Happy Sunday! Hope November is treating you just fine and that you are enjoying the Fall colors and not suffering from it's many storms. I do know of lots of people last week who got slammed by Hurricane Sandy and just as they got power back got slammed by the Nor'easter snow storm. So I hope that you are doing well, even if you fit into that unfortunate group who has had to weather two storms in two weeks.

This week I get to present to you a Wedding Cake that I'm particularly proud of. This cake proves, again, that you don't have to be big to be gorgeous. The bottom tier is an 8x4 inch round and the top tier is a 6x4 inch round. Just enough to feed 50 people. The theme was an Art Deco black and white with touches of red here or there and I figured a Tuxedo along with an Art Deco designed Wedding Dress would help set the mood of the party. And, yes, that is Mickey and Minnie up there on top in that delicate crystal and blown glass cake topper.

The cake was lemon chiffon with an orange creamsicle filling and covered in vanilla flavored fondant. As always, the black fondant is Duff's brand. I love the way it tastes. The white fondant is freshly made so it tastes wonderfully too. 

The Tuxedo is all angles and not as hard as you would think to do when you break it all down to it's geometric shapes. First I covered the entire cake in the black and then cut out a triangle of white. I scored the white in vertical lines and then applied it to the front of the cake. At that same time I made the little collar triangles and set them aside to dry a bit. Then I made a big rectangle of black and cut it diagonally. I then tipped one of those triangles over onto the other so "fronts" were face to face and then made the angle a bit more severe to create the lapels. After placing those onto the cake I made the little bow tie and placed it at the top of the white "shirt". I backed away at this point and let everything dry for a bit so the sugars could adhere. When that was done I just took little black candy and pressed them into the white. Then, using a damp brush, moistened the indention's with water and placed the candy into them to secure them to the shirt. Then it was time to set the collar on top with a bit more water. Finally I made the tiny Calla Lily boutonniere and placed that onto the lapel with a bit more water. At last I was ready to move the cake over to the stand and add the trim. The trim is just a strip of black fondant that I have scored every 1/8th of an inch or so from end to end. I set all of that to the side and began work on the white tier.

As with all Wedding Dresses, the construction of one out of fondant is complicated. This is actually a lot of little pieces that have been carefully put together like a puzzle. I started off with covering the entire cake with a thin sheet of white fondant. Then, using 1/2 inch strips, I laid on the draping one strip at a time so that it created a pleated look. Finally I used rounded end strips to create the Art Deco styled emblem on the front. All of these are adhered to the cake with a light brushing of water. I added the trim to match the black trim and then came the real work, the pearls. I have a pair of bead tweezers that are angled just for putting small candies on cakes like these candy pearls. I brushed the surface with water first and laid down a whole bunch of pearls onto the moist surface so they could adhere and then, one by one, filled out the edge and trim. This is tedious work because you have to dip the edge of the pearl into water and then place it onto the cake. This is complicated by the fact that they want to pop right off again if you don't hold it into place long enough for the sugars to adhere. But the effect is stunning, like complicated bead work on a real wedding dress. I let this set up until I knew the pearls were solid onto the cake and then stacked the Wedding Dress onto the Tuxedo. 

When transporting a cake like this always have back up pieces for the candy. The vibration of travel can knock the pearls or candy "studs" right off of the cake and you may have to replace them when you reach the venue. Fortunately that didn't happen with this cake until it came time to cut it and then pearls were rolling everywhere!

So no matter the size of the wedding you are having you can have a stunning cake. This little work of art was $4 a slice and the talk of the event. Even the Groom was Wow'd by it and loved the fact that "he" was part of the cake as well as his wife. 

Next week we begin the Birthday Cakes for this month! Can't wait to share with you next Sunday!

Cat