So we were at it again. Kara says, "I have a wedding cake this weekend." Of course I hear, "We have a wedding cake this weekend." Why might you say would I want to adopt the stress and tedious work of making wedding cakes with my sister? Because I love them, I love her, and because in my heart, I just KNOW she couldn't do it without me...or at least wouldn't want to. Now when I say I help, I really mean in an administrative assistant sort of way. A sounding board, idea planter, an encourager, pushing her to go the extra mile. A dishwasher, problem solver, a kid cop and re-director. An answer, when she needs one, a question, when she's stumped. A laugh when the hour is late and this time...SHE TAUGHT ME HOW TO DO A SWIRL!!! So really, this cake I learned a TON. One: READ A RECIPE ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Two: I can conquer a swirl in 30 mins. Three: Trust Kara on color...Sometimes she is right!! (there I said it, tough for an older sister) Four: Evie makes a GREAT co-worker on my construction clean up crew while mom is busy baking. I think this saved both of us. FIVE: I REMEMBERED WHY I LOVE WORKING WITH MY SISTER!!! She is pretty much amazing.
This cake was done for Nancy Pants (LOVE HER) and she has a heavy job and a extremely fun outlet. You should check out her blog nancy-inalaska.blogspot.com SO anyway, Nancy is a vintage sort of gal, with lots of creativity, spunk and a love for cupcakes, tents and flags. We knew we needed to make 60 cupcakes, one 3 tiered cake and two satellite cakes. We had no picture of what she wanted or color swath, just Champagne and Vintage, Red Velvet and white cake (and her BLOG!!) We referenced her blog a lot, as she had posted many of her favorite wedding ideas on it.
Kara tried a Duncan Red Velvet Cake mix and hated it, they were flat little tasteless cupcakes and we weren't about to serve them to anyone but the chickens. That's when we started googling cake and filling recipes. We tried another and the result was priceless, beautifully rounded cupcakes, moist, chocolaty, delightful!! I also googled a raspberry filling, and promptly whipped up the ingredients only to be unhappy with the texture...kara asked "did you follow the recipe??" Uh, instructions?? No, just ingredients. after a bit of simmering on the stove we fell in love with our new raspberry filling..."YUMMY NUMMINESS" said Ellie. Then there was the Cream Cheese Frosting Fiasco. It was very yummy but didn't hold up to well when used as piping for decorations. We quickly solved each issue as they came at us and by day two, had an idea of where we were headed. Day three: We get a call, three tiered down to two, 3 satellite cakes, and Ballerina Pink, Cake Topper musical chairs, and voila, we rolled with the punches. We were both happy with our Champagne color but I pushed for a darker pink since the pink Kara liked was the same tint as the champagne and her decor idea wouldn't stand out. The Pink did get too dark for both our taste but upon arrival and one look at the grooms tie, we had nailed the color spot on.
We walked in to find the cake table was an old rickety cast-iron stove. It took us the whole hour before and ceremony to set up all the cupcakes and cakes. Our flag cake matched the flag cake topper perfectly!! The details in this wedding were AMAZING!! Her venue, Crow Creek Mine was spectacular and all her little details just made the cake come alive. I was very impressed and thrilled that it all turned out so well.
3 weeks ago
