Why I Stay

I know I complain a lot about work, but I really do love my job. (Just not always the hours or some of the people.) I really love what I do, so I thought it would be a good idea to show you guys what I do. So, want to see a magic trick? :)

Step one: Pick a flavor, any flavor!


First thing in the morning, I check to see what orders I have for the day. Shown above. (I blocked out the number so this lady doesn't get random people calling her.) And make a list of the cakes that I need for the cake case. Shown here:


I love making lists, so at the end of the day, I can see what I have accomplished. It also helps me so know what I need to do. I start by writing what sizes I need, then what flavors on what kind of cake, what color to frost it and then how I want it decorated. I check it off when I have it built, I underline the color I wanted it frosted after I have frosted it, and then I cross out the whole thing when I am done. Anyways, back to the magic trick!




Okay, so the pick any flavor part comes in right here. All of our ice cream comes in these three gallon tubs, and it is my job to make that into a cake. So, this lady happened to want Mint Chocolate Chip. I grab this tub, let it sit out for a little while so that it isn't rock hard, and then cut it down into workable portions.


I have this little half circle, metal gadget that has a razor in the center and a metal wire on the other end of the circle. So, I take the razor and cut all around the tub. Then I take the wire and pull it through the tub to make the different cuts. See:


Okay, back to the order. The lady ordered a half sheet cake, with the mint ice cream and white cake. And she wants SpongeBob on it. Okay. No problem! The first step is done now,

Step 2: Bring out the cake!



I cut the cake into the right size, and then place it on the ice cream. I get to make circles become squares all the time. Here's how:




I cut off all the extra ice cream with my giant-knife thing, so that it looks like this:


Step Three: Frosting, anyone?



We frost our ice cream cakes with either vanilla or chocolate ice cream. If I need another color, like with SpongeBob, then I have to add dye. Frosting is actually the hardest thing about doing cakes for me. It looks easy, but it actually takes A LOT of practice to be any good at it.





At this point, I have to let it freeze FOREVER! I hate it when people ask me how long it takes to make an ice cream cake. Because the answer is: I have no freakin' idea how long it takes to make just one! It is completely impractical to only make one at a time. Since they are made out of ice cream, and I have to let things soften before I can make it do anything else, I let it get soft, and then freeze it again, over and over. So, I make my list, and on a good day, just build them all, then by the time I'm done building them, I can start icing the ones that I built first because they are frozen enough. Then by the time I'm done frosting all of them, then I can start decorating the first one that I finished frosting. So, remember my cake list for the case? That list translates into this:




Sorry, I know that last one is a little dark, but I think that you get the general idea. The first pictures is all of the cakes in my "Flash" freezer, and then the second two are the cakes in the back Walk-In Freezer because there wasn't anymore room in the Flash. In the mean time, while I am building all of these, I have to wave my hand to pop out SpongeBob.


Which, I think, turned out rather well. So, Happy 8th Birthday Oz! (I took the picture before I wrote on it.) But, that leads me to my favorite part.

Step 4: Abracadabra!














A closer look:








And that is why I stay. Because how much I love doing this out-weighs the days where I don't. I will post some more pictures of my cakes later. This was one day, but there is a lot more that I can do.

-P.S. Thanks to Wesley for giving me this digital camera so that I could take all these pictures. :)