A bad baking kind of day

It seems fitting that the day I published my last Examiner article was one of the single worst baking days I've ever had.

I've made bad stuff, I've had things fall apart or refuse to come together, I've dropped cakes before.  But all of the previous times, I've been baking at home because I felt like it or had a way to fix it by heading to a bakery to buy a dessert to replace what I screwed up.

Tonight, I had no such option.  I had to make a giant cupcake cake for a customer who was picking it up the next morning. 

The first try to decorate is a big a struggle, but it begins to come together.  I pick it up to move it to the turntable and then promptly drop it.

Crap. 

So I quickly mix a new batch and put the cake in the oven.  It seemingly takes forever to bake, but I finally get it out of the oven and give it 30 minutes to cool down.  I suddenly note that it is 8:30 and we close in 30 minutes. 

Bigger sense of urgency and growing nervousness and more "oh crap".

I begin to depan the freshly baked cake...and the bottom half of the cupcake breaks in half.

Now we are onto "oh S*#@!"

I call my fiancee in a frenzy, but what is he going to do?  He's away for the weekend and even if he weren't, it's not as if he could magically put the bottom back together. 

In moments like these, I often wonder what business I have being a pastry chef.  I'm ready to quit and give up, when an idea flashes into my head.  The cupcake mold looks like this.  The bottom half is actually about the same size as a 6-in round cake.  I have some undecorated 6-inchers with the same batter ready, and I go into hyper-decorating mode.

My dogs have already been alone for hours on end and if I don't get this cake done quick, fast and in a hurry and close the bakery before 10, not only am I coming home to a torn up house, but I'm probably going to lose my mind. 

3 layers down, ice with vanilla buttercream, run chocolate sprinkles up the side.  Place top of cupcake on, use star tip to ice the top half.  Now place fondant decorations and lettering on.  It's still missing something.  The bottom half only kind of looks like it's a cupcake.  My options at this point are rolling out more fondant and coloring it....or ribbon.  Ribbon...ribbon is good.

It's 9:15 and I'm done with the cake. 

Holy crap.  I didn't know I could decorate that fast. 

It's no Buddy Valastro cake, ,and it's probably not the best cake I've ever done... but I think it looks pretty decent- don't you?

It saved my sanity tonight regardless, though sadly it did not save my house from my dogs.  Poor guys.