Wedding Cake Part 1: Tasting

Some of you may know already, but I thought I'd inform the rest of you.... I'm making a Wedding Cake!!! It is coming up soon and I have done a lot to prepare - probably not enough but I'm trying not to think about it. I am getting a new mixer in the mail soon. Mine died (my fault) and I decided this was the best opportunity to get a Kitchen Aid. yea! Anyways, I had a couple of tastings with the bride and groom before they made their final flavor choices. This was quite fun. I made 4 different cakes based on the bride's favorites: Red Velvet, White Cake with Raspberry filling, Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache, and Lemon Poppy Seed with Lemon Curd filling. The last flavor developed after they couldn't decide between the other 3. We had the second tasting earlier this week and they revisited the chocolate (which they thought they were going to toss) and decided instead to keep it. They chose two flavors for the three-tier cake. Poppy Seed and Chocolate.

The bride made one special request, to use her Great Aunt Lou's Buttercream frosting recipe. Her family is obsessed with it and they are all really excited I am going to use it on the cake. It has good flavor, but I am not in love with the texture. The recipe calls for regular sugar and I am the kind of person that prefers a smooth frosting vs. something with a gritty texture. But hey, it's not my cake, so I'm making it. It is a very old fashioned way to make buttercream as well, with cornstarch and milk for body, and a combo of butter and shortening. I think it will frost nicely though. It is fairly thick and will smooth out nicely. Did I mention they all love it?

I am about to order my pans.... the tiers will be 14x14, 12x12, and 8x8. I am also going to experiment with a heating core (which has been recommended for larger pans than 10x10 but if any of you have insight that says otherwise please let me know!

I hope this cake will be a success. I'd like the opportunity to do a few more, especially if this one comes out straight and pretty. I think that wedding cakes offer a great deal of creativity, and even more of a challenge. I'll keep you posted on my practice this month.