The Wedding Cake Project: Part 3

So… when I said I would post my cake recipe tomorrow, I guess I really meant in a couple of days.  Sorry about that.  The weekend just got away from me and I couldn’t find a moment to sit down and type up the recipe.  (In my defense, this was a fairly long and complicated recipe to type up.)  Anyway, I finally squeezed in some quality computer time last night before bed and was able to churn this recipe out.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, this lemon cake with lemon curd turned out to be absolutely delicious.  It is definitely making it to my wedding cake menu.  But, I do want to warn you, contrary to its name, this cake is not light at all.  In fact, it may be one of the densest cakes I have ever eaten.  Nonetheless, it is still fantastic and incredibly flavorful.  But, if you have your heart set on a light and fluffy cake, this is not the cake for you.  That being said, I highly recommend it and hope you take the time to make it.  It will be well worth your effort.

The Consequences of a Good Cake

Oh my goodness – my kitchen is atrocious!  I know I should clean it, but I’m not even sure where to begin.  It’s a disaster area of monumental proportions, and the thought of even entering that war zone is intimidating.  It’s not usually like this – I swear!  But yesterday was Miss Mary’s baby shower and I had offered to make a couple of cakes in her honor.  I knew it was a lot to take on with my current work schedule, but I figured this would give me an opportunity to play around with a couple of cake ideas I have been brainstorming for the wedding.

As per usual, I totally underestimated the level of complication and the amount of time I would need to put said cakes together.  I also overestimated my energy level after working three nights in a row, and overslept just a tad.  So, the hour before her shower became a mad rush to assemble the cakes, leaving little time to even run a brush through my hair, let alone clean up after myself.  So, now I’m left to face a kitchen overrun with pots, pans, and various decorating utensils, and sticky with renegade buttercream.  This is ridiculous!

Apart from the mess, the project turned out well.  I’ve nailed down another cake for my upcoming nuptials, and have come away with some solid ideas for my current obsession of creating the perfect blood orange cake.  The winning cake is a Lemon Cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream and Lemon Curd.  I wish I had taken a photo because it looked awesome!  Even better – it tasted amazing!  The cake was moist and super-lemony and the light and creamy buttercream provided a perfect contrast to the tartness of the curd.  This might end up being my favorite cake of all.  I don’t have time to type up the recipe now, as it’s closing in on my nap time, but I will be sure to post the recipe tomorrow.  Until then, I wish you sweet and lemony dreams!

The Wedding Cake Project: Part 2

OK.  I will be the first to admit this isn’t the prettiest cake I’ve ever made.  In fact, if a cake looking like this appeared at my wedding, I would be pretty disappointed.  I might even be forced to hide it and make a mad dash for the grocery store.  It is definitely lopsided and the crumb layer didn’t hold all the chocolate crumbs in place, giving it a very messy, haphazard look.  But I’m not going to stress.  That’s the whole point of my experiment, right?  I’m not going to be able to do everything perfectly the first time, so I need to vet all of the issues beforehand.  So much of baking is trial and error; I need to cut myself a little slack and focus on the positive.  Taste-wise, this cake is a winner.  I based it off of the classic Nutella and Strawberry Crepe and am incredibly happy with the flavor profile.  It has the perfect balance of chocolate-y richness and butter-y lightness, topped off with strawberries.  The aesthetics are a minor problem that can be easily corrected.  And, quite honestly, the next time I make this cake I will be in a much more controlled environment, and will have the proper baking gadgets at my disposal.  Saturday was just an impossible day to put together a cake.  It was so hot and humid that the butter cream was separating as I mixed it and was melting as I spread it on the cake.  I tried chilling it in the fridge to make it firmer, but my poor, little refrigerator just couldn’t keep up.  I was fighting a losing battle.  But, in the end, I was able to create something delicious for my friend’s birthday and that makes me happy.  See below for the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake with

Nutella and Vanilla Butter Cream and Strawberries

The Wedding Cake Project: Part 1

 Anyone who knows me well knows two very important things about me: 1) I love to bake, and 2) I’m a control freak.  Keeping these ideas in mind, it should come as no surprise to anyone that I am adamant about making my own wedding cakes.  Even if I wanted to hand over control, I couldn’t.  The idea of someone else making my cakes would drive me crazy.  I have a specific idea in mind and am convinced no one but myself can make it happen.

The problem is, I need to practice my cakes before the wedding.  This is one project I’m not willing to enter into blindly.  So, I need to find excuses to experiment and play.  This weekend, one of my lovely Aussie friends hosted a Mad-Hatter Tea Party in honor of her birthday, which I decided was the perfect excuse to try out the Mojito Pound Cake recipe I’ve been dying to try.  Yeah!

Admittedly, it wasn’t easy, especially considering I was forced to work without all of my normal kitchen gadgets.  I didn’t bring any of my gear out here and am not willing to invest too much into my temporary kitchen, so I had to make due with the bare minimum: one mixing bowl, a old-fashioned candy thermometer, and a decrepit hand-mixer.  It was tough.  By the end, my cramped forearm was begging for my standing mixer.

 

But the hard work was worth it.  The Mojito Pound Cake with Rum-Flavored Italian Meringue Buttercream (as imagined by Warren Brown of CakeLove) was absolutely delicious.  I had to change a few aspects of the recipe, as some ingredients weren’t available, but I was still able to pull it off.  The flavors were subtle, but quite surprisingly, it did taste like a well-made mojito.  I’m a huge fan of unique cake flavors, so this one was a winner.  This will definitely make it to my wedding cake menu.  Yum!

See below for the recipe.