Four Weddings and a Funeral... wait.

Four Weddings and a Funeral

One Wedding and a Baptism

Well, it’s been a while, I know.  I was really busy last week, though! Here’s the short story.

Once upon a time, I was asked to make a wedding cake…my FIRST wedding cake!  I, of course, accepted.  Then, a month or so ago, I was asked to cater a baptism reception at church.  I knew that the baptism was THE DAY AFTER the wedding, but I thought “No problem, I can do that!”  I guess, in retrospect, that’s true, but I don’t think that I’ll be doing two events in one weekend again!  At least until I have support staff.  The end.J

Ok, Ok… here’s the long version.  (Since you asked so nicely!)

When the bride told me that she and the groom wanted me to make their wedding cake, I was flattered!  I’ve made some cakes for church, baby blessings, Relay for Life, my sister’s graduation (pics to come!)… but nothing more than 2 or maybe 3 tiers.  A wedding cake for 275 invited guests was going to be uncharted ground for me!  She was great, though, and she pretty much gave me free reign, just said she wanted white with varying shades of purple flowers, and butter cream… no fondant.

Now you would think that someone saying, “Hey!  Do whatever you want, just make it pretty!”  would be awesome and easy, but in a way, it makes things harder for me.  I can think of millions of things, but how do I know what someone else will want?

So I go to my trusted friend, Pinterest, and looked at TONS of wedding cakes.  These two were the examples I sent her.

                                        

I was thinking a six-tiered cake, alternating square and round tiers, each layer a different flavor.  I really liked the way the ribbon looked on the pink cake, and the bride thought my ideas were awesome!

Before

Here’s the flavors and fillings of the cake:

·         Yellow Cake with Raspberry Jam

·         Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

·         Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

·         White Cake with Lemon Curd

·         White Cake with Coffee Icing

·         Chocolate Cake with Coffee Icing

After we decided on the cake, the mother of the bride pulled me aside one Sunday and told me a few things they’d forgotten; they’d need gluten-free cake for some guests that are wheat-intolerant, and she gave me a cake topper… the one that had been on HER cake, and her mother’s.  Nick was so afraid I’d lose that thing!  I swear he asked me every other day where it was, and I’d have to get it and show him that I had it, safe and sound!

I once again went to Pinterest and found a recipe for banana gluten-free cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and decided that would be a great choice.

During

I didn’t want to make the cake too early, and I am not exactly a “professional” baker.  I don’t have a lot of extra space, especially refrigerator space, to store a cake like this.  So Thursday and Friday I spent baking this huge cake.  It wasn’t too difficult, until I got ready to crumb-coat the base layer…

So I take this giant 14 inch round cake and cut the top off to level it, and I notice… it looks like it has a gooey tunnel in the middle.  So I grab the next 14 inch circle.  Seems ok when I cut it, so I think, maybe it’s alright.  But just to check, I take a pinch from the outside to make sure… dry as a bone. L  And the third layer was gooey just like the first.  DANG IT!  I have made this butter recipe before, and once it was good but the second time it was gooey too.  I know I followed the recipe EXACTLY, so I don’t think I’ll be using that recipe again! So, at 11:15 on Friday night, I go back out to the store and get more milk and cake flour… and start making this tier again.  Ugh.  

Thankfully Nick was there for moral support and entertainment (as usual), so we watched Rocky Horror Picture Show and reminisced about watching it at the Rialto in our college years.  We also watched several episodes of Will and Grace until the last cake was done baking.  It was about 2:30 Saturday morning, a mere 14 hours before the wedding, when the cake finally came out of the oven.

The Horror of Actually Having to Throw Cake Away!

Thankfully, Nana came to the rescue on Saturday, and whisked away Nick and the girls so that I could finish my cake.  When they left, Nana apologized to me, that she wasn’t taking me with them.  I told her that it was no problem, and I appreciated her and Nick giving me some peace and quiet!  A girl could get used to that! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to savor the peace and quiet and had to finish icing my cake.

When I got to the Marriott that afternoon, I didn’t really know what to do.  Like I said, I’d never done a wedding before.  So I went in to the hotel front desk and asked where I needed to go and for something to transport my cakes.  They told me it was in the Grand Ballroom, and to take a luggage cart.

All the Parts of the Cake on the Way to the Reception

Well I loaded up half of my cake on the cart and went down the hallway they pointed me towards.  Unfortunately, the Grand Ballroom was not labeled as such and since I was there early, they didn’t have a sign out saying “Wedding Here!”  So I meandered a bit and someone finally told me that the rooms on the right (labeled Salon A-G) when not separated were actually the Grand Ballroom! 

So as I start assembling it, I realize… a 12 inch square is BIGGER than a 14 inch circle! Aaaahh!!! So I set that layer aside for them to cut and serve separately and finished building.  In the end, it looked great, and I am told that the bride and groom liked it very much. (As did all of the guests!)

But then I had to run home, with a stop at my favorite grocery store to pick up my last-minute groceries for the baptism!

Final Product!

Part 2.  A friend at church asked me to cater a reception after their daughter’s baptism.  The mom is a woman after my own heart, and such a planner, so she called me straight away.  We chatted about yummy things and then she talked it over with her husband.  In retrospect, the menu did turn out to be a little cream cheese heavy (with this and the wedding cake, I bought and used two 6-count boxes of cream cheese from BJ’s!), but I think we did do a great job!

Here’s what we had:

Crudites and Onion Dip

Fruit Tray with Cake Batter Dip (yes, it is as good as it sounds!)

Spicy Chicken Pinwheels, some Vegetarian

Cheese Crackers with Pecans (Her recipe!)

Summer Salad (Tomatoes, Corn, Cukes, Avocado, and Feta Cheese… very summery!)

White Cake Squares with Cream Cheese Icing and Button and Bird Decorations on top (baby girl’s name is two bird names, and in utero, grandma called her button.  This was because they didn’t know her gender, and grandma didn’t want to call her “the baby” all the time.)

Caramel Crunch Brownies

And of course, Princess Punch

I was actually surprised that the Summer Salad did so well… I think it was the first thing that was finished! I know that I can make rich and heavy things sometimes, but that’s the fun of parties, right?  Eating things you wouldn’t normally?  So something this light and, honestly, easy, being liked by so many was awesome! I sometimes get worried, making things that I’ve never tried before, and this was no exception.  So when they turn out well, like this one, it makes me happy, and a little relieved. 

  

Side Note:  Nick and I came home one day from church and I sat down at the computer and he grabbed a note pad and we both started working.  I had no clue what he was doing, but I was putting together all of my notes from different jobs that I had and making sure I knew who they were for, when they were, where we were in the process, etc.  Little did I know, Nick was writing up a printout sheet for me to use as a template for my jobs! Great minds think alike, huh?

Things I learned from this experience:

• I REALLY need a “catering kit”… I’ve even started putting one together (finally).  Scrub brush, towels, a knife… you know essentials.  Oh yeah, and Band-Aids….   You can figure out that one.
• Craig, our pastor, doesn’t like punch!  I think I’ll bring him a small soda next time.
• Cake support systems are EXPENSIVE!!  I did decide to get more than I needed, so I didn’t have to keep going back and getting more, but seriously!  In case you were wondering, I got the Stable Mabel, and the Stress Free Support System.  Both worked out really well.  I’d highly recommend them!
•        I can’t do two events in one weekend.  Not without helpers, a designated work space, and/or a refrigerator just for work.  And No-Doz.  J
• I’m going to start putting together a portfolio of all of my work, so if someone asks “I really liked that thing you made for so-and-so, can you make that for me?” Also, like I said before, a lot of my ideas come from Pinterest, so when I have my menu set, I can print all of my recipes out, put them in my binder, and have everything in one place, ready for me to start working!
• You can’t put a 12 inch square on a 14 inch circle.  For that matter, you probably shouldn’t put an 8 inch square on a 10 inch circle either.  The math nerd in me is mad that the caterer in me didn’t think to check if the diagonal of the square cake was smaller than the diameter of the round one.  (17 inches and 11 inches, respectively.  Just in case you were wondering)
• I could never do this without Nick.  He is so helpful, whether it’s calling his mom to get him and the girls out of the house so I can work in peace, or helping set up for events, cleaning dishes and making my food look “purdy”… if it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be a caterer.

I know this has been a mess (in so many ways!), but thanks for coming and reading! Stay tuned for more cakes!