Channeling Cake Boss Buddy

It feels like it's been a crazy week, despite having started off with a holiday on Monday.  Not that that really matters for me, as I approached 7 months of unemployment this week.  Yes, more apps went out and rejection letters came in.  In the meantime, lots of other things preoccupied my time.

On Wednesday, DH Tbone and I walked 2.5 miles to the big shopping center, which has the new largest Ikea in Scandinavia, a mall to rival the Ohio Valley Mall of my childhood, and what I call "the fake ww (aka WalMart)", Bilka (I still can't help but to feel like I'm getting bilked there, despite it claiming to be the cheapest).  We had a lot of things to get, such as a tennis racquet on deep discount, cake baking supplies at Ikea, and more. 

It was a mostly successful trip, except for the cake decorating set being sold out.  Two shelves devoted to this product, and it was sold out!  Are Tbone and I not the only ones in Denmark riveted by Cake Boss Buddy and filled with desire to concoct our own creations at home?  But we found a set at fake ww, which will have to do in the meantime.  Besides, the cake that we are working on today to bring to a Eurovision finale party is a practice one for the real cake for the World Cup match of Denmark vs. Holland in a couple weeks.  So it's OK if this one is not perfect.

So last night we were making the modeling chocolate, which we plan to use on a Rice Krispy-shaped microphone, and trying to figure out how to color it.  Turns out that liquid food colors will NOT work with modeling chocolate (duh: liquid and melted chocolate do NOT mix, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner).  Powdered colors, however, DO work. Thing is, there's not a Wilton store anywhere around here, and even the 'fake Jo-Ann's/Crafts 2000' has supplies only for candy making.  Seems the best option is to order British made Sugar Flair Colours from the Kagebutikken's site. 

It's strange to me that cake-making isn't bigger here, but my eyes are colored by the experience of having a mother who always made the best desserts at least once a week.  Friday dinners were special, because we always had a homemade dessert.  Her specialty is pie, but I have many memories of baking cakes, cookies, and breads too.  During my teen years, I made a "watermelon cake" for each 4th of July cookout, which had pink cake encased by green frosting; the top center of the cake had pink frosting sprinkled with chocolate chips. From above, it looked like a just-sliced-open watermelon.  I don't know why we just didn't enjoy only the real watermelon for dessert!

Alas, in this country, the big cake thing is lagkage, or layer cake, which can be assembled with store-bought yellow cake rounds and layers of real whipped cream (one will not find Cool Whip here, which I consider a great positive).  If one is feeling adventurous, other items such as sliced fruit, chunks of chocolate, or crushed macaroons can be added.  In any case, the cake rounds are not tall and fluffy, and the lack of real frosting makes me sad.  What point is cake without the frosting?!

So until we import some powdered coloring, we will have to think of some other way to make the modeling chocolate-covered Rice Krispy treats look like a microphone. I'm hoping that these silver balls will help.  Actually I'm just hoping that Tbone and I can get through this experience with a product that both of us are happy with and proud of, and will lend itself to future cake baking and decorating experiences!  Channeling Buddy.  He and his team make it look so easy.