The One With All The Stickyness

And aren’t we all on this ever so sticky Sunday? And it’s not a good sticky, like sticky toffee pudding sticky, it's that ‘we’ve had a week of heat and might just melt tomorrow’ sticky.

As cake makers, we must brave this sweltering heat with our aprons on and our fans held high. Now I’ve been doing this cake making thing for a little while and I’ve learnt a few things that might happen when there’s cake and heat in the same room...

Buttercream gets softer and creamier. Only pouring cream is lovely … pouring buttercream isn’t supposed to be a thing.
Cakes gets the sweats. Droplets of cakey water that scream “You took me from the cold fridge and put me in a warm room too fast … ahhhhhh.”
You’re hot, therefore your hands are hot, therefore your fondant icing ain’t so soft and easy to handle anymore.
Drippy cakes are a fridge only zone.
And who even has a fridge big enough for all these cakes in all this heat?!

It’s tricky, at times tricky enough you might just cry. And until you’re ready to save and invest in an air con unit, which I’d just like to say … truly helps you live the cool, cake making dream … these tips might help a little:

Fridge space. You’ve just gotta have it. And you can place buttercream in it’s piping bag, in the fridge for a little while before you pipe prettiness on top of those cupcakes.
Fans. Electric fans. At least two. Pointing at your cake, once it’s covered in fondant icing.
If you’re not a fan of fans, cover your cakes either first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening (when it’s coolest). This should send those sweats runnin’.
Store your cakes in a cool space. If your garage is still kinda stuffy, have a fan with some ice underneath it blowing towards those cakes. It sounds so serious? It’s cake, duhh.
Keep cool yourself. Wash your hands under cool water, especially on those pulse points. If you’re cool, your head space is cool and that cake’s got a better chance of being cool too.