Saturday, 10 July 2010

Tomorrow it begins!


145ml  Vanilla Extract
1.925kg  Caster Sugar
1.4kg   Self Raising Flour
28   Medium Eggs
1.4kg  Salted Butter
1kg  Unsalted Butter
1kg   Icing Sugar
Strawberry jam...

2.5kg   Marzipan
3.5kg   Sugarpaste
6"  cake board
8"  cake board
10"  cake board
13"  cake drum
15"  cake drum
9 plastic dowels
15mm white satin ribbon
35mm  pink  satin ribbon
Victorian Diamonte Brooch
Pearl Headed Pins...

Various already owned equipment
Peggy Porschen's Cake Chic
One whole day to bake
Five days to construct and decorate
One morning to deliver...


and me!

=


one Wedding Cake for the lovely Bride and Groom....


DONE! 


Or it will be come Saturday 1.30pm!  
This time last year when my friend and fabby Hairdresser, asked me if I would make her wedding cake,  I panicked and said "NO WAY! I couldn't possibly manage that!" before I realized I am forever proclaiming "give it a bash!" to my boys so really I should follow my own prompting.  I'd baked cakes with sugarpaste before for my Biscuits, the mystery machine, the T.A.R.D.I.S, faces of monsters etc and other 'playing - like I did with plasticine when I was a wee lass' cakes.   But nothing in the category of what I call 'proper' cakes, the kind you spend lots of money on from specialized bakers, the kind you ponder over the construction and execution of.  The kind 'you'd need training' to make. 
I found myself rising to the challenge and armed with Peggy Porschen's latest book (why not be instructed by the best?) I embarked on Project Wedding Cake!  Ever the practical I knew I needed to practice, I needed to build up to a three tier, one that will be on show to at least a hundred people, be photographed and be eaten by EVERYONE there ( I live in a world where everyone loves cake you hear me Heather!  I couldn't bear it any other way!) and had to look as good as any professionals or I wouldn't be satasfied!  
That cake could NOT be my first attempt.
I started off with a single tier for my Mum's 60th Birthday...



It went really, really well and I learned lots, mainly that 'yes I can do this' and more importantly it's fun.  It tasted so, so, so, so good!  Next I moved onto my parent-in-laws Ruby Anniversary two tier cake...



This one went even better and I got just a little [read a lot] over-excited and addicted to smoothing the sugarpaste and rubbing my hands all over it.  The compliments on the night boosted my confidence no end and this was my first ON SHOW cake, seen by over a hundred people who didn't laugh at it AND ate it AND came back for more!
So here I am about to start on the home straight of Project Wedding Cake and I am excited!  I can't wait to get started and in truth see my friends faces on the day and watch them get wed and then have a ball sharing in it all with them!

Wish me luck!


X


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11 comments:

  1. Pink MilkSaturday, 10 July 2010 at 18:22:00 BST

    Hey Ali!

    Tee hee re cake! I may not eat the stuff but I can sure appreciate it aesthetically. You, my dear, shall hereafter be referred to as the Cake Artist. For that is what it is, an art. How you even start to create something quite so fabulous is beyond me.

    Happy baking and decorating my friend! ;-)

    Hx

    PS. Catching up on blogging - glad you enjoyed your camping. Did think about you when the weather forecast for Scotland mentioned a month's rainfall in a couple of days and high winds! x

    ReplyDelete
  2. HelenSaturday, 10 July 2010 at 18:27:00 BST

    looks pretty professional to me. Very IMPRESSED with both of the tail runs. Hope we get tom see loads of piccies of this one. Good luck and have a great time with the baking days.

    ReplyDelete
  3. menopausalmusingSunday, 11 July 2010 at 07:49:00 BST

    Judging by those photos, you don't need luck. Very professional looking cakes. Enjoy making your friend's one, she is bound to just LOVE it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ElspethSunday, 11 July 2010 at 13:23:00 BST

    You are, infact, amazing. That is all x

    ReplyDelete
  5. pebblesSunday, 11 July 2010 at 13:37:00 BST

    good luck with the wedding cake project!

    looks like you'll do just fine from the previous photies tho.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AlexandraSunday, 11 July 2010 at 20:38:00 BST

    Good luck Ali! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. MillieSunday, 11 July 2010 at 22:09:00 BST

    I am in awe! The trials runs are so professional looking...good luck with Project Wedding Cake.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ::cupcakesandbiscuits::Monday, 12 July 2010 at 10:19:00 BST

    Ladies, you are all so kind!
    Thank you!
    x
    Elspeth, 'amazing'? You are a sweetheart! x

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMonday, 12 July 2010 at 17:15:00 BST

    Oh I am inspired. I have been debating whether or not to make my own wedding cake and I think after this post and seeing your beautiful cakes I will make a practise cake and see how it goes from there.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMonday, 12 July 2010 at 17:17:00 BST

    P.s please could I have the recipe for the cake you are making. I know you have shared the ingredients but would LOVE the recipe :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousWednesday, 14 July 2010 at 21:06:00 BST

    The 5 tins I will be using are square and the smallest in 6" I think the biggest one is 12" I don't really know the exact sizes :(

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from all you interesting folks out there so don't be shy.
Had to put the annoying word verification back on as the spam was getting silly. Forgive me! Ali

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