I made a wedding cake for a friend of mine, and I PLANNED. And PLANNED and PRACTICED. I made a three-tiered cake each with a different flavor, ganache as the icing, used crumb coats to ensure a smooth finish for the icing, straws to hold the tiers and I learned how to make sugar paste flowers, petals and leaves: bought the molds to make the veining in the petals, petal dusts and professional paste and gel food colorings, leaves. I spent at least 4 months alone practicing making the flowers, made the cake in my apartment kitchen by starting at 6am and not finishing until midnight--I used my 4QT KA mixer and it could only hold so much batter, plus I had to use it for the buttercream fillings. Iced each layer at home, put it in a box in the fridge and then transported it the next day to the wedding, which was on a BOAT! Those tiers are heavy! I assembled it on the boat and decorated it with the flowers. I have to say that the cake was extremely pretty and very, very good. I received so many compliments and my flowers, uncannily matched her flowers so well. I bought so much cream, good chocolate, pans, equipment, tools, that what I asked for in payment didn't even cover it. But my time and talent, as it was, was my gift and she very clearly loved it, which in the end, is all that matters. I was extremely proud of myself, but I've said ever since that I would NEVER do that again, it is very stressful and a tremendous amount of work as I made everything the day before and didn't freeze anything. It's making me tired just thinking about it! Believe me, Anna, I know EXACTLY how you feel, which is why I'm very picky about whom I say "yes" to when I get asked about cake. I figure I have one in me per year. Any more than that doesn't do anyone any favors :-) Susan

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