cake tasting, yes please

A few months ago I got a lead for photos, which in turn lead to the discovery of my baker for my wedding {JMC Custom Cakes}... which btw is in 12 days.

I'm just a little excited. Only a little... hehe :D

This past weekend we picked up a goodie box from Jen with 4 different flavors of cake in it... and since she was baking a different kind when we stopped by, she threw in a 5th flavor. Which consequently, we loved and ended up vetoing one of our previously thought "definite" choices for.



Such tasty little treats these were. From left to right, top to bottom the flavors were:
{lemon pound with strawberry jam and fresh strawberry filling}
{sugar cookie cake with chocolate mousse filling}
{chocolate pound with peanut butter filling}
{chocolate pound with vanilla buttercream}

and not shown is key lime with strawberry filling... the only way I can describe this cake was that it had the texture of a fudgey brownie, but the tart flavor of key lime with just the right amount of sweet from the strawberries. Sooooo de-lish!

I cannot wait for the wedding to get here :) I'm done saying I want to enjoy the time not wish it away, let's get on with it already! and I can't wait to enjoy the fabulous cake and other food we will have.

yummmmmmmmmmmmm :)

the explanation

Remember this picture?



At the end of this post, I told you to be specific when guessing... well, you were. I sincerely hope that "anonymous" was Alicia, because if not, then I have definitely have a weirdo blogstalker on my hands here... what do you think?

Anonymous
You are spoon feeding the girl of your dreams ambrosia (food of the gods) in the drama room perhaps? Or helping her remove a troublesome piece of food from her pearly whites?

And while it may look as though someone is brushing my teeth, Courtney was a little closer with the nasty medicine theory.

But here's the real story.

(ps every post from here til May 23 may just be about Melissa's wedding or very closely related... because basically, I don't have anything else to write about. ha!)

April 18th was a beautiful day. It's nice that those days are coming closer together finally.

I have never been to a more beautiful bridal shower, and while there was certainly no lack of drama, the location was perfect. It was held at the country club Melissa's aunt belongs to. Most of the bridal showers (ok all) have been in churches or someone's living room *grin*



The food was incredible, the presents were abounding but most of all, Melissa looked so beautiful. Ok, like, I'm not a guy, and when I saw her, I was like oh SNAP son! If she looks this good today, what is she going to look like on her wedding day?!?! Jim's a lucky man ;)



Melissa's little cousin brought her all her gifts... so cute!



Again with the cuteness... what the heck?



We all kinda forgot about the whole "giving stuff away for games" thing... oops! but melissa is amazing, and forgave us lol! She did a way better job than I woulda done for this anyways haha! I wouldn't have been nearly as generous. She framed 3 of her best landscape pictures and then made up these baskets that were to die for. I mean seriously, the whole she-bang of B&B works stuff, a photo album and matching candle. Seriously Melissa, what the heck? ;)



This is Melissa's teacher of the deaf, Mrs. Donovan, from kindergarten to sixth grade. This woman made a profound impact on her life, what an amazing thing it is to have such a relationship sustained all these years



The flowers at the country club were to die for. I coulda stayed out there breathing in their beauty far longer than I actually did ;)



look how classy I am with no shoes on. Yep, that was because I was running around taking pictures of flowers. No shame I tell ya :D This is the wedding party minus one who couldn't make it. From left to right: Kristina (melissa's cousin-to-be), Bunny (hopefully soon melissa's cousin-to-be ;), Melissa, me, Amy (only the coolest person ever next to me of course)



And then there was cake. Yes the cake. And oh my how it was delicious. Some people must notta thought so though, because when everyone had left there were still a few places untouched cake *gasp!* at them!

So below, you will see...



Amanda being fork-fed someone else's confiscated cake! Alicia was the server... Jim's mom was the scowling observer... Amanda was the one saying OMG take a picture RIGHT NOW!!!

And that my friends, is how it happened :)

a detailed account

I am so excited to finally be writing down all the events of the last four days. I can't imagine anything that could have made this weekend more amazing! I've only had a few of my friends get married so far... but this was the first time I actually got to be a part of it :) I spent from Thursday all the way until today staying at her house with the other bridemaids and Beka. I had never thought about having everyone be together the few days before the wedding, but when I get married I will do that for sure. It was such an great opportunity for us to get to know eachother (better or for the first time :) and just so much FUN!

So in this post I wanted to outline all of the things that happened... prepare for a multitudinous amount of pictures... (you can let me know how impressed you are that i used that word later ha!)

Thursday -

In the morning, I drove out to her house to drop off the cake and paraphernalia. Then later after I was done with work, I met everyone at Color Me Mine where we painted pottery as her gift to us. It was a lot of fun. I painted a frame which i'll post once I actually get it back.

After we were done with that we headed over to the Cheesecake Factory where we ate. If you have never been there, let me be the one to tell you that it is simply fabuloso. It was indeed pretty pricey, however, worth every penny. And the ambiance was so great. The whole thing, mmm... yah. I had the 5 cheese pasta and avocado eggrolls and then topped it off with lemoncello cheesecake torte... HEAVEN

This picture is pretty much all i have from Thursday night. I wasn't in a picture taking mood. This was too funny not to post although highly unflattering. Anyways, basically what happened here was that I was attempting to take a self-portrait with my little Elph and it wasn't focusing right, so I was about to give up when all of a sudded BAM! It took the picture! and this was the end result.

The greatest part is the red infectious looking blob in the corner of my eye. None of us could figure out what in the world that was because in real life my eye didn't look like that at all. All i can figure was that it was some renegade eye liner and in the dim light we couldn't see it but the flash enhanced it's lovely qualities *grin*

Then we went to Daisy Dukes... the plan was to ride the mechanical bull and do some good ole fashioned line dancing but alas our plans were spoiled when we arrived to find out that there was none of that going on :( Instead it was just like a regular club night, which isn't so much my scene but it was nice to be out with everyone.

Tom and I got to try our hand at our MAD orienteering skillz when one of the cars got lost in downtown. I barely know my way around the city, so after 10 minutes of futile trying to give directions we got into my car and went to find them and then made our way back to everyone else. In the process i may or may not have ran a red light. Not like a yellow to red type deal. This was the real deal... like full on RED LIGHT. Tom's all like, "uh... yah... ok you're not stopping... wow yah i can't believe you just did that." and me being that moron that I am was like, "did what?" oh my gosh. It's times like that I lose my cockiness as a "good driver" and get firmly sent to my corner. I wouldn't suggest doing that normally.

We got home around 2:30 or so and pretty much went straight to bed.

Friday -

Got up about 8:30 and started working on the cakes. Thank goodness Kendra was able to help me (she's one of the bridesmaids and Beka's sis-in-law). I mean I could have spent like 4 or 5 hours on those things but we were done in about 2 or so. And they turned out splendiforous :) you'll see the pics down a ways :) and the recipe will be in a postceeding (is that a word) post.

Friday afternoon we went to the salon and got our nails done. I actually let my nails grow for about 2 weeks prior and none of them had broken! So my nails for the first time in my LIFE looked really great... and they were real! that was the best part. I can't handle acrylics, i just peel them off... and that hurts ha!

After all that was the rehearsal and dinner which was awesome. I had prime rib and it was oh so tasty...

Crashing occurred about 11 or so that night.

Saturday (THE DAY!) -

I got my hair done and was back to the church by 10. The other girls showed up about 15 minutes later and the getting ready officially began!


Lip exfoliating is always a must! From left to right in this pic is Megan, Kendra, Beka, Me.


My hair turned out so amazingly well... this is the kind of hair do i've had in my mind literally for years and had never had the opportunity to do until now! I ended up using a hair piece on the side to get all the extra hair in the bun type thing goin on there. Just this morning Beka came in my room and saw the piece laying on the dresser and was like "what in the world IS this?!" and then looked at me like, "whoa! was this in your hair? that's AWESOME!" i found it pretty humorous :)


We (meaning the bridesmaids) were all ready by 12:30 and headed down for pictures with the guys. Then we came back to help Beka get dressed.


I didn't really have a whole lot of picture taking time... that's what the photographer is for! but i managed to capture a few shots, this being one of them.

Then it was time... By the time we lined up to walk down the aisle, I was barely holding it together. I didn't think I was going to make it down without crying and i was trying so hard not to that my lips started shaking because I was trying to keep a smile on my face HA! But i did it. And then when Beka came down I didn't bust out bawling, but i had tears just flowing freely at that point. I managed to control it so that I didn't look like a crazy person up there sobbing my eyes out... but what can i say? I don't know if i'll ever be able to get married... i don't know if i'll be able to make it through without turning into a puddle... i'll have to work on that *smile*

After the ceremony it was picture time!

I don't actually have any of the formal ones, just these that my mom managed to take from a distance. I will eventually have the pictures that the photographer took but that will be a couple weeks. So yah, those went well and i'm hoping there are some good ones.


I happen to love this shot LOL! It says it all ha!


Just two hours after the ceremony began we were actually at the reception hall. Dinner was amazing, but I was really more excited about eating the cake than anything :)


Since I wasn't able to go over the day of the wedding and finish setting out the cakes, two of Beka's friends in for the wedding did it for me. They did a phenominal job and I was completely blown away with the way they looked when we got there. The flowers here were the bouquets we all had that got set on the cake table.

Now for the actual cake pictures. I was lucky I was able to get any shots. I was afraid that I wasn't going to get a chance to get over there and take these, but alas, I did!




And then we ate the cake... and it was goooood...

We danced the night away until about 11 or so... SO MUCH FUN!!! In all honesty this was the most fun wedding I have ever been to! And thanks to Beka's laid back approach to everything we had NO wedding day disasters :) it was really amazing.

This morning Beka and Jared came back to the house and opened their presents. Beka is starting school on Tuesday and so they are going to be going on their real honeymoon in July... It was so nice to have them around today. Sometimes that day after the wedding can be such a downer for the family and friends, but it was so nice and relaxed and good to have another day to be with them...

Well it's late and tomorrow is my yard sale to raise money for my missions trip to Mexico this summer! I'm going to bed and hoping to recover some of the sleep i lost this weekend (all for a good cause though!)

Lemon Pound Cake with Strawberry Compote

Welcome Spring! I decided today that spring is here and winter is over. I like to decide these things sometimes, and then i just move along as though it were true. For me, it is! Anyways, I wore capris today and my summer flats... let it begin!


Baking this cake really put me in the mood for spring. The lemon flavor and getting to see so many strawberries while there is still snow on the ground was a breath of spring air! And I actually have been debating whether or not i should post recipes for everything I make... but this one just is TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE. Seriously. Ask Melissa if you don't believe me.


So here it is, in it's entirety. I must tell you though, don't bake this cake if you don't have a good amount of time on your hands. It took me the better part of yesterday and then i still had to make the whipped cream today. I had a lot of fun though, the kids helped me and then Melissa helped me with the picture taking adventure today. I'll tell ya what, for me, taking the pictures is 75% of the fun of doing this!



First off, I need to give credit where credit is due. I found this recipe on another blog and only modified it slightly.

Ingredients:

Lemon Pound Cake
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 sticks salted butter at room temperature
1 3/4 AND 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 TB lemon zest
1 tsp pure lemon extract
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (i cheated, i only used half fresh, cause i didn't have enough! but it tasted just fine anyways :)

Strawberry Compote
3 pints fresh strawberries, washed, patted dry and sliced
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Whipped Cream
16 oz heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar


Preparation:

Cake
- Preheat oven to 300F
- Butter and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt
- Cream the butter and 1 3/4 cups sugar until pale and fluffy
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
- Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk
- Stir in the lemon zest and lemon extract
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean
- Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes
- Poke holes all over the cake using a wooden skewer
- Meanwhile, bring the lemon juice and remaining sugar to a boil over medium high heat in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved
- Invert the cake onto a rack, position over a baking sheet and slowly pour the syrup over the cake, it will seap through the holes and into the cake
- Let cool to room temp


Strawberry Compote
- In a non-reactive saucepan, over medium heat, combine 2 pints of the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice
- Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the fruit is soft, about 8 to 10 minutes
- Remove from the heat and cool
- In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, puree the strawberries until smooth
- Turn into a mixing bowl, and when ready to serve add the remaining sliced strawberries
- Mix well

oh my goodness

it's another cake... and it's in the making. It's a good thing i have found venues to get rid of these things... otherwise i would be in deep trouble!

German Black Forest Cake - the one I actually made!

It's finally done... it seems a little long in coming, since i changed so many things along the way. But I have completed this baking project and it's time to share. I have to say something about this... even though noone probably cares, i notice, and i care! This pictures aren't as exciting as I would have liked them to be. I had a time limit factor, transportation issues and the extreme fact that the sun didn't shine at all yesterday! So they are what they are, and while they are nice, they just aren't as nice as i would like. But here ya go...


Ingredients:

German Chocolate Cake
2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening or butter
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling

Whipped Cream Frosting
24 oz heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Garnish
about 1/3 cup shaved chocolate
maraschino or fresh stemmed cherries


Preparation:

Cake
- Grease two 9 inch cake pans lined on bottom with waxed or parchment paper
- Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl; stir until well mixed
- Add shortening, eggs, milk and vanilla; beat mixture 3 minutes at low speed of electric mixer scraping bowl occasionally
- Pour batter into pans. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean
- Cool cake in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely
- Split cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers
- (optional) Make fine crumbs using 1 cake layer; set crumbs aside
- Cake can be made one day ahead of time if you want


Frosting and assembly
- Using a vegetable peeler, or whatever works best for you, shave the chocolate. I did this ahead of time while i was watching tv as it was probably the most time consuming part... I wonder if you can buy shaved chocolate somewhere??
- Beat whipping cream until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. - Place 1 cake layer on cake platter; spread with 1 cup whipped cream and top with 3/4 cup cherry pie filling
- *TIP* to keep filling from leaking out the sides, you can take a ziploc bag and fill it with some of the whipped cream. Then cut a hole in the corner and pipe an edge around the cake. This creates a barrier for the filling and makes assembly a little simpler
- Repeat with second layer and then top with third cake layer
- Frost sides and top with whipped cream, reserving some for garnish
- (optional) Pat cake crumbs generously around sides of cake
- Using a gallon sized zip loc bag, attach a star shaped piping tip by cutting one of the corners off and screwing the tip on just like any other bag (I did this because I didn't have any more bags, and actually found that it worked just as well and costs quite a bit less!)
- You can decorate the top however you like, but I squeezed about 14 blobs onto the top and then placed a maraschino cherry in the center of each. This way the portions are already determined
- Chill before serving