Try!

I am a major fan of baking shows, much to Randy's dismay.  He'll watch them with me if I ask him to, but I rarely do because I know he doesn't care for them like I do.  The second season of Zumbo's Just Desserts came out recently, so right now that's the one I've been watching.  I cannot believe the desserts that man comes up with.  If we ever go to Australia, that will be the only thing I want to search out. 

I had the crazy idea to possibly try one of his creations, so I searched Pinterest to try and find a recipe.  I didn't find one, but I did find an article of someone trying the exact one I was thinking of trying. I was laughing so hard at the blunder of this man trying to do it in the time allotted on the show.  I laughed when he said he was ready to begin with his fifty-five ingredients and 8-page novella of directions.  I was in tears reading his descriptions of the many flops, and could barely breathe at one point when he actually took a picture of himself flipping the oven off.  What took three hours on the show took him seven.  Maybe I didn't want try one...

While thinking of Shelby's birthday tomorrow and watching an episode while I was cleaning the kitchen, I got an idea-- why don't you make Shelby's cake like that one!  I investigated each element to gauge whether I could reasonably do it, and decided I just might try.  I left immediately for the store, before I changed my mind, grateful that I didn't need 55 items.  I've been wanting to do something like this for a very long time, but today I felt like I could tackle something that might be stressful.  My recipes weren't Zumbos, but they were all homemade elements, which makes me feel quite accomplished.

One of the things they always worry over is "their flavors."  Because I didn't have an exact recipe for how much of each element to add, I kind of just had to wing it.  So, I can now say for myself, "I'm not sure of my flavors."  As I was telling my kids this, Tyson spoke out, "Mom, even if it doesn't taste that good, I am going to be so proud of you for trying this!"  And just like that, I felt like a rockstar, showing my kids that they can attempt hard things, and be proud simply for trying.  My heart is soaring, my cheeks are flushed.

It's now freezing in my "blast chiller" overnight.  I need the buttercream to be frozen solid so I can try the last element that I have wanted to try since the very first time I saw someone do it on Zumbo's: Mirror Glaze.  Fingers crossed that this cake doesn't turn out horrible for her birthday.  I may need to make a last-minute trip to DQ tomorrow.  Hope not.  Wish me luck!