This weekend presented me with a low-pressure opportunity to try some creative things that were new to me.

Some were spectacular, visual failures, and others turned out relatively acceptable.

I did learn a lot of things along the way, though, so it was still time well spent.

• 

  Relatively Acceptable (It’s always fun when your baking project is staring at you…)

  If I want to pipe softer edges and points, I should probably try a French meringue instead of a Swiss meringue next time, though sometimes that can be mitigated post-piping by a clean, damp finger (which was how the bunny tails wound up rounded instead of spiky).

• I totally want to do more ganache.
• Ganache or chocolate frosting. The flavor difference is too negligible/nuanced to be worth the time to make two different things.
• Raspberry jam (hot) coating a chocolate cake before ganache/frosting?  Yes, please!
• Always have a back-up plan. – OK, I already knew this, but this weekend totally reinforced that for me.