Caking Scrapbook

Ok, ladies (and gentlemen), I want you to run right out and get you a big 4" notebook and tab dividers. Why, you ask? Well let me tell you.

When I started my whole cake designing love affair, I was so clueless. I didn't even know where to start. So, I went out and bought me some pans and I thought, "how hard can it be"? Big mistake. Because, now I don't know how much batter to put in them, I don't know how long to bake them, I don't know what recipe to use to fill them, I don't know what kind of icing to...well you get the idea.

Then I decide to go about the whole thing methodically. I have the internet, so I have the tools. I start researching...everything. Now I have this big stack of printed out pages. So, if I really had gone about it methodically, the first thing I would have done was buy me a notebook.

Now I have my notebook and my tab dividers, and this is how I have it divided up:

Tab 1) Mixing Info - here I have a chart that I got from the Wilton site. It has all the info for 2" pans. They also have one for 3" pans. You may want to make some corrections to this (I found that I needed to add slightly more batter to get them to rise above the pan for torting), and I generally bake my larger cakes at 325 degrees for a longer period of time to keep them from drying out.

Tab 2) Preparing the cake - Here I keep all my info on baking, torting, icing and stacking. Wilton has some great info to get you started here too.

Tab 3) Miscellaneous Info - Here is where I keep all the random but useful info I gathered along the way, but I don't have it divided out into specific categories yet (I'm not real organized).

Tab 4) Recipes - This is where I keep all my recipes I have downloaded from the internet. You can split it out further by dividing it into separate tabs for Cake Recipes, Icing Recipes, Filling Recipes, Misc. Recipes (this one for recipes like gumpaste glue, or Rice Krispie Treats, etc.)

Tab 5) Idea Think Tank- Here I keep all my design ideas or photographs of cakes I would like to take some inspiration from.

Tab 6) Templates- When you begin doing Royal Icing Transfers or Frozen buttercream Transfers you will use templates to "draw" on with your icings. I always keep a spare template in my notebook in case I want to do that same template again.

Tab 7) My Cakes - I always take a photo of my completed cakes and stick a copy of it in my notebook. I do this for several reasons. First, I like to show them off (I am not lying), Second, I would like to eventually get to a point where I could use it as a portfolio (you never know, I might someday want to go pro...I said someday), and Third, if a friend wants a cake but doesn't know what kind of design they want you can flip out your old notebook and say hey, you like any of these. But seriously, if you ever have any intention of doing this on a higher level then I do, you might seriously want to have a portfolio of your cakes to show to a perspective client or bride. As for me, I just do it for the fun of it...forget the stress.

But even if you don't eventually want to go pro...it is a good way to keep all your cake stuff in order. Pretty convenient when you need a bit of info too.