The blog you have all been waiting for... THE WEDDING CAKE

Today was Dave and Ellie's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I was a bit worried about it being hot since it was about thirty minutes inland and the weather channel was predicting mid-80's. Fortunately, it was in the low 70's and very comfortable. Their colors were variances of greens, beiges, and golds... very Fall-like. They got married in a beautiful park under a HUGE tree and there were leaves all over the ground. It couldn't have felt Fallier. (yes, I just made up a word, when you have your own blog, you can do that)

Anyway, as you know, I made the wedding cake for their big day. It was my first wedding cake and I was very nervous about it. I mean, when I really think about it, a wedding cake is simply a few normal cakes that you put on top of each other, no big deal. But I guess the fact that it is a WEDDING and the fact that I have never done one before put a bit of pressure on. I really didn't want to screw up! Especially since I offered to make the cake for them, I would have hated if that was the one flop among an otherwise magical day.

I am happy to say that it turned out perfectly! It came together to be just what Dave and Ellie asked for and exactly how I pictured it in my mind. I made the leaves out of gum-paste, which is like sweet, edible, play dough that hardens when it dries. The colors of the leaves turned out to be really complimentary to the wedding colors. I gave the cake some vertical texture on the sides because when we were looking at inspiration pictures, Dave and Ellie really liked that look. I used a slice of a tree trunk as the base for the cake because it gave it a rustic look and fit in perfectly with the feel of the wedding.

Anyway, enough description of the cake, I will just show you the pictures:

Here are the gum-paste leaves before they were scattered on the cake. These were definitely the most time consuming part of the cake. I probably spent 7-8 hours in total making them. I love how they turned out though, very natural!

There were only 18 pieces left which was great! A lot of times, there is a LOT of leftover cake and I was a little worried that there would be a lot of waste. 

There were two flavors, chocolate with raspberry mousse filling and red velvet with cream cheese filling. Both turned out well and both were a big hit! All in all, my first wedding cake experience was great! I am so glad I was able to give this to Dave and Ellie and SO glad that it turned out well. YAY!

P.S.

A huge shout out to Abby and Cheryl for helping me cut and serve the cake! I appreciate you girls!

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

Last night our community group had an Italian Dinner with chocolate cake for dessert. It was Ben's birthday and he requested chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. I happen to have a delicious chocolate cake recipe from my mom. It is the same cake I am making for Dave and Ellie's wedding in a few weeks. The great thing is it is so versatile. You can fill it with chocolate mousse, raspberry mousse, whipped cream, anything! It is a very dense and moist cake. I also got to use my new mad cake decorating skills to make it look elegant. I think it was a hit!

Chocolate Cake
Cake:

9 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
2½ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
½ cup butter
½ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup milk w/ 1 Tbs. vinegar)
2¼ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
¼ cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
⅓ cup warm water
1½ tsp. vanilla


Mix cocoa and vegetable oil. Cream brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Add cocoa and mix well.
Mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Alternately add buttermilk and flour mixture to batter. Mix well. Add 1 cup of boiling water. Pour into two greased and floured 8" round pans. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Cool cake and fill with filling of choice. Mix together all ingredients for the frosting and frost the outside of the cake.

Zuppa Toscana

Last week I bought some kale so I could try making kale chips. I have heard several people rave about kale chips. I have to say though, not my cup of tea. They had a very strong taste and after about three, I threw the rest away. I was left with a lot of kale left and no idea what to do with it (have you ever tried raw kale? blech!!!). I asked for some suggestions on Facebook and several people raved about this Italian soup - Zuppa Toscana. I had never heard of this soup before but it sounded good and since my community group was having an Italian potluck this week, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. Conclusion - yummy!

Zuppa Toscana

5 Italian sweet sausages
1½ tsp. crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
6 slices bacon
2 tsp. minced garlic
10 cups water
3 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 red potatoes

1 small bunch of kale (about 3 cups)
Poke a couple of small holes in the sausages and fry in medium pan on medium heat until done. Remove from pan and cut lengthwise then into ½" slices. Cook bacon in same pan used for sausages. Remove bacon and crumble. Cook onions and garlic in the same pan. Drain grease and set aside. Add chicken bouillon and water to a pot and heat until it starts to boil. Add the onions and garlic and sliced potatoes. Cook until soft, about half an hour. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in the sausage, the kale, and the crumbled bacon. Let the soup heat through and serve.