I was going to start off Cake 101 by diving into ingredients or techniques or baking pans, but I was reminded over the weekend of the most important thing about making a cake: knowing your audience.
That is, who is the cake for, why is it being made, when must it be done by, and what's really important to them?
Who
This is important. I'm getting ready to do my three year old's birthday cupcakes, and it'll be cake mix, store bought frosting, and pre-made sugar decorations. 1) The store bought decorations are the theme she wants (and less time and expense than doing them myself). 2) She wants funfetti cake, and while I could make my own funfetti cake from a white cake recipe, she does not care if Mom whips egg whites into a frenzy or just stirs the mix up. 3) There are potential peanut allergies among her attendees and using store bought cuts down on potential issues.
I would not serve cake mix to a pastry chef, but neither would I serve a delicate three layer sponge cake to a room full of three year olds. Know the who and their sophistication level and expectations.
Why
Equally important is why. Different occasions call for different recipes, techniques, levels of skill, and expected lack of errors. The cake I make for a paying client has to meet a higher standard than the cupcakes for my toddler or the cake I'm taking to a work potluck or a family occasion.
Knowing the why is the difference between scrapping an entire cake and starting over and being able to do a good cover-up job and not worry. It's entirely likely that you're not baking for the judges of Food Network Challenge, so feel free not to hold yourself to their incredibly high standards. Know the standards of the occasion and strive to meet them.
When
What is your deadline? When must you be done? Is it a hard deadline or a soft/self-imposed deadline? What other things are happening in that time frame that might interfere with your baking? When is critical. There's nothing worse than staying up until 3am finishing a commissioned cake because you mis-planned your timeline.
Back to the cupcakes for a moment -- not only did my toddler request cupcakes specifically, but I knew I'd be more than likely having to work Friday or Saturday of the party weekend. Cupcakes take nearly no time at all, and thus are a better choice.
On the other hand, I spent over two weeks on my husband's birthday cake last year between prepping gumpaste shapes, letting them dry, painting them, prepping frosting, etc. You have know how long it takes you on average to do something, and what your commitments are in order to make a good timeline. Always add fudge factor -- as in "OH FUDGE! I dropped the cake!"
What
Lastly, know what is important to the person the cake is for. I love making big elaborate cakes. This year, I am not making one for my husband's birthday (he's requested a red velvet cake with cayenne -- I'm interested to see how the recipe I found turns out) or for my toddler, because neither of them wanted one.
You can have the most fantastic cake skills in the world, but if it's too ornate, too fancy, or just plain not what the recipient wanted, then it's not the right cake. Does the recipient hate fondant? Don't use it. Pay attention to every detail - color, shape, design, etc. It is often more important that the recipient be happy than that you be happy -- and what makes them happy is not necessarily going to align with your expectations.
(Never fear, I have plans of making an elaborate cake for my own birthday. It will be a ninja carousel. It's going to rock!)
So that's Cake 101: Lesson 1. Know Your Audience. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? The Denver Cake Ninja is all (virtual) ears.
