*I burned my finger pretty bad on Saturday and I included a picture below. If that "grosses you out"... well, you were warned!
So, on Saturday I had quite the to-do list lined up, I had a cake to finish, cupcakes, rolls and a pie to bake, spaghetti to prepare, gallons of tea to make, and lots of other little things. Well, wait. Before I get into all that, let me back up.
On Thursday, first I baked a Caramel Cake and a few Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream and Mini Chocolate Chips (above). Then I baked a huge chocolate sheet cake... and a smaller chocolate sheet cake, and I put them together and carved them into an electric guitar shaped cake.
Then I made a huge bowl of lavender buttercream and crumb-coated the cake. Then I emailed the customer to make sure of the exact design of the cake... only to discover that the order was for next weekend and I had forgotten to make the change on my calendar. Yeah.
So between Thursday and Saturday, I posted my dumb mistake on Facebook, and another sweet customer said she'd take the cake off my hands "as-is", along with a dozen vanilla cupcakes and 3 dozen fresh yeast rolls.
So... back to Saturday. I had lots to do. I was so excited... my husband was taking our 5 oldest children shopping for Mothers day, so I was going to have the whole house to myself (well, me and Asher) and I was gettting to relax and bake all day!
First, I baked the vanilla cupcakes with lavender vanilla frosting...
Then I used the leftover vanilla cake batter from those... added some coffee and extra vanilla and made some Vanilla Coffee Cupcakes for my sis-n-law and her mother - just 'cuz!
Then I got ready to add "Happy Mother's Day" to the guitar cake (at the request of the customer). Well, my first idea was to roll out some dark purple fondant and cut the letters out (I don't write with buttercream very well, so I just thought it would look nicer). This is where my trouble started.
I had some white fondant ready to go but it was a little hard to roll out, so I wanted to microwave it and soften it. I stuck in the the microwave for only 15 seconds, but when I reached in (without looking) to get it out... it had boiled on the inside. I grabbed the ball, which looked "normal" on the outside, and the melted boiling fondant on the inside squirted out onto my fingers.
This happened:
I got burned... BAD (it actually looked worse Sunday morning, but I didn't take another picture)! I nearly passed out it hurt so much. Suddenly, my day of baking got very behind. I had to take more than an hour before I could even think about getting back in the kitchen. I was shaking and sweating and my finger was on fire!!!
I called the customer and told her that her order would probably be 1-2 hours later than we discussed, then I had to cover my fingers with gauze and a glove so that I could attempt to work. It was hard. But with the help of my husband (who got back in a hurry when I told him what happened and that I needed his help), we got back to work.
We finished 5 dozen fresh yeast rolls - some for my customer, some for us (that one pan looks sad... I kept it!), and a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls...
And I did a little finishing work on the guitar (nothing fancy at all)... and not with fondant.
And I also finished a homemade chocolate pie for my Mama and made 2 large pans of chicken spaghetti for Mother's Day lunch for my family (me and my siblings got together and cooked for our Mama - spaghetti was my part of the meal). I didn't get pics of any of that... my the end of the night I was so tired, and my finger was throbbing so bad, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed!!
After all was said and done, the customer was happy, and I survived. We had a wonderful day Sunday. My Mama was here with almost all of our family and we had a terrific meal, lots of laughs and good times. And we ate alot!
Now I just pray my finger heals before next weekend... I have two cake orders and my best friend and her family coming for the weekend!! Pray for me!
I hope you have a great week!!
Anonymous
Aw Rose, your poor finger!!! I am praying for you! Amy Fraunfelter
Rose Atwater
Thanks Amy!
Elizabeth
Rose, I went back to the picture to see the burn on your finger from your tutorial on how to make homemade fondant and I saw a pictue of your homemade cinnamon rolls. I looked for the recipe and could not find it. Was there a recipe for your homemade cinnamon rolls. Boy do I need that recipe in the worst way with company coming next weekend. By the way, that was a terrible burn and so glad hubby helped that day. I know you are more careful now and thanks for letting us know how dangerous that could be. Hope I can get that recipe for your homemade cinnamon rolls.
Rose
I'm so sorry I missed this message earlier. I haven't made those cinnamon rolls in quite a while and I'm not sure what recipe I used. 🙁
Ginger
Just curious! Would you like to share your yeast roll recipe?
Rose
I haven't made those in a long time, but I'm pretty sure I used this recipe from Our Best Bites: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/10/worlds-best-dinner-rolls/
Jan
That burn looks so painful, I just wanted to pass on a tip that I've found works wonders in case you ever have that happen again. After cooling a burn, I put Vitamin E on it. It'll soothe while healing. I find it works better than Aloe Vera for me. Thanks for the fondant recipe, I've used it many times and love it 🙂
Lillie C.
So, I know this is YEARS late but since burns can and do happen (like all the time) I figure I'd pass on a very useful tip. Instead of constantly trying to run the burn under cold water or ice (which can actually damage the skin further) make a compress of shredded potato. Yes, it sounds weird but it totally works. Shred some potato and heap it on under that gauze/bandage, pop on the glove and you're set. The potato's moisture (and probably the starch?) helps to cool the burn without causing further damage. Hopefully you won't have to use this trick but it is helpful to know none the less! Happy baking!
Soumya
That burn looks really bad and I know what it feels like when you have got some real cooking go do....Here's another tip....honey, just dab it on your burn spot immediately... Pain comes down and you will no get any bubbles...tried and tested method...works every time.
Thanks for all your tutorials...happy baking..
Barbara Burt
I too have a small at home cake biz and I use a similar recipe but I wear double gloves when making the fondant and a single pair when working with it to prevent burns. 5 seconds at a time in the microwave is my rule. safety first 🙂
Rose
Great tips!
Lelfda
Several years ago, we had a fall festival at school. One of the teachers was doing Corn Dogs. She splashed the boiling grease on her hand. We had an ER doctor there and he wanted her to go to the hospital. I ran to the local health food store and bought some Silver Gel. She used it many times that day. A fireman was there and said the Silver Gel is in all their first aid kits. They use it regularly. The next day, she had nothing showing that she had been burned. We were all surprised.
Sherry
Dear Rose ,
I must be the slowest baker in the world. How did you get such a huge volume of work done in just one day? I can't do that much!
That was amazing reading about how much you finished that day!
Laura Radabaugh
Hi, my name is Laura Radabaugh. My husband and I took a cruise to the Caribbean from Tampa in April. Just spent 2 hours in the ocean in Hondorus. Mike suffered burns like your finger, couldn't afford the ships doctor so did aloe,etc. Most of the burns burst and while in aTampa Walmart 2 ladies, older than us, followed us and struck up a conversation...one lady burned very badly with catching a sotering tool, went to the ER where a dermatologist on call saw her...she did not have good health insurance and he told his passed down secret. Squirt equal parts of desiring and antibiotic cream and gently cover the burned area, then gauze, Waite at least 24 hours...she was fine...so we reluctantly did it...after a day and a half, we removed all the gauze from his arms. All the blisters were gone! You could see redness and the outlines of the blisters. Washed ever so gently and reapplied. We took pictures and showed the doctor back here in KC,MO, said he had 2nd degree burns and could not believe it was just the week before.Aa our best to you, may you never have to try this, but do pass it along, Regards, Laura Radabaugh
Theresa
Rose, I know I'm "tardy to the party " on this one but in case you haven't heard about them, band-aid makes hydrogel band aids that saves my hand. I took a boiling pot off the stove and used my bare hands to "wipe up" the crumbs immediately after. Imagine that blister but from the top of your pinkie finger to your wrist. I can send you before and now pictures if you would like. Typically, that type of burn will scar.
I didn't.