We celebrated our daughter’s sixteenth birthday yesterday!! Since it was my daughter who wanted to do the Icing Artist’s cake class with me, I decided that I would surprise her and attempt to make it on my own for her birthday.
I purchased access to the video lessons and recipes a few years ago, so it has been on our to-do list for some time. Amazon says I ordered all of the cake pans and accessories we would need in March of 2023! At that time, my daughter planned out her cake design and had big dreams but it looked like a big project so we figured we’d need to carve out the perfect time. Actually completing the lessons just kept getting put on the back burner. So, we never made it past the planning stage.
Well, after jumping in without much grace or flare, I can attest it was 100% a big undertaking. However, I did it! I admittedly didn’t watch all of the videos, because my plan to make this cake for her birthday was sort of a last minute decision. Instead, I watched the essential ones, and skipped some of the ones that I didn’t end up needing (mostly decorating). I do intend to make this cake again sometime from start to finish, actually watching the lessons through all the way, but at the end of the day I had a cake for my daughter’s birthday.
Our air conditioner has been broken this week (just learned from the repairman that it was the capacitor), so when I baked the four chocolate cake layers on Tuesday, our house was sitting at 79*F while I had the oven going. Ugh! I let them all cool as instructed, then wrapped each one with love and tucked them into the freezer until the following day. I figured leaving the buttercream steps until the day-of would be fine. Hindsight and all that, right?
~I didn’t get many pictures because I was focused and didn’t want to touch my phone and have to wash my hands any more than I already was. (June 16, 2026)~
~Four small chocolate cake layers, ready to go in the oven! (June 16, 2026)~
As I just mentioned, our air conditioner was not working, so getting the butter to room temp was no issue at all! Unfortunately, I think it impacted my ability to work with it when it came time to frosting the cake. I popped the cake into the fridge at the proper intervals but it was very difficult to work when my house felt like an oven. I had a little fan pointed at me and the cake, but it wasn’t doing much. When at last I had a slightly leaning cake in front of me, I laughed to myself that it looked like a literal hot mess. However, I did my best despite time constraints, physical limitations and environmental conditions attempting to thwart me. This is the point where if I were sharing this aloud, I would awkwardly lift up my hand for a high five.
~My biggest fan, doing its best to cool me off in the kitchen. (June 17, 2026)~
~Cakes are thawed and buttercream is ready! (June 17, 2026)~
~I whipped up a chocolate filling. (June 17, 2026)~
I could never have a cooking show because the messy chaos would never just be behind the scenes. There were globs of buttercream frosting everywhere and I had icing sugar, as well as cocoa powder, all over me and the floor. At one point, I saw something falling off of the counter in my peripheral, and reflexively reached out to catch it, only realizing a moment too late that it was a bread knife. My pinky sustained several little cuts as the blade grazed it on its way down, but I just winced, washed it, and kept going.
~I got gold luster dust all over my keyboard…and other surfaces. Oops! (June 18, 2026)~
It was a labor of love and I put my best effort into it. The best I can put into it can be different, which is why I would like to attempt it again when I am not exceedingly sore from being on my feet in the kitchen at VBS for three nights in a row, whilst racing against the clock to get it done so we had time to have dinner and then make it to night four of VBS. I would also like to be working in a kitchen that doesn’t already feel like an oven, and isn’t working against me to keep the buttercream from getting too soft. Despite the hiccups, and my self-deprecation, I am actually proud of the cake I made. It is by no means baker quality. It is nowhere near perfect. It is, however, the best that Melissa on June 17, 2026 could do. I keep learning, I keep practicing, and I keep improving. That is what matters in regards to my personal reason for baking this four-layer cake.
~Chilling in the fridge. (June 17, 2026)~
My daughter and I actually attempted to bake a different cake together for my Thirty Before Thirty, and it was a flop. I don’t think thirty-year-old me would have felt as ambitious as nearly-forty-year-old me! I would like to actually attempt to decorate the cake like my daughter wanted to as well next time. It would be nice to bake it together as well. However, for the purposes of my Forty Before Forty goals, this cake is done!
By the way, I did try a small slice. After all that hard work I had to know what my efforts yielded! The Icing Artist’s chocolate cake recipe is delicious. Historically, I am more of a vanilla cake fan, but this chocolate cake was really moist and flavorful. I’m not a huge fan of frosting either, so I personally would have enjoyed a thinner layer of buttercream frosting on my slice but it was rich and creamy. Of course, I actively avoid chocolate because it is on the list of foods that consistently cause me a great deal of pain and discomfort. So, I went into it knowing I would suffer but not sure of how much, because there are a lot of other factors at work as well. I am flaring today, but at least I know why. I suppose I could have at least waited to try it until I wasn’t in the middle of volunteering in the kitchen for VBS, but the Lord has brought me through this far, so I pray He will grant me the strength to finish strong. I just wanted a fresh piece of cake! *sniff*
If you’re interested in learning all of the steps from prep to finishing touches, you can find the Icing Artist’s course here. Video lessons can be challenging for me if the instructor doesn’t take me by the hand and take baby steps. She was really good at explaining every step, along with the why behind it, as well as offering alternatives if you don’t have the same things on hand. I appreciated how easy it was to follow the videos and to find which step you needed. So, I definitely think it was worth it for a beginner like me. If you attempt this cake too, or if you have any cake disaster/success stories to share, I’d love to hear about it.
~Sheet pan cakes were the safest place for me when I first started out, but the kids also have requested them since. (Clockwise from top left: June 2012, March 2015, June 2015, July 2019 and July 2015.)~
~Cupcakes are another safer-zone for me, though I have tried to get better with decorating them along the way. (Clockwise from top left: July 2014, June 2018, July 2019, June 2013 and July 2018.)~
~Layered cakes, fancy piping and other decorating techniques have been intimidating but I am glad to see improvements over the years. (Clockwise from top left: June 2022, July 2020, Feb. 2023, July 2024 and July 2022.)~
~When it comes to birthdays, though, making my kiddos happy is what my end goal is. This simple cinnamon roll cake is my daughter’s most requested cake for her birthday. (L-R: June 2021, June 2021; Top to Bottom: June 2024 and June 2025.)~
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