My first wedding cake

The son of one of my best friends, someone I've known for nearly 20 years, was married on January 15th and I had the honor of making their wedding cake and the grooms cake.  The bride and I talked about the overall design of the cake and the theme of the wedding along with colors which would be purple and silver, nice colors for early January.  Along with those colors, the bride wanted to incorporate peacock feathers into the design and feathers would also be part of the flowers worn by the men.  She gave me all the flexibility I wanted/needed in the overall design on the cake and we all settled on white cake for the flavor. Naturally I right away went to my white cake recipe that is used for most of the birthday cakes I make.

There is a nice almond flavor in this cake and the texture is just perfect. I knew it would be a hit.

Two weeks before the wedding, on a Sunday afternoon, I baked the cakes that would be put together for this wedding cake that would need to feed 200 guests.

two 13 x 2 inch layers
two 11 x 2 inch layers
three 8 x 2 inch layers
two 6 x 2 inch layers

I made the white cake recipe 10 times to make all of the layers and then carefully, once they had cooled, wrapped them tight as can be in 6 layers of Saran Wrap and then popped them into the freezer where they would wait patiently  until being called upon to be decorated.

The day before the wedding I mixed up 6 lbs. of powered sugar and 3 lbs. of butter, along with vanilla and a pinch of salt to create the yummy buttercream frosting that would be used to frost the cake.  If you think no one can tell the difference between Crisco frosting and the real deal, think again. They can.

The first two layers of cake were frosted quickly and then I did the same for the next two layers.  After they were iced I carefully placed them on top of a cake board that had been covered in white fondant and the rim was covered with purple ribbon that has been purchased from a craft store.

For the 'grooms cake" his mom and I decided on individual lime tarts because Corey really likes key lime pie.  The week of the wedding I made 115 tart shells and four batches of fresh lime curd.  In honor of the Groom's Irish heritage, I found 1 inch shamrock decorations online and they were just perfect.

The wedding went off without a hitch, the cake was a hit and didn't fall over. I consider that a success.

CONGRATULATIONS TERELL AND COREY!
January 15, 2011