ANY ADVICE FOR ME REGARDING THIS BEAR CAKE??

This is one of the last two cake orders I have for Cakes of the Hamptons (now I'm doing orders only for Blue Duck but I took these orders before we decided to work together!). 

ANYWAY! This bear, while adorable, was the worst cake ever to make. I followed the directions perfectly, using wire to tie the cake pans together. The cake pan (Wilton) leaks and it leaked all over my oven and down to the drawer underneath. Only half the cake batter was left, then the inside of the cake never did cook, even with the center metal core.

So I dumped it and started all over, but this time I baked it using the two halves, having to add aluminum foil around the feet to "build up" the cake pan. After the cakes had baked, I trimmed them down, but then had to put buttercream up the middle of the cake to "glue" the two sides together. I did add two short dowels in-between the two sides for extra support.

In order to ice and transport it, it was another whole deal. 

After crumb-coating the entire cake (a messy proposition), I placed the cake face down into the pan again and iced the back, making "fur" by using a hair/grass tip. Then I froze it. After it was solid, I took the bear out and carefully stood it up on a cake drum and added the "fur" to the front, then put it back in the freezer, again while up on the cake drum. I normally don't like to freeze the cakes but in this case, it was a must-do.

As far as delivery, I put the cake into the back part of the cake pan face up, and yes, it messed up the "fur" in the back of the bear. I put ice in Zip-Lock bags and placed the bags in a cooler then secured the frozen bear (still in the back part of the pan) on top of the ice.

Once I was onsite, I carefully removed the cake pan from the back of the bear and placed the cake on top of the bottom round and doweled it. (It was an hour's drive so it was nearly thawed out by then.) I then "fixed" the fur in the back. I had to allow at least half an hour to fix the cake and make any repairs. I added the blocks on the front simply to cover up the chocolate icing that had dripped from my icing bag because of the heat.

I hope I never have to make another bear cake! If anyone out there has any suggestions, I'm all ears! 

Email me your helpful tips at:

CakesoftheHamptons@Yahoo.com

Thanks!