Category: wedding cake

First Anniversary – And Your Wedding Cake!

Posted on by Mary P Karnes

image

Let’s take a little break from KK and Tyler’s wedding… and talk about ‘Your First Anniversary – And Your Wedding Cake!’  Did you freeze the top layer of your wedding cake to enjoy on your first wedding anniversary?  In case you’re interested, click on the following link: Preserving the Top Layer of Your Wedding Cake to read an older blog post about saving the top layer.

image

The top photo is of the defrosted cake…not only is it a process to FREEZE your wedding cake, but to Defrost it as well… click on the following link if you wish to read about the freezing process: Freezing Your Wedding Cake  Maggie and Rob are featured in the next photo.  As I was the person storing the frozen cake, I asked them if they wanted me to take it to them in Philly or overnight it.  Rob said, “Well, the whole family’s going to be together for KK and Tyler’s wedding, let’s eat it then, and we can all enjoy it!”

image
I loved the idea, and followed my own instructions for defrosting to the letter, but I have to admit –  with an extended family of 14 in attendance to try the cake…I was a little nervous.

The above photo shows an individual serving size – it looks pretty, doesn’t it?

image

The above photo showcases the top layer with a section cut out.  Robert and Maggie did a nice job of cutting it.  The cake was a tiny bit frozen, which make for a better cut.  As to the taste…it tasted just fine for a year old cake — a bit dry — but ABSOLUTELY no “freezer taste”.  I was pleased.  I will say, though, that no one asked for a second piece…

photo 2-60

And this last photo…the glorious cake on Maggie and Rob’s wedding day.

As an item of interest…the flowers on the cake are not real, but edible, spun sugar!!

Did I preserved KK and Tyler’s top layer of their wedding cake?  Well, of course I did… with a little help, (well, a lot!), from my wonderful father-in-law, Ken, just like last year…  🙂 (Patty Cloherty Photos)

I promise to finish my “Blooper Post” tomorrow…

Defrosting the Top of A Wedding Cake

Posted on by Mary P Karnes

Defrosting the top of a wedding cake … easier said than done… Hopefully,  you read my blog post on How to Preserve Your Wedding Cake (click on the link if you’d like to read it). When your first anniversary rolls around, will you be ready?

rose-vintage-wedding-cake

www.weddingcake.name

According to yumsugar.com, it’s fairly easy.  Check out the steps below to enjoy a delicious anniversary treat!

“To enjoy the cake:

  1. One day before your first anniversary, begin defrosting the cake: transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator.
  2. After two hours, remove the cake from its wrapping. Continue to defrost in the refrigerator.
  3. Bring the cake to room temperature before consuming.
  4. Serve and enjoy.

If you know you’ll be moving within your first year, lack the freezer space, or simply don’t want to bother with the process of freezing your wedding cake, order a small, six-inch anniversary cake from the same bakery. Ask for similar cake flavors and fillings and have it adorned like your wedding cake (you can even save your cake topper to be placed on it). Use the cake knife and serving set from your wedding, and enjoy the memories of the special day with fresh cake.”

wed13

amandinedesire.com

 

images-226

foodswol.com

Below is a photo of my daughter, Maggie, and son-in-law, Rob’s wedding cake.  When the family’s all together this weekend for Kathleen’s wedding, we plan to enjoy their top layer as a family dessert.  What a wonderful idea – which I credit to Rob!  It takes a full day to defrost, so make sure you plan ahead and allow enough time to achieve maximum flavor.  I hope  you enjoyed the pictures of a variety of wedding cakes, and thanks again to Rob’s aunt, Patty Cloherty, for the great photo of  Maggie and Rob’s cake.  Next time…I’ll be able to show you an image of KK and Tyler’s!  🙂

photo 2-60

Patty Cloherty photos

 

Do You Know How To Cut A Wedding Cake?

Posted on by Mary P Karnes

image475x475

Do you know how to cut a wedding cake?  Do you need to know?  Probably not…but one NEVER knows…It is quite an art.  Even if you never have to cut your own wedding cake, or that of another bride’s, it’s interesting.  The top layer of a wedding cake is never counted in the “number of pieces” that a cake will serve.  At least in American, the top layer of the wedding cake is taken down as soon as the bridal couple “Cut the Cake” and feed each other a bite.  It is then kept in a safe place until it can be preserved and stored for the newlyweds to enjoy on their first anniversary.  I posted an earlier blog post: “Preserving the Top Layer of Your Wedding Cake” on the process.  If you would like to read it, just click on the title. Wedding cake slices are much smaller portions that one would receive when ordering ‘off the dessert menu’ at a restaurant.  It is more tradition and a work of art, than anything else.  The wedding cake also ties in your color scheme, and can set the tone, or theme of your wedding, A scary story, and one to heed… The friend of an acquaintance recently got married in Texas.  The brides’ family chose to hire a wedding planner.  When it was time to cut the cake, no one was doing it. The bride’s mother approached the caterer and asked him to please get his team started on the process.  “Well, the cutting of the cake was not in MY contract, so we are under no obligation to do it!”  And he refused.  (I’m thinking this would GREATLY affect his tip…)  So the mother of the bride and the wedding planner, (who let this huge hole in the contact with the caterer be overlooked), cut the cake.  According to a friend of friend who witnessed the massacre…it was NOT pretty…and as they didn’t know proper portion size, they ran out of cake!

Top Photo: the knot.com

round-cake-example     above diagram: www.artisancakecompany.com

cutting_roundimage475x475-2

above photo: theknot.com

The following YouTube video is great!  How to cut a wedding cake  It explains how to cut a wedding cake better than I.  Click on the link to watch.

How To Preserve Your Wedding Cake

Posted on by Mary P Karnes

 

Do you know how to preserve your wedding cake? The tradition of eating the top layer of your wedding cake on your first anniversary is at least as old as my great-grandparents.  Some bakers now offer a “free” separate top layer to save.  You must store it the right way, however, or it will NOT be a delicious experience.  We must have done a decent  job of storing our top layer, as I know my husband and I ate it, and I don’t remember it being awful…  Luck must have been involved as much as expertise.

It was very easy to preserve the top layer of daughter and son-in-law’s wedding cake – we’ll have to wait a year to see if my system worked, however!  The only thing you should do in advance is make sure you have a very large Tupperware-type round bowl – about 18″ across and 6″ deep, a board to set the cake on, plastic wrap, foil —- and this is the most important part — room in your freezer!

The above photo is my own daughter’s wedding cake

Step #1 – Choose someone reliable to commit to preserving your top layer.

Step #2 – Safely wrap and preserve any cake topper you may have used.  Hopefully, the future generations would like to use it.  I love how the groom’s mother chose a porcelain ornament so it can be handed down.

Step #3 – The experts say to freeze the cake 30 minutes to 2 hours ahead of the process.  I think this was recommend because some cakes are frosted in butter cream and thus the frosting is not firm.  I did freeze the cake for about an hour, but as Maggie’s was covered in fondant, and I don’t think I needed to.

Step #4 – Whatever you choose to set the cake on, whether it be a plastic cutting board, a piece of wood, or cardboard, wrap it in foil to protect the cake from tasting like the platform.

Step #5 – Cover the cake in 2 layers of plastic wrap.

Step # 6 – Then cover the cake in 2 layers of foil.

Step #7 – Store the whole think in the Tupperware Bowl and freeze.  Don’t forget to “burp” the Tupperware to get the air out!  This will preserved your cake for up to a year.

Initial info was gleaned from: Susannah Chen – www.yumsugar.com, although I tweaked it as I went along with my own supplies

Shop Amazon – Gift Cards for Weddingsgc_wedding-assoc-300x250

Image credits:  #1 Lisa Thibodeaux

                             #2 Patty Cloherty

EdSupply_general_300x250._V381562336_Shop Amazon – Introducing Education Supplies for Teachers