Zebra Corset Cake

As I've mentioned before, I used to sell cakes.  

Yes...."used" to 

Sadly it became one of those things that you start out loving....and then ending up hating!  It just took up so much time I started to resent it.  

The weekends I was off from my job I hated doing it because I never really got to be "off"  Then on the weekends I did work I would be up all night doing cakes and what little sleep I did get was filled with nightmares of cakes falling over, or going to deliver it and they HATE it!  I would get up out of bed about 6 times to go check on it and end up standing there staring at it for 5 minutes at a time.

I started doing them when I was unemployed....I seemed to be getting pretty good at it and people were asking for them....so I figured why not?

I kept doing it when I got a part time job to supplement.....and the numbers of cake requests kept growing.

Then, I got the job I have now and It just became too much.   It had hit that odd point where I wasn't making enough money from it to quit my job and just do cakes.....but I was getting too much business for it to be a "side" job. After doing it for about 2 years, I had to give it up.  I was miserable and home never got to be "home" I went from my 9-5 job and then home to my "caking job"

I used my wedding as an excuse to sort of turn down orders about a year ago.  I really DID need the time to focus on my wedding (especially since I DIY'd alot of it) but it was a good way to not feel so bad about saying no.....I have a REALLY hard time with that!  I  always feel like I have to give people a reason for saying no....when in reality it needs no explanation.

Then, after my wedding came and went in November....I sort of spread the word of my retirement.

It was definitely for the best....but still sort of sad.  I hope to get back into it someday...but not for money...just as a hobby again.   I know that as soon as I have kids I will be making them some Bangin birthday cakes! haha

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Now that you've heard waaaaaaay more then you ever wanted to hear.....I thought I would share a cake tutorial with you!

I did the cake nearly 2 years ago, so I don't have step by step photos.....sorry!

But it's pretty simple directions

1.  Bake a sheet cake in a jelly roll pan.  They bake up thin in this pan so I stacked 2 layers.

2.  Carve the body shape.  The pan already lends itself well the the body shape so all you really have to do is cut a little of each side to create the curves of the hips.

3.  Bake two small cakes in glass bowls to create the boobies.  Turn the oven down 325 or even 300 when you bake these because they are deep and it takes a while for the middle to cook through and you don't want to burn the outside.  After the have cooled trim the bottoms flat so they sit nicely on the body

4.  Crumb coat the entire body, then frost with a thin layer of buttercream.  My Coffee Creamer Buttercream works beautifully.

5. I used to make my own Marshmallow fondant.  You can find recipes online or you can leave me a message and I can give you directions. I made a small batch that was skin colored.  I rolled it thin and then cut a straight line on one side.  Cover the top portion of the cake (the chest) with this fondant leaving the straight line up to where you want the corset to come up to.


6. Then do the same thing with whatever color you want the corset to be, taking the straight edge right up to the skin colored, letting them meet.  It doesn't have to meet perfectly because you can do what I did and add a lining to the top to cover imperfections. 


7. Then just decorate with black fondant cutting out zebra stripes and strips for laces....or however the heck you want to decorate it!

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It would be perfect for a wedding shower or bachelorette party!   

This particular cake was ordered by a girl who bought it for herself....................for her own birthday.   And she wasn't even having a party.

Is that odd to anybody else?  -__-  Cuz I thought so

But I sure did take that $$ hahaha


Hey.....a girls gotta eat! =)