If you can't stand the heat... turn 'overthinking' to your advantage!

This is a timely title - as I currently don't have a properly functioning kitchen due to an extension and revamp happening (see insta for the giant hole on the back of my house) - so whilst well out of kitchen action on the baking front - I thought I'd share this with you until the oven is firmly back in use!

I am a worrier - I think we all are to a degree - but sometimes it can get a hold of you and the next thing you know its about 3.45am and you are totally paralysed by doomsday eventualities that are spinning out of control in your head. Over the years I've tried to 'get over' this by being super prepared and trying to outfox (cunning see!) the worry by having back up plans, test runs, plan b's etc etc. So, how has this got anything to do with cakes then ehh? - I wanted to make my friend's wedding cake and do it well, with great tasting cakes, that looked the part and that were worthy of the years of friendship we'd shared - which I also wanted to continue for many years to come - so ballsing this up was not an option!

So how far do you go? I've seen the Bake Off, when great and seriously talented bakers are reduced to tears because their fail safe recipes haven't worked or naturally, on chocolate week, the temperature reaches all time highs akin to the Gobi Desert... and these people practice and the cream of the crop - what chance do I stand!? Well I'd just have to practice loads!

I really enjoyed this bit - I made lots of versions and was having lovely time, pretending to be Nigella - colouring fondant to the exact colour of eucalyptus, making little tiny leaves, piping buttercream roses and so on. I know that not everyone is a fan of fondant covering, and wanted it to be a real crowd pleaser so figured that I'd have some tiers fondant covered and some buttercream. All was well in my head. I had never made a fruit cake - and again, appreciate that they aren't everyones cuppa - but as a super strong base for the cake - I set about trying different kinds and settled on a lovely tropical fruitcake rich with rum and ginger and pineapple (thank you Fiona Cairns for this one! (#fionacairnsltd) I practiced covering it to get it sharp and smooth and was feeling pretty ok so it would be fruit on the base, then ginger, then chocolate and finally good old vanilla on the top. Here is prototype 1. Oh what a jolly time it was!

Then about two months before the wedding (due to take place in September) I had a horrible thought in the middle of the night about 'what if I drop a tier on the way in' - and it stayed and niggled and took up residence as they do... having opened the door to negative doomsday scenarios - a week or so later, 'what if there isn't enough cake for everyone?' - despite having calculated this out several times and following numerous online guides... I envisaged empty platters and everyone making a bee line for one flavour whilst the others were left untouched. As if that wasn't enough the weather got strangely hot and real major panic set in about the buttercream tiers - what if they melt? what if they decide to cut the cake outside and the cakes are nothing but an oil slick and the day is ruined? what if what if what if!!!!!

I over thought it - that is an understatement but as fellow over thinkers will testify, there is no going back once you've 'thunk' it! So what did I do? I'll tell you...

I made two cakes - 8 tiers in total - one, 'the spare' had cake dummies covered in fondant and real tiers of the buttercreamed cakes - the second, 'the real cake' was all cake and the intended one for use. Each tier was taken in separately so that if a drop occurred, there was another to take its place, no matter what, there would be a cake for the photographs.

To counter the 'will there be enough' - the two extra tiers for 'the spare' would be cut up and used - sorted - that catered for an extra 50 pieces! excellent!

And finally the melting issue - I researched alternative buttercream recipes and found one that was supposed to withstand temperatures better than traditional - I made both for the day itself so that I had the option to select which one would be most suitable - I phoned the venue and checked what temperature the function room would be, monitored the weather forecast continuously and just to make sure - exposed trial cakes to extreme temperatures... yes, I lit the woodburner in July and sat the cakes infant of it... I knew they were good to at least 26 degrees as evidenced above - I HAD THIS!!

I guess the moral of this story is sometimes worries are not really helpful - but other times they can be countered - and although it takes a bit of extra brain power and effort - you can get peace of mind by countering every silly scenario with a 'fix' so use it to your advantage! Ultimately it was because it mattered to me that this cake was as good as I could get it - so I left no stone unturned and thats never a bad thing!