Monday, July 21, 2008

One Wedding Cake: Mission Acomplished


I've had enough cakes for a while, thank you very much.

Enough butter, enough sugar, enough icing. Please stop already with the flour sifting and the spatula licking--oops, did I just say that? I would never lick a spatula!

Seriously, though, after making this cake last weekend, I am ready for a change. I need to sweat some onions or grill some meat, and spend a few hours making a minestrone with perfect vegetable cuts.

Nothing went wrong with the cake and I was happy with how it turned out, but I was SO stressed out about it, I was hardly able to enjoy the process. Really, not until it was sliced, served and folks wiped the crumbs off of their mouths with their napkins did I really sit back with a sigh.

OK, who am I kidding, it was more like make a beeline for the bar and down a rum and Coke.

Now I've made my fair share of cakes and I'm quite comfortable in that area, so you are probably wondering 'why all the sweat?', but it was the areas out of my control that had my knees knocking last Saturday.

Things like the ultra high humidity and thundershowers.

We must be on one of the worse power grids in Quebec, because we seem to lose electricity at the slightest gust of wind. It crossed my mind more than once that I could very well be stuck with three tiers of iced wedding cake sitting in a dark, dead fridge at any point in time. Seriously, it's happened before.

Somehow, though, we managed to avert disaster at every turn and deliver a cake that the bride loved. It survived the van ride from my place to the reception hall, thanks to Danny's mad driving skills, and we even made a quick pit-stop for a poutine-to-go for our growling stomachs. I needed something salty to counter balance all the icing and cake in my system! I couldn't stop eating all the scraps and trim during the cake assembly process. There were probably a few nights where I just sat down to a big bowl of icing and a glass of milk for a late supper.
It felt like that, anyway.


So this was my second attempt at a tiered cake with rolled fondant and I'd say it came out just OK. However, I think I am going to enjoy playing around with fondant in the future. It's so easy to work with, like grown-up play dough.

Each tier of wedding cake had a layer of chocolate cake and a layer of vanilla buttermilk cake. (A photo of how this looks and both recipes can be found here.) Everything was then coated in a simple buttercream and covered in rolled fondant.


For the decorations, the bride had a few requests. The bridesmaids wore pink that we matched the ribbon on the cake to and the white mini-gebera and lisianthus on the cake were echoed from the brides bouquet.

Lastly, the antique bride and groom topper were passed down from the brides' mother, who had used them on her wedding cake, some 35 years or so ago. I though that was sweet.

So huge congrats to the happy couple, A & J, and thanks so much for letting me be a part of your wedding day!

For now, though, it's time for a little baking break. Danny is on summer holidays and we're looking forward to some sweet family time! A trip to the zoo is planned, as is a three day camping trip. I think I know what I am getting myself into-tenting with two babies-but if anyone has any tips to pass along, they would be much appreciated. And no I don't mean "get a hotel", either.
Cheerio!

14 comments:

kickpleat said...

i don't care what you say, it looks impressive and i'm sure it tasted great too! enjoy your break!

Cheryl Arkison said...

Damn, you already took my tip - the hotel! I could never do it, all the power to you. If you are used to co-sleeping then it shouldn't be too different, right? Or maybe you need one of those fancy tents that have rooms.
PS Great cake! Go BBQ a steak.

Emily said...

Beautiful! You've got skills!

David Hall said...

Bloody hell Aimee, highly impressive! I couldn't even attempt this. Well done!

Cheers
David

Patricia Scarpin said...

That is a work of art, my dear. Truly beautiful!

CookiePie said...

What a gorgeous wedding cake! I'm sure the happy couple was thrilled. Congrats! Now enjoy the zoo and camping -- you earned it!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I'm soooo impressed! I've always been afraid to try fondant, but you've made it look easy.

LyB said...

You must still been dreaming about baby showers and weddings with all those cakes you made! It is truly a work of art Aimée, une réussite! Have fun camping, I'm sure with plenty of games and activities for the boys you'll have a fantastic time!

Zaak said...

I had to chuckle. Stress with a cake is probably high, but the stress I've had over the past 4 weeks or so has nearly killed me. I wish I had cake stress instead. Send you clients to me. ;)

Looks delicious by the way.

And camping -never tried it with kids before. Let us know how it goes.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Your cake looks lovely!

May I ask a question? In your opinion is it better to use two pans or one deep one when baking a cake? My instructor says she only ever uses one and then tortes the cake into how many layers she wants. She also mentioned that she doesn't need to adjust the length of time the cake needed to bake when using only one pan. She's wrong, right? Sorry but I really can't trust what she says.

Thanks,
Ingrid

cakewardrobe said...

BEAUTIFUL CAKE! After doing 3 cakes, I'd agree that making wedding cakes are HIGHLY stressful, and I think I'm done with that phase unless I have an assistant. I have to cut out plans for a week with my friends, including Happy Hour. It came out BEAUTIFUL! To post it must be such a relief

Nora B. said...

No purple and green like the last wedding cake, I am disappointed. ;-) This looks terrific, Aimee. I can't believe that you made yet another tiered cake. wow! I recall reading the last wedding cake you made and how nail biting it was due to the storm.

I actually promised a friends that I will make her a post-wedding cake after she gets back from her honeymoon (she didn't want a wedding cake on her actual day). I am starting to regret my promise now... All your tips will come in handy!

Nora

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I'm quite sure that the bride and groom loved the cake Aimee...good call also on the poutine break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aimée said...

Hi Kickpleat- Thanks for the vote of confidence. :)

Hi Cheryl- Nope, no fancy stuff. If there were no bugs, I would be out under the stars.

Hi Em- Skills, well, that's getting a little loose with the language!

Hi David- Merci mate.

Hi Patricia- Gee, thank you so much!

Hi cookiepie- We're looking forward to our little camping trip; expect an update!

Hi Lydia- I'm sure some people have an even easier time than I do. Imagine no kids or distractions?? Wow, I can't.

Hi Lyb- Let's hope it doesn't rain...:)

Hi Zaak- OK, bring me back to reality, thanks! we'll give an update on the camping, don't worry.

Hi Ingrid- I personally am not skilled in slicing a thick cake into layers, so I bake two when I can. I think it's just a personal preference, but I may be wrong.

Hi cakewardrobe- Ah, so you can relate. it's pretty labor intensive , I have to agree.

Hi Nora- If she is your friend, you can relax, right??

Hi Valli- Theres' always time for poutine...

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