Ribbon Cutter Tool Fun

My son likes to decorate his own birthday cake. This is a tradition he started on his 4th birthday. I bake and ice a sheet cake, then he designs the top using food coloring markers and edible Rice Paper. This year, when we went to Sweet Wise to purchase the necessary supplies, the rice wafer paper was out of stock. Instead, we opted to cover the cake in FondX rolled fondant (don't worry, this brand actually tastes good!), and he then used the food coloring pens to draw directly on the top of his cake. He loves to play video games. Past birthday cakes have featured Guitar Hero and Rock Band instruments and Sackboy from Little Big Planet. This year, it's all about Crash Bandicoot. Here is the finished cake:

Originally he didn't want any kind of bottom border, but I suggested we have something to make the cake look finished, attention to detail and all that. He wasn't fussy about what went on the bottom, as long as it was red. Well, I'll take any excuse to play with my ribbon cutter tool!

First I tried using the striped embosser, but that made too wide of a ribbon.

You can see how short the cake is, and I didn't want to completely cover up the sides.

So, I tried using the zig-zag cutter with the 1/2" spacers.

But the zig-zag on the bottom didn't look right, and it was tricky positioning the ribbon around the cake evenly. Plus, the white bottom edge showed through.

So, I reloaded my ribbon cutter to make one edge straight and the other zig-zag.

This worked the best, and so that's what I ended up using.

It's a very versatile tool and a lot of fun to use. It's all about creative freedom, you know!

Attention to Detail

"Attention to detail can mean the difference between success and some @$$?#*! yelling at you and ruining your morning."

In my past equestrian life I spent some time as a working student for Jim Wofford. While that name probably means bugger all to foreigners of the horse world, he is a renowned world-class rider, trainer, and coach. Many of his sayings have stuck with me throughout the years, mainly because they are amusing, but also due the the fact that most are applicable in everyday life. The above quote is one such example.

I suppose everyone is entitled to their own pet-peeves. One sure way to get on Woff's nerves was to leave the light on in an unoccupied stall. I avoided breaking this barn rule by simply never turning my horse's stall light on to begin with, yet the "attention to detail" point was inevitably and very audibly made whenever another poor soul left a stall light on and subsequently suffered Woff's rant.

Let's consider for a moment the importance of paying attention to details when baking. My vanilla extract deficient pound cake is a prime example. The cake batter was already mixed, poured into the pan, and in the oven baking away before I noticed the bottle of vanilla and clean teaspoon sitting on the counter next to my mixer. By then it was too late. I knew the cake would be bland so I wasn't at all surprised when it didn't get a ribbon in the County Fair nor sell in the auction. Since it was left, I decided to bring it home. We each had a slice of cake after dinner last night, and while the texture was fine, there was no flavor whatsoever in that poor pound cake. Oh, what a difference a teaspoon of vanilla extract makes!

Undoubtedly there are times when "don't sweat the small stuff" may be the ideal modus operandi, but I would argue that in culinary arts, attention to detail can mean the difference between success and a pound cake only fit for use as a sticky paperweight.