that is the phrase i remember hearing the most as the reverend spoke of what would join quynh and chanh in marriage. quynh and i went to high school and college together...so not only was i thrilled that she was getting married to the man she loved, but also honored that she asked me to make her wedding cake. she wanted a cake that was simple but beautiful. her only request was that it was white based with cascading flowers...oh and that the cake was mocha flavored...because vietnamese people like that! =]
the guest list called for 300 servings of cake. this was my biggest order thus far...but was definitely up for it...especially after jayne & chris' wedding last year for 200 guests. after a few sketches, meetings, texts, and emails with quynh...i was ready to start.
the baking of this cake was much smoother than previous cakes...i think this means i'm slowly getting better at this...or at least that's what i hope it means! the only hiccup that i had along the way was my brother's dog pebbles. as the tiers of cake were cooling outside after filling in the frosting...pebbles decided to sit and lick much of the frosting from between the layers...just before taking a bite of cake. when i brought in the cake...i had to cut 1/4 of the entire tier off to ensure that the remaining cake that would be served was 100% pebbles-free. i had to quickly regroup, run to the store to buy some ingredients, and perform baking surgery on the ruined cake. of course...pebbles just HAD to dig into the biggest tier. after a couple hours...the cake was fixed and i was back on track.
this was the first time i attempted to make realistic flowers out of gum paste. i was having fun experimenting with the size and shape of the calla lilies. learned some do's and don'ts of gum paste!
after a total of 20 hours working over a 2 day period...i rushed into the shower to wash off any cake residue and get ready for the wedding. transportation then became the only issue. thankfully my brother willingly carried the fully constructed cake to the car...held it as i drove ever so slowly...and delivered it to the cake table inside the reception hall. i think of it as his making up for his dog's misadventures!
5 tiers of mocha cake filled and covered in vanilla buttercream. each tier was then covered in white fondant, wrapped with a purple fondant ribbon, and then topped with a cascading array of calla lilies and leaves. the tiers were offset to allow for more room for the flowers to sit, but ended up being a unique touch.
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| march 2011 |
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| march 2011 |
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the wedding was absolutely wonderful. it was truly a family celebration of the start of quynh and chanh's life together.
