Ben and Hannah tied the knot...like two and a half months ago! I am really behind on posting my wedding cakes. Embarrassing. Anyway, I had the honor of making the cake for my good friends, and I have to say that this particular cake was one of the best experiences of my pastry career. Fortunately, I had Greenie helping me set up that day. He was able to get some great shots.
"O hai!"
(If you follow icanhascheezburger.com, that caption will make sense. If not, don't worry about it.)
Here's one of me in "all business" mode. Each flower had to be placed just so. In case you're wondering why there is a different cake topper from the "official" portfolio picture, it's because I swapped out toppers for the reception. I believe the one shown below belongs to Hannah's grandmother, so there was a lot of sentimental value in having it on the cake.
Here's a nice close-up of one of the flowers and some of the leaves. Special shout-out to my incredible friend Meghan for making the leaves! They are beautiful.
I made each flower -- lovingly -- by hand. Why? Because I'm crazy!
Details on the cake:
Bottom tier: Chocolate with Kahlúa buttercream
Middle and top tiers: Zucchini spice with vanilla buttercream
Outside: People were really curious about how I did the panels. I made them out of modeling chocolate. It involved a pasta machine, some serious problem-solving skills, and a really long evening!
Flowers and leaves: Dark modeling chocolate. The process is very similar to making gumpaste roses and leaves, only you use cocoa powder to keep everything from getting sticky. Also, these flowers are awesome because they don't become super-brittle as they dry. That means you can fiddle with them on-site as you're setting up the cake. Which I did.... SO AWESOME.
This cake was incredibly satisfying to make. It was truly a departure from the standard fare, not to mention challenging on a number of levels. I really had to "bring my A game."
Thanks for letting me make your cake, Ben and Hannah! (P.S. Sorry for all the stuff I did in your photo booth.) Also, I have an extra five pounds of white modeling chocolate sitting around if anyone wants any.
