Cake Note 24: "In all of the wedding cake, Hope is the sweetest plum" -- Douglas Jarrold

Oh what a week! Six months ago, I agreed to do a wedding cake for my Great Nephew and his Fiance - originally the wedding was September, so all good stuff. Then they changed it to December 11th - four days before I leave for Australia to spend Christmas with my son and his family. No worries, I thought. Plan ahead, have a schedule, it'll work.

So the brief was a 3 tiered round cake - ivory paste, 10;8;6 inch tiers, with lilac sugar paste roses and silver ribbons. Plus, a 10 inch square cutting cake. I was very organised - each night from work, I had my schedule, I got a bit behind, but had Thursday and Friday off so wasn't too worried, though I WAS too stressed. Anyway, Thursday I was going great - all 4 cakes, filled, coated with white chocolate ganache and covered with sugar paste - and dowelled! All I had to do Friday was stack them and add the roses - SIMPLES (not).

I stacked the 8 on the 10  and left to settle whilst I put the roses on the 6 inch...and then I noticed a hairline crack in the FRONT off the 10 inch cake.....and another.......OOOHHHHH!!! So, don't panic, Jeannie, just a bit of damage limitation needed.

I carefully filled the cracks with royal icing and smoothed over. Left to settle while I went shopping - got home.......they looked like two awful, enormous stretch marks on the front...couldn't be on the back could they?

I spent the rest of Friday till 10 pm trying to disguise these cracks - the bride was specific about how simple she wanted her cake - no butterflies or anything else.......in the end, I settled for their initials and a few hearts!

WHAT a save! I was disappointed because I like perfection - but when she saw the cake, she was thrilled!...and so was I.....role on 16 December at 09.30 - Australia, here I come!





The cake at the venue - :)

 

The 'cover up' - luckily my bride was pleased with the cake! and the save, which I told her about