Not a "Cake Boss".

I was asked to make a Groom's Cake for my Sister-in-Law's wedding. Her fiance loves sports, especially soccer.

I searched online for a cake to more or less copy. The plan...to decorate a sheet cake with standing green grass and a 3-D soccer ball on top.

After purchasing a Wilton Ball Pan, I gave baking it a go. The 30-40 minute back time was really 50-60 minutes. Not a problem. I knew my challenge would be getting the image on the cake and transporting it from Fairfax to Alexandria.

After baking, it was time to put on the crumb crust. A crumb crust is essentially a thin layer of frosting that you put on before actually icing the cake. This process prevents the icing from sticking to the cake and pulling off the crumbs. I bet you wish you had known about this secret sooner!

After putting on the crumb crust, my ball looked like an egg, more oval than round. I'm sure you can picture it perfectly in your mind.

I'm impatient and I want things done correctly. Decorating this cake did not bring out the best in me. I traced the soccer ball template onto wax paper and did the outline in clear gel. I did this because my impatience got the better of me. Had I closely and slowly read the decorating instructions, I would've seen that you take the template to the cake and mark it with toothpicks. I quickly read over this part, didn't quite understand it and went with a technique I learned in cake decorating class. That tracing technique is great on a sheet cake, but not a 3-D ball.

As I was icing it the frosting was warming up from the heat of my hands. The white icing was turning off-white and I was getting tired and frustrated. I finished what I could to take a decent photo and then I stopped. I used the wrong "grass" cake tip but after 1 1/2 hours I couldn't be bothered.

All-in-all, it did turn out better than expected, but not for a wedding. This would be fine for a child's birthday, but again, not for a wedding.

I went out and bought pre-made fondant. I think cutting out the shapes will be easier. There's going to be a wedding cake, so I'm not worried about how this one will taste. For me, this is all about appearances. Keep an eye out for an updated photo!