The purple people eater

Today I tried fondant. My original idea was to do white fondant with blue and brown dots - like a piece of scrapbook paper I have. The reason it's purple is because the first time I tried to put it on the cake, I overestimated on one side and underestimated on the other - so I had to take it off and have a do over. Of course, the buttercream undercoat got on the fondant and pushed the color *off* enough that it looked dirty and I needed to tint it. The result is a blast from my past. Those were my high school colors. Ahhh, the Amador Dons. I didn't intend for it to be that way, it just so happened that I had yellow pre-made fondant, but not pink (the purple is home-made). When I took my first step back to look at it I realized what I had done. Maybe it was subliminal. This really was a practice cake for me, and there are many, MANY errors that I've tried to cover up well enough, but this is probably a cake that will end up having a couple of slices eaten out of it tonight and thrown out tomorrow. I learned a lot from this cake, namely applying fondant correctly; so I don't feel guilty about wasting it at all. Now I know I can do it, I will be a little more confident when making the fondant cake for my boss's birthday and for our one year anniversary of our office opening!

As pretty as fondant looks I have come to a conclusion...

I just can't stomach the stuff! It's no worse than eating marshmallows, but it just looks non-edible, so I have a mental block that will not allow me to eat it. I made it, so I KNOW what went into it is completely edible and doesn't have anything strange in it. Buttercream frosting is just the best frosting, hands down, and even though the fondant has buttercream underneath it; it sticks to the fondant, and you have to scrape it off if you want to eat it. Well, of course some fondant comes off in the process and "contaminates" the buttercream, making it something I won't eat! I will continue to make fondant cakes, if for no other reason than to keep me from pigging out on the finished product! However, it also will motivate me to get REALLY good at smoothing buttercream.

UPDATE: My son, my mom, and my husband (and of course me!) each had some tonight. Alexander (my son) loves the "purple part, it's really yummy"; Emmanuel (husband) likes the cake heavily laden with generic strawberry syrup, my mom liked the whole thing including the fondant. I thought it was "ok". It was a bit too sugary for me. I can't bring myself to eat the fondant. I don't know why. It's completely edible, but I think because I made it and kneaded it and worked so hard with it; in my mind it has become something that's not meant to be eaten. It's really just a mixture of sugar, shortening and gelatin. I might try MMF (Marshmallow Fondant) next time. Maybe I can get over my mental block of fondant that way. But hey, it might keep me from sucking down all of my creations at lightning speed!

2nd update: I did indeed throw it away yesterday. Everytime I looked at it I wanted to throw up. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it and it was a hit with my family, but it's that stinking fondant that did it! I can't stand it!