So, how long does something like this take, you may ask?
Baking: 5 hours
Mixing Frosting: About an hour and half to make all the batches needed - this one needed 3
Crumb Coat layer: About an hour - crumb coat lock in the cake crumbs to keep them from getting into the final frosting layer. A crumb coat is a MUST for a chocolate cake...which this was.
Final Coat: About 2 hours, including waiting for the frosting to set up.
Smoothing: The hand-smoothing process, using waxed paper, takes another hour and a half or so.
Applying Decorations: It depends on how ornate it is. This one was fairly simple, so it took about an hour to put all the trim on and arrange the flowers.
Total Project time: 12 hours
Okay, so the guys on Ace of Cakes do it faster...I guess, but then I'm not a pro. LOL!
Then...how long does it take to cut it up and eat it??? About 20 minutes! LOL! (I always hate that part!)
