Good as Gold

It's Saturday morning, and I am at home, drinking coffee, and...well, that's it actually. I am sitting in my pj-s, doing nothing. Nothing except writing this post. It feels wonderfully weird. No baking to do, no projects to work on, nothing. I get to spend some time with friends today whom I haven't seen in far too long, participate in some fall-themed activities, and share with you some goodies that I just haven't had the time to post.

A few years ago, I hinted not-so subtly on this very blog that I wanted Santa to bring me an airbrush machine for christmas. Santa pulled through, but unfortunately the machine was swiftly delegated to our second bedroom, otherwise known as the room where kitchen appliances go to die. When a friend of mine asked me to make her a anniversary cake, and showed me the picture of what she had actually wanted her wedding cake to look like (not what they ended up receiving unfortunately). I knew this was a perfect opportunity to resurrect and make use of my not-so new toy.

A smooth layer of buttercream, a quick coat of airbrush gold, and a light pressing of a textured paper towel, gave this cake it's antiqued look. For the flower, I rolled what felt like a million little balls out of fondant in multiple sizes and used royal icing to secure them to the center of the flower. Then I airbrushed the entire center and let it dry before affixing the petals.

Inside is my favorite devils food chocolate cake, frosted with vanilla italian meringue buttercream and filled with this raspberry curd mousse.

Raspberry Curd Mousse
recipe adapted from epicurious.com

12 oz raspberries
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 TBL lemon juice
2 TBL unsalted butter (room temperature)
pinch salt
1 tsp gelatin
1 TBL water
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Combine raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and butter in a food processor, and pulse until raspberries have broken down. Transfer to a saucepan, and whisk in the eggs and salt. Place pan over medium heat, and bring mixture to 175 degrees F, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, strain through a fine mesh sieve, and let cool to room temperature, whisking every few minutes to aid cooling. Combine water and gelatin and let bloom for 5 minutes. Melt gelatin and whisk into raspberry curd. When mixture has cooled to room temperature, whip the heavy cream to medium peaks. Add the raspberry curd and mix until combined. Chill until you are ready to fill your cake.

You can skip the gelatin if you want, but I found the raspberry curd to be a little runny to be filling layer cakes with. If you are using the curd or mousse for a different purpose you can omit it.

Checking In

If I have been reminded of anything this summer, it is that life is short. Too short. The life you've grown accustomed to, your sense of comfort and control, and even the ones you love can be snapped away in a mere second. The months fly by without you noticing, or having the time to stop and realize what you are missing.

I found that I sort of checked out of life this summer. I checked out of social activities, checked out of taking care of myself, checked out of a lot of things. I threw myself into work and grief, and neglected most of everything else.

Now I find the weather beginning to cool off, there are pumpkins for sale at the garden store down the street, and I am wondering where the season went. I am also wondering what the hell was wrong with me?

My wake up call came in the form of a much needed celebration to close the summer. I have been home so many times these past few months, a few times to say goodbye to lives cut too short, but most recently a visit home for a wedding was the giant breath of fresh air that many in my family needed to come together and celebrate love and new beginnings.

Weddings have a way of doing that I think. It reminds you of how much love there is in this world. You can look around, and see all eyes and hearts focused on the two people in the front of the room, supporting them and wishing them a life full of happiness. In this case, the wedding was my sister's (which will have it's own post altogether) and there were just so many faces that I had a chance to catch up with and reconnect with. I also was scolded by more than a handful of family friends and relatives that I had not updated this space in a long time, so friends, this is for you.

I feel honored every time I am trusted to make a wedding cake. It is a big job, and often it is the first thing guests see when they walk into the reception space. It is a constant reminder of why I do what I do. I am in the business of making people happy, and to see the joy on someone's face when they catch the first glimpse of their wedding cake, or when dessert is placed in front of them at the end of their meal, is my motivation to keep creating.

When life hands us a little more than we can handle, it's easy to check out. The better path though, is to check back in, keep getting better at your job, strengthen your relationships, tighten up your family ties. Life may keep you busy and overwhelmed but at the end of the day, what is left is family, love, and passion, things that should never be taken for granted.

Buttercream Beauties

I think its safe to say buttercream is BACK. Not that it ever went away completely, but after years (decades even?) of playing second string to fondant, buttercream-covered wedding cakes are making a comeback.

Maybe its the blossoming culture of relaxed bridal "rules", or the trend of rustic-chic wedding decor, or it could be valuing taste over perfection, but more and more brides are eschewing fondant for the cake of their dreams.

I have a few opinions on fondant, some of them conflicting. There is a time and a place for fondant cakes. Many of these times and places happen to be weddings, but I don't see it as a necessity anymore . Once upon a time, and I was recently told this by a VERY traditional, VERY southern mother of the bride, the cake represented the 'bride', and therefore needed to be white. Pure white, inside and out. She was not very happy with the bride wanting my buttercream on the outside, and buttermilk cake on the inside, both of which are made with butter, and therefore not pure white. I explained that I do not use shortening or imitation vanilla extract which results in my frosting being a very slightly off white, but that the flavor and texture is unbeatable. For my cakes, if you want pure white, it has to be fondant, I simply will not compromise the quality of my ingredients for color.

If your primary goal with the cake is design, and tying it perfectly into the theme or color scheme of your event, then fondant may be the obvious way to go. On the other hand, I would say 90% of people end up peeling it off before consumption, or just eating around it. It truly is for aesthetic purposes only, albeit an edible one. Don't get me wrong, I love making edible artworks with fondant, but sometimes, buttercream is best.

Sometimes, simplicity makes for a stunning cake on its own, without all the adornment of details and adornments. These two cakes were my first of many this wedding season and I think they kicked it off with a great start. More to come, so stay tuned.