CookieProblems

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When people tell you that you should charge more for your cakes.

#CakeTruths

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When you and your colleague have a personal joke about a cake, but have to act professional in front of a client.

#CakeProblems

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When you unexpectedly have to teach a class.

#CakeProblems