There’s nothing we love more than hearing inspirational stories from our members.
For many years now we have tried to build a platform which not only affords people the opportunity to learn how to make cakes no matter their circumstances (location, ability, affordability etc) but allows them a community where they can share their work and their stories behind their cakey creations.
We recently received the following email from one of our members regarding our train cake tutorial which just touched our hearts…
A 12-year old’s wish…
My 12-year-old son is a high functioning autistic child that has loved trains since he could hold one in his hand.
He has often requested a steam train cake for his birthday but due to finances I was unable to provide this wish to him because of the cost of having a cake in the shape of a train
was not an option.
This year he begged and pleaded that he wanted a train cake to go with his Train themed birthday party.
Mum decides to get the rolling pin out…
Shannon didn’t want to disappoint her son but couldn’t justify the costs in outsourcing a speciality train cake so decided to have a go herself. Originally looking for a cake pan in the shape of a train, Shannon took to the internet to see what was on offer…
It started on Pinterest looking for train cakes. I was looking for a cake pan in the
shape of a train, thinking that would be the only thing I could pull off.
I’ve never made anything like this in my life.
I came across Paul Bradford advertising the train cake tutorial. I thought about it but thought it would be a tutorial for professionals. I then started Googling train cakes
to find a cake pan and came across Sugarcraft School’s website once again
I read the information that said skill level “intermediate.” I thought I know how to bake maybe I can do this and decided to take a leap of faith and purchase the tutorial.
Mum takes to cake…
I watched the 17 videos probably 20 times, took 10 pages of notes over 2 weeks’ time. I watched the Ganache tutorial multiple times as well.
Thursday April 12, I started the cake process. I was able to pull this cake off. The tutorial was easy to follow and gave every measurement. I was able to follow along and see exactly what Paul was talking about.
It was easy going not intense and I loved the informally of it by having little bits of Paul’s personality and stories in the mix.
My cake, of course, was nowhere close to the cake Paul produced and
due to time constraints I was unable to add as much detail to mine.
My little boy was so proud of his cake that he didn’t want us to cut it or eat it. He
wanted to put it in the freezer and keep it forever!!!
So, I just wanted to say thank you so much! I could never have pulled this cake off without these tutorials.
Everything is so well done; a wealth of knowledge and I have told everybody I know about this website. Thank you for helping make my 12-year-old’s dream a reality. Thank you!
What a truly inspirational story!!!
Paul read the email while driving (well, being driven) through the mountains in northern Spain en route to his new place in Malaga and it genuinely brought tears to his eyes.
It’s always incredible to hear how making a tutorial in Scotland could have such an emotional impact on a 12-year-old-boy from the USA. Well done Shannon for an amazing cake and giving your son a birthday to remember, but most of all for having the courage to give it a go.
If you’d like to become a member of our community and create your own cake story then you can sign-up for instant access to our train tutorial and over 800 hours worth of our multi-award winning cake tutorials at www.designer-cakes.com
