Coconut Almond Cake {and a little Announcement}

As I was preparing for this week's class on stacking cakes, I couldn't help but think of our recent wedding cake. Venturing down memory lane, it seemed as if the wedding cake was the easiest decision we made. Mr. J was very interested in partaking in this aspect, more so than in making the DIY card box or pocketfold invitations. In the end, we decided that I would be in charge of the exterior aesthetics of the cake while he took care of the inside.

After several hours on Pinterest, I decided on this (left; photo credit: weddingchannel.com) four-layered round cake for our wedding cake. I liked that it was simple and elegant as that was the theme of our entire wedding. Our flowers would be fuchsia pink sugar roses and we would have a cake topper instead of the floral bouquet.

Photo credit:  Vanessa Finch Photography

Our cake (right; photo credit @ Finch Photography) turned out beautiful! And it was exactly what I wanted. A family friend bakes and designs beautiful cakes and I am happy we asked her (Thanks Jolene! You can find her here). After several cake tastings, the hubby decided on a lemon cake with raspberry filling for the bottom layer, chocolate cake with chocolate ganache for the second and for the top cake he went with a coconut almond cake. All were very great combinations and I'm sure they tasted great on the day...but I wouldn't know since I didn't eat any.

So back to the cake stacking class that started this reminiscing. I was inspired by our wedding cake and decided to recapitulate it for this project. For the cakes, I made two 10" cakes for the bottom layer and two 6" cakes for the top. Both cakes were frosted with my go-to swiss meringue buttercream (SMB) with lime zest and lemon extract. The bottom cake is a new recipe that I'm sharing below. It's a coconut almond cake that I experimented with and it turned out moist and amazing!

For the floral arrangements, I made pink gumpaste roses and fondant leaves earlier in the week (while watching Criminal minds... I love that show!). I went for a much simpler piping design than our original wedding cake. After all, I'm only just starting and not a pro. In the end, I think the piping has lots of room for improvement and I will be working on that more. The roses turned out great and I am in love with them.

The small cake is also a test recipe for a purple velvet cake. Why purple? It has to do with my little announcement. I was asked to design and set-up a dessert table at a bridal shower this summer! I am super excited (and secretly scared...shh) and honored that the maid-of-honor hosting the shower (ahemmm Trista!) trusts me to pull this off. 

I am testing several variations for this purple velvet she requested and once I nail the recipe, I will share it here. Needless to say, there will be lots of posts on this first gig as we get closer to the summer. There are so many ideas racing through my mind and I am spending lots of hours on Pinterest trying to figure out how to bring them all to life on one small table.

Double Birthday Celebration!!

This week, Mr J's nieces were celebrating their birthdays and we were hosting a birthday dinner party at our new home for the girls! Obviously, I handled the desserts and the hubby tackled making dinner.

I decided to make two different cakes for the girls. Our youngest niece, Madison, was turning 12 and she is the most colorful young lady I have met. And to honor her, I made her a funky neon cake imploring my recently acquired fondant skills, seen here.

 

And for our other niece, Megan, I kept her decorations simple yet elegant as she was turning 19. The daisy and pastel sprinkles gave the cake a spring feeling (despite the 20 degrees weather we are experiencing now).

 

At their request, I made this chocolate cake with swiss meringue buttercream (recipe here) for the orange cake and this lemon cake for the other. Both girls loved their cakes and were excited to bring the rest home.

As we were watching 'Rise of the Guardians', I realized that just three years ago I meant Mr J's family for the first time. We had been dating for six months and he invited me to his nieces birthday party at his sister's house. I was so nervous but that was quickly put to rest by his welcoming family! I am so blessed to have them as in-laws. 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

Fun with Fondant

I just completed Course 3 (Gum Paste and Fondant) of the Wilton cake decorating series and here is my final cake project. It was inspired by my niece, Madison, and her love for bright neon colors.

Photo credit: Mr J aka the hubby

During this 4-week course, in addition to covering a cake with fondant, making bows and working with fun cut-outs, we learned how to make different flowers with gum paste and fondant. It was my first exposure to both and I must say I love working with gum paste, especially to make flowers. We had a go at daisies, roses, calla lilies, mums and carnations (which were my favorite). I will share these flowers later as I practice. I'm not sure if I am a fan of covering a cake completely with fondant yet even though I like how smooth it looks.

I would definitely recommend the Wilton cake decorating series for any beginner who would like to learn the basics of cake decorating from a professional.

Have a great weekend!!