Daisy's on the Dock

by Amy J Ruel
(Kennesaw, Ga, US)

It is now what I call a new chapter in my life. No more corporate rat race no more what seemed endless nights at the office. I was forced to find a new way of living after they decided that my services were no longer required. With the lack of jobs available, especially in a small town as the one I live in. I had a make a decision, but, what I didn't know was, it was going to change my whole perception of what really matters and what true happiness is.
I've always been creative..a self proclaimed artist..however, never really showing that side to anyone due to fear of rejection I suppose. I then chose to take a few classes for cake decorating to lift my sprits. From that moment on, I became quickly and utterly obsessed with everything cake. My family and friends were my biggest supporters. Two months into my new found love for cake a good friend of mine told me that she would like to have me make her wedding cake. I froze in fear,with my heart racing I agreed to it. Good lord ! What did I get my self into now?
The next few weeks were a whirlwind. Finally deciding on what kind,flavor and presentation we would use seemed to come natural to me. My friend had found a recipe on line for Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes. Sounds great I told her..What I didn't realize was this was going to cost me a lot more than I had anticipated. But it was for my friend so I basically ended up charging her only for the ingredients.
Two days before the Wedding I setup all my ingredients and had to quadruple the ingredients. Without a clue of time management I started my cake baking. (X's 4) 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature,1 cup sugar,4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature,11 fluid ounces Hershey's chocolate syrup ( very hard to find in my town.I bought every can I could find),1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract,1 cup all-purpose flour,1 teaspoon instant coffee granules.

The smell of chocolate filled my entire house as I mixed what seemed like endless amounts of batter. It was enough to make a small 6" cake and 60 cupcakes. Into the fridge they went after they cooled.
The day before the wedding, I mixed up the smooth chocolate ganche while trying to figure out how in the world I was going to pour this new and foreign mixture. Lets just say the Internet is filled with wonderful information. (Again X's 4)
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature, 1 cup sugar, 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, 11 fluid ounces Hershey's chocolate syrup ( very hard to find in my town.. I bought every can I could find) ,1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, 1 cup all-purpose flour ,1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
I used eight inch doilies and cut them to fit around each cupcake. I topped them off with white daisy's that I made the week before out of Royal Icing.
They turned out great! The day of the wedding which was on a Dock at a local lake. My friend was thrilled and everyone at the wedding raved how great they tasted as well as they looked. It took me 47 years of my life to finally figure out that finding that the real passion inside is what I've been looking for all along. And no paper pushing job was ever going to attempt to fill that void again.