Saturday, August 18, 2012
This is what happens...
When you put 70 candles on a 6" cake. Happy Birthday, Joe!
ps- I think this is the first cake I've made since the 6" wedding cake "topper" I made exactly one year ago!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
absent but not forgotten
Brief update: We had the baby! And life is forever not the same!
Ha. It took a while to get little Gavin on a schedule (well, it's more of a routine at this point because he still likes to change things up every now and then). But finally he is in bed by about 8pm every night and I find myself mosying around the house trying to be productive but not really doing anything interesting. Tonight as I sat here with the monitor, watching baby Gav slumber away to the sound of ocean waves, I found myself wondering what I used to do in the evenings before bedtime routines and cleaning up the debris after a day with a baby. So much debris...
And it hit me. I used to BAKE! Pretty much every night I was baking something different, going to bed "exhausted" after doing "too much" yet again. Last night I slept from midnight to 4am, then from 5am to 8am, braved a lunchtime date with some friends and Gavin, and I feel more alive than I ever did after baking, frosting, and decorating 4 dozen cupcakes after a full night of uninterrupted sleep and day at work sitting in a chair at a desk.
I'm hoping this means I'll be ready to bake sometime soon. However, a few weeks after Gav was born, I made Brad some banana bread. He said it was gross and we threw it away. It took 10x more effort to make that banana bread than any previous banana bread endeavor.. and I was such a sad face girl. I go back to work in a week and a half, which means I'll have human garbage disposals to bake for. They truly eat anything and never tell you when it is "gross." HAHA! Lots of mized emotions about returning to work, but I'm excited that I'll have an audience to bake for again :)
Until then! Wish me luck...
Ha. It took a while to get little Gavin on a schedule (well, it's more of a routine at this point because he still likes to change things up every now and then). But finally he is in bed by about 8pm every night and I find myself mosying around the house trying to be productive but not really doing anything interesting. Tonight as I sat here with the monitor, watching baby Gav slumber away to the sound of ocean waves, I found myself wondering what I used to do in the evenings before bedtime routines and cleaning up the debris after a day with a baby. So much debris...
And it hit me. I used to BAKE! Pretty much every night I was baking something different, going to bed "exhausted" after doing "too much" yet again. Last night I slept from midnight to 4am, then from 5am to 8am, braved a lunchtime date with some friends and Gavin, and I feel more alive than I ever did after baking, frosting, and decorating 4 dozen cupcakes after a full night of uninterrupted sleep and day at work sitting in a chair at a desk.
I'm hoping this means I'll be ready to bake sometime soon. However, a few weeks after Gav was born, I made Brad some banana bread. He said it was gross and we threw it away. It took 10x more effort to make that banana bread than any previous banana bread endeavor.. and I was such a sad face girl. I go back to work in a week and a half, which means I'll have human garbage disposals to bake for. They truly eat anything and never tell you when it is "gross." HAHA! Lots of mized emotions about returning to work, but I'm excited that I'll have an audience to bake for again :)
Until then! Wish me luck...
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Baby Shower Cake: Cute as a Button!
Yep, still pregnant...
Mom kindly offered to throw me a baby shower, and I only asked that we do it well in advance of my due date so I wasn't too uncomfortable or crabby, but mostly so I didn't look like a total cow. Well, my plan worked, except for the cow part.
Unfortunately, I'm not the type to just sit back while other people work really hard to throw me a party. Mom says it is because I'm controlling- and has even coined a new name for me: Colleen Control, or CC. Okay, that's part of it. But mostly, I find it insanely awkward to sit around the week before a big event/party my friends or family are throwing, and not be able to offer a helping hand. It makes me incredibly uneasy. And if it's a party for me? Forget about it! I think I blow dried, curled, straightened and re-curled my hair the morning of my bridal shower because I was so antsy not having a thing to do. So I forced the madre to let me bake my own baby shower cake.
The theme from the beginning was "Cute as a Button," which CC picked out. I think she was going for something just plain cute and baby-ish, not wanting something that screamed "COLLEEN IS HAVING A BOY!" Yes, I'm having a boy, but he's a baby and I can definitely wait on all the fun boyish themes for when he is here. Right now it's pastels and baby time!!
Satisfied that I had a cake to worry about, CC went away and I focused on finding inspiration. There are a lot of button cakes and cupcakes out there, but this was by far the cutest:
I quickly learned how easy it is to make a fondant button.. punch out a circle, use the bottom of an icing tip to make the inner circle, and then use the tip of a small round tip to punch the holes in the button. Breeze! Since we were having the party at an Italian restaurant, I knew I wanted a lighter cake, so I went with a white cake with alternating filling layers of raspberry and lemon curd, topped with a light swiss meringue buttercream. I actually really don't like fondant, so I opted against covering the whole cake in it.
I wanted the cake to look as fabulous as the one above, but also stand out on its own. So I decided to pipe teal/turquoise ombre ruffles as a border. I love ombre cakes right now, and it seems a lot of other people do as well (pinterest). That wasn't enough though.. it needed something more. I went to a wholesale cake supply website and found "designer sheets" which are basically edible sheets of paper/stickers that you can put on to fondant and buttercream etc to give it that fresh-off-the-press look. I found it made the buttons pop, and the texture also made them look like fabric buttons (close up).
There are no epic tales to tell about the process of making this cake, unless you count swollen ankles every night for the three nights I spent making it. I think it came out great!
The banner at the top says "Baby Langan" and I made that as well.. I didn't like the idea of a giant fondant button on top. Brad said the color wasn't a real blue, which made me kinda sad until I realized the is the last cake I get to make before our baby arrives and tells us he likes Thomas the Train or the Ninja Turtles (let's hope it's Ninja Turtles!!). Okay so maybe the hot pink was a little too much.. but I had to throw a little me in there :)
This one didn't come out as great, but you get the idear:
Oh, and the shower was a lot of fun. I don't like being the "center" of attention but still had a good time seeing a lot of my friends and family. The majority of them not only drove or flew very far, they also brought along some of the most generous and adorable Little Langan gifties.
Getting married and then becoming pregnant a week later really makes me feel like I'm gouging people :/ But everyone's sincerety really made me feel better! It didn't hurt that pretty much everyone told me how awesome I look. I know it's a sweet little lie but it truly helped me get through the painful process of looking at all the gift opening pictures:
And on that note! you won't see my face again until I've lost at least 30lbs. :) p.s. that was the most EPIC diaper cake ever, made by my Fairy Godmother Geri. Batman themed with handmade burpie cloths, a quilt, and pretty much everything else our little man will need!
Mom kindly offered to throw me a baby shower, and I only asked that we do it well in advance of my due date so I wasn't too uncomfortable or crabby, but mostly so I didn't look like a total cow. Well, my plan worked, except for the cow part.
Unfortunately, I'm not the type to just sit back while other people work really hard to throw me a party. Mom says it is because I'm controlling- and has even coined a new name for me: Colleen Control, or CC. Okay, that's part of it. But mostly, I find it insanely awkward to sit around the week before a big event/party my friends or family are throwing, and not be able to offer a helping hand. It makes me incredibly uneasy. And if it's a party for me? Forget about it! I think I blow dried, curled, straightened and re-curled my hair the morning of my bridal shower because I was so antsy not having a thing to do. So I forced the madre to let me bake my own baby shower cake.
The theme from the beginning was "Cute as a Button," which CC picked out. I think she was going for something just plain cute and baby-ish, not wanting something that screamed "COLLEEN IS HAVING A BOY!" Yes, I'm having a boy, but he's a baby and I can definitely wait on all the fun boyish themes for when he is here. Right now it's pastels and baby time!!
Satisfied that I had a cake to worry about, CC went away and I focused on finding inspiration. There are a lot of button cakes and cupcakes out there, but this was by far the cutest:
I quickly learned how easy it is to make a fondant button.. punch out a circle, use the bottom of an icing tip to make the inner circle, and then use the tip of a small round tip to punch the holes in the button. Breeze! Since we were having the party at an Italian restaurant, I knew I wanted a lighter cake, so I went with a white cake with alternating filling layers of raspberry and lemon curd, topped with a light swiss meringue buttercream. I actually really don't like fondant, so I opted against covering the whole cake in it.
I wanted the cake to look as fabulous as the one above, but also stand out on its own. So I decided to pipe teal/turquoise ombre ruffles as a border. I love ombre cakes right now, and it seems a lot of other people do as well (pinterest). That wasn't enough though.. it needed something more. I went to a wholesale cake supply website and found "designer sheets" which are basically edible sheets of paper/stickers that you can put on to fondant and buttercream etc to give it that fresh-off-the-press look. I found it made the buttons pop, and the texture also made them look like fabric buttons (close up).
There are no epic tales to tell about the process of making this cake, unless you count swollen ankles every night for the three nights I spent making it. I think it came out great!
The banner at the top says "Baby Langan" and I made that as well.. I didn't like the idea of a giant fondant button on top. Brad said the color wasn't a real blue, which made me kinda sad until I realized the is the last cake I get to make before our baby arrives and tells us he likes Thomas the Train or the Ninja Turtles (let's hope it's Ninja Turtles!!). Okay so maybe the hot pink was a little too much.. but I had to throw a little me in there :)
This one didn't come out as great, but you get the idear:
Oh, and the shower was a lot of fun. I don't like being the "center" of attention but still had a good time seeing a lot of my friends and family. The majority of them not only drove or flew very far, they also brought along some of the most generous and adorable Little Langan gifties.
Getting married and then becoming pregnant a week later really makes me feel like I'm gouging people :/ But everyone's sincerety really made me feel better! It didn't hurt that pretty much everyone told me how awesome I look. I know it's a sweet little lie but it truly helped me get through the painful process of looking at all the gift opening pictures:
And on that note! you won't see my face again until I've lost at least 30lbs. :) p.s. that was the most EPIC diaper cake ever, made by my Fairy Godmother Geri. Batman themed with handmade burpie cloths, a quilt, and pretty much everything else our little man will need!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Obsessed
I'm still pregnant. It feels like this will never end. I'm not uncomfortable or experiencing any noteworthy symptoms.. mostly I'm just lazy and feeling overweight. I've been avoiding baking anything because I know I won't be able to stop myself from eating at least half of whatever I make. For example, last month, I was craving a funfetti cupcake, the delicious kind made from store bought mix and topped with rainbow chip frosting. Some bakers would be ashamed to admit it, but to this day, funfetti is still my favorite cupcake ever. So anyway, I make the cupcakes, and over the next three days, eat an entire dozen. Then I had the nerve to complain about gaining 8lbs that month. It's a sick cycle.
Then I got a Pinterest account. Worst plan ever. I am used to scouring the web looking for recipes that appear to be delicious, based on reviews or an amazing ingredient list. Rarely do those recipes come with beautiful shiny photos of baking perfection. Needless to say, choosing a good recipe this way takes thoughtfulness and serious inspection- two things I've been living without for 7 months. But apparently, I'm just like the 2 million other "pinners" on Pinterest- visual. I log in and see cakes, cupcakes, brownies, mud pies, and combinations of things I never thought of, all photographed to absolute perfection. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if the link to the recipe lurking behind the photo is good. I need it. Now.
Instantly I became obsessed with making the best red velvet cupcake ever. I have been working on this for a couple of years but never quite got there. There were a few hits, and a lot of misses. The hits turned into misses because the color just wasn't right. I'd find Brad asking, "what is that?" or if they were light chocolate cupcakes.. fail. The misses were just wrong all and together bad. I once made a huge cake out of red velvet and the layers from different batches of batter were all different colors and flavors. I liken it to my mashed potatoes.. I never quite remember how I made it the last time so I get something different every time. I've even tried writing the recipe down afterward, only to have it fail me in the future.
When I saw people on pinterest pinning bright red red velvet cupcakes, etc., right around Valentine's day, I knew something had to be done. I couldn't sit back and let those monstrosities win. I can't tell you how many absolutely beautiful, "professional," striking, and nearly bleeding-red red velvet cupcakes I've experienced crumble, turn to goo, choke me, or taste like wet chalk. And it's usually the really red ones that suck. Red velvet is the most ambiguous flavor that it seems people think anything goes as long as its red. To me though, it is supposed to resemble moist chocolate cake and be able carry a fluffy cream cheese frosting, but not taste like chocolate or vanilla- it's supposed to be a glorious combination of both. Kind of like a marble cake after you've chewed it all up, but less dense. That kind of sounds gross! Ha. Well, it's not for everybody.
But, people, I did it. Taste, color, texture, everything.. I made the best red velvet cake ever. And I know exactly how I did it because I wrote down every stinkin step as I did it. I can't give all my secrets away, but I will tell you a lot had to do with finding the right red food coloring (hint: gel, not wilton's), and not skipping out on the vinegar. I only made 12 and had just one (yay!!)! Then I brought the other 11 to work and they were gone within an hour- fyi only 5 people from my office were in that day. One very picky cupcaker told me it was the best cupcake he ever had. A few other people said the same, but it meant the most coming from picky eater man. It was also fun to watch people come back for seconds and not be ashamed at all.
I'm a loser and only got one picture of them cooling on their rack. I wanted to take another photo of cutting into one, but I ate it right before I weighed in at the doc's (sigh) and then it was off to work.
My camera phone is awful and turned these purple, so I will not be pinning this on to pinterest but I don't care. I'll continue to use the site for visual inspiration but stick to my own recipes.
I hope I can make one for YOU soon!!
Then I got a Pinterest account. Worst plan ever. I am used to scouring the web looking for recipes that appear to be delicious, based on reviews or an amazing ingredient list. Rarely do those recipes come with beautiful shiny photos of baking perfection. Needless to say, choosing a good recipe this way takes thoughtfulness and serious inspection- two things I've been living without for 7 months. But apparently, I'm just like the 2 million other "pinners" on Pinterest- visual. I log in and see cakes, cupcakes, brownies, mud pies, and combinations of things I never thought of, all photographed to absolute perfection. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if the link to the recipe lurking behind the photo is good. I need it. Now.
Instantly I became obsessed with making the best red velvet cupcake ever. I have been working on this for a couple of years but never quite got there. There were a few hits, and a lot of misses. The hits turned into misses because the color just wasn't right. I'd find Brad asking, "what is that?" or if they were light chocolate cupcakes.. fail. The misses were just wrong all and together bad. I once made a huge cake out of red velvet and the layers from different batches of batter were all different colors and flavors. I liken it to my mashed potatoes.. I never quite remember how I made it the last time so I get something different every time. I've even tried writing the recipe down afterward, only to have it fail me in the future.
When I saw people on pinterest pinning bright red red velvet cupcakes, etc., right around Valentine's day, I knew something had to be done. I couldn't sit back and let those monstrosities win. I can't tell you how many absolutely beautiful, "professional," striking, and nearly bleeding-red red velvet cupcakes I've experienced crumble, turn to goo, choke me, or taste like wet chalk. And it's usually the really red ones that suck. Red velvet is the most ambiguous flavor that it seems people think anything goes as long as its red. To me though, it is supposed to resemble moist chocolate cake and be able carry a fluffy cream cheese frosting, but not taste like chocolate or vanilla- it's supposed to be a glorious combination of both. Kind of like a marble cake after you've chewed it all up, but less dense. That kind of sounds gross! Ha. Well, it's not for everybody.
But, people, I did it. Taste, color, texture, everything.. I made the best red velvet cake ever. And I know exactly how I did it because I wrote down every stinkin step as I did it. I can't give all my secrets away, but I will tell you a lot had to do with finding the right red food coloring (hint: gel, not wilton's), and not skipping out on the vinegar. I only made 12 and had just one (yay!!)! Then I brought the other 11 to work and they were gone within an hour- fyi only 5 people from my office were in that day. One very picky cupcaker told me it was the best cupcake he ever had. A few other people said the same, but it meant the most coming from picky eater man. It was also fun to watch people come back for seconds and not be ashamed at all.
I'm a loser and only got one picture of them cooling on their rack. I wanted to take another photo of cutting into one, but I ate it right before I weighed in at the doc's (sigh) and then it was off to work.
My camera phone is awful and turned these purple, so I will not be pinning this on to pinterest but I don't care. I'll continue to use the site for visual inspiration but stick to my own recipes.
I hope I can make one for YOU soon!!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Baby Cakes!
This past September I had the honor of making birthday cakes for the world famous Salvateenies Triplets first birthday. This was just one and half weeks after returning from my honeymoon and of having thought of nothing but weddings and honeymoons for the past three months straight. But I was up for the challenge! I couldn't think of a better way to get back into the swing of "normal" life.
Mom and Dad requested a zoo animal theme.. which means Mom told me exactly which animal to make for each kid since I was lacking any creative brain power. Caroline was to be "Caro-lion," Max was to be "Monkey Max" and Daniel would be "Croco-Daniel. " I got to pick the flavors, with approval of course. Caro-lion: white cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla frosting. Monkey Max: white cake with banana pudding filling and vanilla frosting. Croco-Daniel: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. YUM.
I started preparing for the cake making a couple of days in advance so it wouldn't be a mad rush to finish (as if preparation ever prevents that). Unfortunately, I was feeling a little crampy and tired the night before so I had a hard time getting stuff done, but I powered through expecting that it would only get worse the following morning.
As I mentioned, I had just gotten back from my honeymoon, which was actually the official "start trying" time for Brad and I. In the morning, I could feel my monthly visitor coming on strong but took a test anyway just to be sure.... and... not so much. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the faintest, lighter than pink pink line appear, so I threw it out and told Brad it we weren't pregnant, then got back to work. A few minutes later, he said, "Babe, we do pee tests all the time at work for the kids. The results don't show up right away. It's right about now that the line will start to change if the kid is positive for drugs. I'm going to go check it." So the incredible man that I married went through the bathroom garbage can (gross!) and found the stick with a slightly more pink line indicating that we might just really be pregnant, but it was extremely faint and I decided it was possible we were now both hallucinating. We were cautiously excited. I still had so much work to do, and Brad had to get to bed in time to wake up for his next graveyard shift. I baked, frosted, fondanted, and packaged the cakes then drove them up to SF to celebrate with the precious 1 year old triplets. In the chaos, I only got a couple of pictures (thanks Brad!)
Monkey Max
Caro-lion
Mom and Dad requested a zoo animal theme.. which means Mom told me exactly which animal to make for each kid since I was lacking any creative brain power. Caroline was to be "Caro-lion," Max was to be "Monkey Max" and Daniel would be "Croco-Daniel. " I got to pick the flavors, with approval of course. Caro-lion: white cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla frosting. Monkey Max: white cake with banana pudding filling and vanilla frosting. Croco-Daniel: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. YUM.
I started preparing for the cake making a couple of days in advance so it wouldn't be a mad rush to finish (as if preparation ever prevents that). Unfortunately, I was feeling a little crampy and tired the night before so I had a hard time getting stuff done, but I powered through expecting that it would only get worse the following morning.
As I mentioned, I had just gotten back from my honeymoon, which was actually the official "start trying" time for Brad and I. In the morning, I could feel my monthly visitor coming on strong but took a test anyway just to be sure.... and... not so much. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the faintest, lighter than pink pink line appear, so I threw it out and told Brad it we weren't pregnant, then got back to work. A few minutes later, he said, "Babe, we do pee tests all the time at work for the kids. The results don't show up right away. It's right about now that the line will start to change if the kid is positive for drugs. I'm going to go check it." So the incredible man that I married went through the bathroom garbage can (gross!) and found the stick with a slightly more pink line indicating that we might just really be pregnant, but it was extremely faint and I decided it was possible we were now both hallucinating. We were cautiously excited. I still had so much work to do, and Brad had to get to bed in time to wake up for his next graveyard shift. I baked, frosted, fondanted, and packaged the cakes then drove them up to SF to celebrate with the precious 1 year old triplets. In the chaos, I only got a couple of pictures (thanks Brad!)
Monkey Max
Caro-lionPoor Daniel was the last cake to be finished and I wasn't able to get a picture. More pictures of the entire event, including a few of the cakes being destroyed and me being exhausted on a glider chair, can be found here, on the Salvateenie's official blog. Lessons learned: fondant is not my forte, one year olds could care less about filling and frosting and perfection, and if I ever do cakes for a living, I have to research the best way to transport them. Max's monkey lost an ear and Daniel's crocodile sank slightly into his chocolate lagoon.
The party was fun but I was ready for bed by 3pm. Being the psychotic I am, however, I stopped at Walgreen's on the way home and picked up three more tests to use in the morning... they were all different brands, of course. The next morning, I took all three tests a just before Brad got home, and hid them from myself so I wouldn't freak out. 5 minutes later I looked at them, and 5 minutes after that, Brad got home saying, "WELL?!?!?!" I directed him to the kitchen where he found all three tests showing absolutely, no doubt about it POSITIVE results for pregnancy! We were both in shock, excited, then in shock, then excited.. and so forth, for the rest of the morning until poor Brad had to go to bed again for work. We're now about 5 months and 3 weeks along and still going between shock and excitement, though excitement is now winning because my motherly intuition was right, and we're having a baby boy. Brad thinks it will all be cars, trucks, gadgets and flashlights, but I'm going to sneak in some baking time with mommy when he isn't looking :)
The party was fun but I was ready for bed by 3pm. Being the psychotic I am, however, I stopped at Walgreen's on the way home and picked up three more tests to use in the morning... they were all different brands, of course. The next morning, I took all three tests a just before Brad got home, and hid them from myself so I wouldn't freak out. 5 minutes later I looked at them, and 5 minutes after that, Brad got home saying, "WELL?!?!?!" I directed him to the kitchen where he found all three tests showing absolutely, no doubt about it POSITIVE results for pregnancy! We were both in shock, excited, then in shock, then excited.. and so forth, for the rest of the morning until poor Brad had to go to bed again for work. We're now about 5 months and 3 weeks along and still going between shock and excitement, though excitement is now winning because my motherly intuition was right, and we're having a baby boy. Brad thinks it will all be cars, trucks, gadgets and flashlights, but I'm going to sneak in some baking time with mommy when he isn't looking :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Married Woman!
My last post was not baking related at all.. Oops. Brad just really wanted me to post a blog from our honeymoon and I didn't feel like creating a whole new blog for one post. It got me thinking though.. I never posted anything about how the wedding cake/cupcake baking went!
I had originally planned to make a traditional wedding cake. Lauryn came out and we practiced it, and everything went well, except it wasn't perfect. I then did another run of the largest tier on my own and felt better.. But something wasn't quite right and I couldn't figure out what it was. My frosting technique isn't great and I can't get really smooth edges.. At that point I was close, but not where I wanted to be. The height was also an issue on such a huge cake, so I guess my measurements were off ( I'm not trained in traditional baking so I don't have the whole baking ratio thing down). I knew I could do it, but I wasn't feeling like it was the right time to experiment or stress myself out being a perfectionist. And all spring and summer long I was baking cupcakes for people and coming up with some very pretty and tasty stuff. I then realized it was time to rethink my strategy. The cake was doable, but transporting and stacking on the wedding day was no doubt going to be an issue. I love my cupcakes and they're much easier to move around and put out on a tiered display, so I thought I'd attempt a cupcake wedding cake. I mentioned my idea to Brad and he was very hesitant.. He turned into a groom stuck on what's traditional and told me I had to clear it with both our moms before doing it. They were both on my team so the plan was set in motion!
As the wedding got even closer and my plate was getting fuller, I decided I needed to make this whole bake-my-own-cake plan even simpler. So with my business tax id I signed up for an account with a wholesale cake decorations company and ordered flowers for my cupcakes, cake, and display. I also ordered a really nice cupcake tower to set all my beauties upon. Everything was going so well!
I was nervous, but it seemed like everyone else was more nervous than me about my plan. Except Lauryn. She was my rock and not only that, very excited to come out and bake. I had everything planned out beautifully so when she arrived, we would bake and be happy. And that's exactly what happened! Lauryn arrived and almost immediately put an apron on and got started with the lemons (poor Lala, always stuck with the lemons, even Brad said, "wow, Lauryn, it seems like every time you are here, you are zesting lemons!"). So we all jokingly named her the Lemon Curdmudgeon. We made about 80 chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling and swiss meringue raspberry buttercream, and about 80 lemon cupcakes with lemon curd filling and vanilla frosting. Somehow everything got done in a timely fashion and we were happy with the results. I was in charge of the 6" cake which was just my chocolate cake with Brad's favorite canned frosting, which we would cut into at the wedding and serve to each other. I used a vanilla homemade frosting on the outside to match the cupcakes and spent a little bit of freak out time trying to make it look smooth, but eventually gave up and decided I was happy with the work Lauryn and I did and realized it really couldn't have gone any better. I had the perfect partner and perfect outcome for my "crazy" make-my-own-wedding-'cake' plan.
The Aftermath (please note, Fiona was not in the mix until the very end when we were wrapping things up/cleaning up- I really need to find a commercial kitchen to bake in though!!).
Of course the day came and went with a total blur, but I had a couple of favorite parts which include the cupcakes/cake:
1) Brad was very sad to learn in the beginning that I wanted to put two pretty glass birds on top of the cake instead of people/figures. As I mentioned, he was suddenly a traditionalist and couldn't deal with anything "outside" the box. I felt he deserved his wish after he gave in on the cupcakes, so I snuck around and found a little figurine that I could settle on. Only his mom was in on the secret. The morning of the wedding when Lauryn and I set up the cupcakes, we covered up the whole display with a box and sheet contraption to protect it from the fog (don't get me started) and so that when Brad arrived, he could uncover everything for the big reveal. We instructed the coordinator to allow Brad to uncover the display and stressed the importance, but apparently when Brad's mom told him to do so, the coordinator became a psycho and said Brad was too busy (this woman was great in the beginning but really got on my nerves the day of- Joanne from Chateau La Joye). So Joanne uncovered it, apparently adjusted the display to her liking (HOW COULD SHE, ugh) and eventually Brad went down to see it. I'm told he was impressed but suddenly became irate when he saw figurines on top of the cake instead of birds, "where are the birds!!! she wanted birds, who did this?!" And his mom had to explain that it was my surprise to him. During the ceremony, he whispered to me that he loved the people on the cake and that I was really sweet to do that for him. It was a perfect moment.
2) The cake cutting was a lot of fun. Brad almost didn't believe I put canned frosting in the middle but when he tasted it, he was overjoyed. Right after cake cutting we had to do the bouquet and garter toss, and Brad still had his plate with him. Joanne took his plate while he took off my garter, and when he started to bend down, all I hear is, "You're eating my cake!!!" And then Joanne says, "it's really good!" She was seriously eating the cake she was supposed to be holding for him. He laughed, but I know Brad. 1) he was upset that someone was eating HIS cake that was made special for him, 2) he does not share food with anyone but me (germaphobe). Did I mention Joanne is crazy??? Fortunately the rest of the cake was salvaged and while he didn't get anymore at the wedding, he did have some after the honeymoon.
I have baked a ton since the wedding and honeymoon but I can't remember all of it. While I wrote this post I made an apple pie and plan to eat it soon. Tis the season!!
Until next time!!
**All Photos courtesy of Ken Buck Photography**
I had originally planned to make a traditional wedding cake. Lauryn came out and we practiced it, and everything went well, except it wasn't perfect. I then did another run of the largest tier on my own and felt better.. But something wasn't quite right and I couldn't figure out what it was. My frosting technique isn't great and I can't get really smooth edges.. At that point I was close, but not where I wanted to be. The height was also an issue on such a huge cake, so I guess my measurements were off ( I'm not trained in traditional baking so I don't have the whole baking ratio thing down). I knew I could do it, but I wasn't feeling like it was the right time to experiment or stress myself out being a perfectionist. And all spring and summer long I was baking cupcakes for people and coming up with some very pretty and tasty stuff. I then realized it was time to rethink my strategy. The cake was doable, but transporting and stacking on the wedding day was no doubt going to be an issue. I love my cupcakes and they're much easier to move around and put out on a tiered display, so I thought I'd attempt a cupcake wedding cake. I mentioned my idea to Brad and he was very hesitant.. He turned into a groom stuck on what's traditional and told me I had to clear it with both our moms before doing it. They were both on my team so the plan was set in motion!
As the wedding got even closer and my plate was getting fuller, I decided I needed to make this whole bake-my-own-cake plan even simpler. So with my business tax id I signed up for an account with a wholesale cake decorations company and ordered flowers for my cupcakes, cake, and display. I also ordered a really nice cupcake tower to set all my beauties upon. Everything was going so well!
I was nervous, but it seemed like everyone else was more nervous than me about my plan. Except Lauryn. She was my rock and not only that, very excited to come out and bake. I had everything planned out beautifully so when she arrived, we would bake and be happy. And that's exactly what happened! Lauryn arrived and almost immediately put an apron on and got started with the lemons (poor Lala, always stuck with the lemons, even Brad said, "wow, Lauryn, it seems like every time you are here, you are zesting lemons!"). So we all jokingly named her the Lemon Curdmudgeon. We made about 80 chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling and swiss meringue raspberry buttercream, and about 80 lemon cupcakes with lemon curd filling and vanilla frosting. Somehow everything got done in a timely fashion and we were happy with the results. I was in charge of the 6" cake which was just my chocolate cake with Brad's favorite canned frosting, which we would cut into at the wedding and serve to each other. I used a vanilla homemade frosting on the outside to match the cupcakes and spent a little bit of freak out time trying to make it look smooth, but eventually gave up and decided I was happy with the work Lauryn and I did and realized it really couldn't have gone any better. I had the perfect partner and perfect outcome for my "crazy" make-my-own-wedding-'cake' plan.
The Aftermath (please note, Fiona was not in the mix until the very end when we were wrapping things up/cleaning up- I really need to find a commercial kitchen to bake in though!!).
Of course the day came and went with a total blur, but I had a couple of favorite parts which include the cupcakes/cake:
1) Brad was very sad to learn in the beginning that I wanted to put two pretty glass birds on top of the cake instead of people/figures. As I mentioned, he was suddenly a traditionalist and couldn't deal with anything "outside" the box. I felt he deserved his wish after he gave in on the cupcakes, so I snuck around and found a little figurine that I could settle on. Only his mom was in on the secret. The morning of the wedding when Lauryn and I set up the cupcakes, we covered up the whole display with a box and sheet contraption to protect it from the fog (don't get me started) and so that when Brad arrived, he could uncover everything for the big reveal. We instructed the coordinator to allow Brad to uncover the display and stressed the importance, but apparently when Brad's mom told him to do so, the coordinator became a psycho and said Brad was too busy (this woman was great in the beginning but really got on my nerves the day of- Joanne from Chateau La Joye). So Joanne uncovered it, apparently adjusted the display to her liking (HOW COULD SHE, ugh) and eventually Brad went down to see it. I'm told he was impressed but suddenly became irate when he saw figurines on top of the cake instead of birds, "where are the birds!!! she wanted birds, who did this?!" And his mom had to explain that it was my surprise to him. During the ceremony, he whispered to me that he loved the people on the cake and that I was really sweet to do that for him. It was a perfect moment.
2) The cake cutting was a lot of fun. Brad almost didn't believe I put canned frosting in the middle but when he tasted it, he was overjoyed. Right after cake cutting we had to do the bouquet and garter toss, and Brad still had his plate with him. Joanne took his plate while he took off my garter, and when he started to bend down, all I hear is, "You're eating my cake!!!" And then Joanne says, "it's really good!" She was seriously eating the cake she was supposed to be holding for him. He laughed, but I know Brad. 1) he was upset that someone was eating HIS cake that was made special for him, 2) he does not share food with anyone but me (germaphobe). Did I mention Joanne is crazy??? Fortunately the rest of the cake was salvaged and while he didn't get anymore at the wedding, he did have some after the honeymoon.
I have baked a ton since the wedding and honeymoon but I can't remember all of it. While I wrote this post I made an apple pie and plan to eat it soon. Tis the season!!
Until next time!!
**All Photos courtesy of Ken Buck Photography**
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Aloha! By Popular Demand...
So I didn't plan on doing this but we had quite a few people ask.. and then Brad insisted... that I do a blog from Kauai while we're on our honeymoon.
First of all.. I'm still having a hard time realizing that the wedding actually happened! It wasn't actually that the whole thing breezed by.. though most of it did, the chaos came in waves. I definitely had a few opportunities to sit back and take it all in, but there were moments that I wouldn't be able to retell accurately if my life depended on it. Brad says he felt like the most popular kid in school and his arms literally hurt from hugging/greeting/taking photos with so many folks. He cracks me up!!!! All in all we had a wonderful time and we're so pleased with how it all came together. Our photographer already put up a sneak peek slideshow if you're interested in seeing a lot of photos of me and Brad.. ha. All photos will be available soon.
http://www.kenbuckphotography.com/data/slideshow/83/Colleen.Brad/index.html
And now we're in BEAUTIFUL Kauai!!!! It is amazing here. We stepped off the plane and the first thing I noticed was the incredibly sweet smell in the air. I wish I could bottle it up and sell it. The first thing we did upon arriving was get lost on our way to our "treehouse"- which is basically a condo in the middle of nowhere.. or the hills of Kalaheo if you happen to know where that is. We were given the address but no hint that the mailbox we were looking for didn't exist. It was pitch black, the locusts were screaming, and Brad and I were imagining what life would be like without our kidneys as we went down the wrong driveway and found what we imagined were slaughterhouses, but were probably just sheds. We called our host Neil and he met up with us after he let loose a few frustrated fucks! and other four letter words. It was funny because he is Australian.. it would have been scary if he was from anywhere else, we're sure.
We woke up in MAJOR pain this morning but fought through it for our ATV tour through Kipu Ranch. Brad was excited to drive an ATV and I was excited to do a rope swing and swim under a real waterfall, so we booked the waterfall tour! We started out clean:
Fortunately, there was a waterfall to clean off under at the end. Brad and I held hands and jumped in... from a rock on the surface of the pond :)
So it has been an amazing time so far.. and we're just getting started. I had to give up on the whole "relaxing in Kauai" idea I had when booking this trip.. there are a lot of opportunities but we've been running around like Kauai chickens doing everything dangerous that we possibly can. I even had tried to remedy this with a Mai Tai and instead of feeling amazing, I passed out. Ha! We love it though and are so excited for more. What a wonderful way to start married life!!
That's it for now!
First of all.. I'm still having a hard time realizing that the wedding actually happened! It wasn't actually that the whole thing breezed by.. though most of it did, the chaos came in waves. I definitely had a few opportunities to sit back and take it all in, but there were moments that I wouldn't be able to retell accurately if my life depended on it. Brad says he felt like the most popular kid in school and his arms literally hurt from hugging/greeting/taking photos with so many folks. He cracks me up!!!! All in all we had a wonderful time and we're so pleased with how it all came together. Our photographer already put up a sneak peek slideshow if you're interested in seeing a lot of photos of me and Brad.. ha. All photos will be available soon.
http://www.kenbuckphotography.com/data/slideshow/83/Colleen.Brad/index.html
And now we're in BEAUTIFUL Kauai!!!! It is amazing here. We stepped off the plane and the first thing I noticed was the incredibly sweet smell in the air. I wish I could bottle it up and sell it. The first thing we did upon arriving was get lost on our way to our "treehouse"- which is basically a condo in the middle of nowhere.. or the hills of Kalaheo if you happen to know where that is. We were given the address but no hint that the mailbox we were looking for didn't exist. It was pitch black, the locusts were screaming, and Brad and I were imagining what life would be like without our kidneys as we went down the wrong driveway and found what we imagined were slaughterhouses, but were probably just sheds. We called our host Neil and he met up with us after he let loose a few frustrated fucks! and other four letter words. It was funny because he is Australian.. it would have been scary if he was from anywhere else, we're sure.
Neil is a character and can't stop talking and cursing. He brought us to our honeymoon abode and we were so thrilled at how awesome it was. Neil thought it would be a good time to talk about how bad the economy is and then told Brad about cockroaches and killer centipedes. Oh Neil, why!! Surely he didn't know about Brad's insane cockroachophobia. Ha! Brad put on a brave face and mentioned how neat it would be to have a couple of beers. Suddenly Neil pulled three Coronas out of god knows where and we were sipping on beer and talking about even more ridiculous topics such as how he isn't making any money yet on his investment aka the very treehouse we were staying in. I don't know how we escaped his grasp but eventually he was gone and Brad and I were almost in tears laughing about how funny the whole thing was.
The next morning we took an amazing doors-off helicopter tour of Kauai. It was absolutely breathtaking and the perfect first thing for us to do because it gave me ideas for what we would do for the rest of our trip. There were so many good shots but I'm only going to leave you with a few due to the time it takes to upload them!
The following day, we did the most intense and crazy thing either of us has ever done.. and brace yourself for this because you will probably laugh at first: a raft ride along the Na Pali coast. Yes. Now you must know that it was more like a raft/speed boat combo and all passengers sat along the edge of the boat while it sped for an hour and a half up the coast to get us to the beautiful views and photo ops. It was really fun in the beginning- we stopped and photographed spinner dolphins and sea turtles, learned about some history, took a walk through an ancient-ish village (not a lot of ruins as it's on the coast, so they re-created a lot). Super fun! The highlight was speeding through an arch along the coast and doing an ocean donut (if that exists) within an open ceiling cave. It's the stuff I always dreamed of when thinking about my honeymoon as a little girl- yes, I thought about my honeymoon more so than the wedding, even at a young age ;)
The "Screen Saver" Shot:
Open Ceiling Cave:
After that, we went snorkeling.. which is what I was looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, after I jumped into the water, I remembered my fear of the ocean and nearly panicked completely. I only stopped when I realized that Brad was struggling with his snorkel. He kept trying to scuba dive with his snorkel and of course breathed in air. Then he had to pee and refused to do it until he could "stand on something." In Brad talk, that meant he needed his feet to touch the sand in order to pee.. so he began to swim to shore, which looked deceivingly close because we had a 2,000 foot cliff towering over the beach. I forced him to stop when we swam for 10 minutes and were still nowhere near the beach. He finally did his business and then we swam like Phelps back to the boat so we didn't end up being stranded. We had a long haul back to the harbor so we braced ourselves on the boat and held on for dear life as we sped at what felt like lightening speed over the ocean waves, dodging sea turtles and huge swells. Brad's knuckles and hands were bleeding from holding on so tight and I had to stop looking forward because our final destination was never anywhere in sight. It was like being on the Grizzly or Giant Dipper for 90 minutes straight... with no seat belt. OUCH!!!!! Still, we both agree it was the most amazing thing we've done on this trip so far and the beauty of it all made it worth it.
We weren't too tired for a trip up to the North Coast where we stopped for dinner and shopping then a photo op at Hanalei Bay during sunset. Brad was really eager to get this photo and scouted out a couple to perform the task. I almost had an anxiety attack watching him approach a young couple strolling along the beach, because I thought for sure he was interrupting a potential proposal. Fortunately for us.. that wasn't happening. But it reminded me to watch for proposals!! Good grief I wouldn't want to be responsible for ruining that moment for anybody!!
We woke up in MAJOR pain this morning but fought through it for our ATV tour through Kipu Ranch. Brad was excited to drive an ATV and I was excited to do a rope swing and swim under a real waterfall, so we booked the waterfall tour! We started out clean:
And ended up looking like this:
Fortunately, there was a waterfall to clean off under at the end. Brad and I held hands and jumped in... from a rock on the surface of the pond :)
So it has been an amazing time so far.. and we're just getting started. I had to give up on the whole "relaxing in Kauai" idea I had when booking this trip.. there are a lot of opportunities but we've been running around like Kauai chickens doing everything dangerous that we possibly can. I even had tried to remedy this with a Mai Tai and instead of feeling amazing, I passed out. Ha! We love it though and are so excited for more. What a wonderful way to start married life!!
That's it for now!
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