Mallory's Wedding

Yes, it has been a month since Mallory and Nate tied the not, but there is no rest for the weary pastry chef.  That being said, it feels like just yesterday I was home in Oregon, indulging in the cool shade of oak trees, freshly picked raspberries, and the company of family and friends.  The wedding cake went off without a hitch.  The wedding itself was a BLAST.  Mallory was a gorgeous and gracious bride, beyond my expectations. 

Again, thank God for Mom/Dawn taking behind the scenes photos and acting as sous chef and dishwasher.  Even the kitten, Cinder, got in on the action, licking up dabs of buttercream and powdered sugar off the floor.  I will fight for a bakery cat one day!!! 

Come with me, on a journey through space and time...

Cinder tempts the neighbor's dog, Buster, to come inside where sweet treats are made!

6 pounds of cream cheese went into the cake and 1 pound when into Bob Wille.

Doing my best impression of Giada DeLaurentis.  We decided at the last minute to add fresh raspberries from my parent's garden to the cream cheese filling in the cake.  Each tier was four layers of Red Velvet cake with three layers of cream cheese icing and fresh raspberries.  Delish!  Here I am brushing simple syrup onto the cake to keep it super moist.

Assembled and chilled base tier, ready to ice. 

I made some separate cupcakes for wedding guests with a gluten intolerance and vegan diets.  This is the gluten free, with buttercream icing.

The vegan cupcakes with fondant circles.  The scalloped fondant ovals are to go on the large cake later.

Rolling chocolate fondant for the surprise groom's cake!  In a dress, no less!

This was one of my favorite parts and something I had not done before.  I used a styrofoam ball to hold the gum paste flowers (which I ordered online to save time, via cakedeco.com).  I love the fullness and proportional interest it gives the cake.

Almost done!  Dawnie rolled all of these balls for me, with the help of a fondant bead maker.  I then cut them in half to apply to the cake.  I wish I could remember what was playing on my i-Pod...maybe Gaga?

All done!  Time to relax!

Groom's Cake: Nate's favorite beer, Red Chair from Deschutes Brewery, with hops vines.

Myself and Mr. Scott!

Mr. and Mrs. Witherspoon!

The life of the party right here.  Recognize Ashley and Chris?  I did their wedding cake last year!

I thought this apron fit perfectly with the Mexican fiesta dinner we shared that night.  

 

Then we danced the night away....

 

And I caught the bouquet!!!

So much fun!  The next day my stomach hurt from laughing, my feet killed from dancing, and my brain was pounding from champagne and margaritas, but I would do it all over again in an instant!  

All my love,
Rachel

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"Dress My Cupcake"

We all know how I feel about cupcakes:  They better taste good, and they better look smashing.  Now that is appears cupcakes are no longer a trend but a bakery staple, I think we will be seeing more and more trends in styles of cupcakes, flavors, etc. (I'm waiting for the $1,000 cupcake that comes encrusted with diamonds.)  One trend I am totally on board with is cupcake wrappers.  Unlike the baking cups cupcakes are baked in, these are fancier, bottomless "cups" the cakes sit in.  They come in all varieties of colors and prints for any occasion you can imagine.

Dress My Cupcake is the leading manufacturer of cupcake liners in the world, and even better, they are made right here in the US of A!  When I found out they were offering samples to local bakers, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on just of few of their designs.  Dress My Cupcake wrappers are available through retailers, but you can easily view their collection of over 1000 designs and order through their website.

It's hard not to be inspired by the changing seasons in rapidly approaching holidays, which is exactly where my head went when I received my dazzling assortment of wrappers.  I started by grouping them into coordinating color schemes. 

Halloween palate using the "Emma" and "Halloween Scream" designs. 

Each are sold in packs of 12 for $9.99.  Decorations are all fondant, made by me!

Cupcakes roasting by an open fire....Fall palate using the "Emma" design again.  Fondant leaves and acorns by me.

Winter palate.  I could easily see these at a black and white wedding, a la Kim Kardashian (I can't believe I just said that).  Styles used here are the "Classic Black Damask" and "Platinum Glitter" in silver and black ($23.99/12).  I really like these because they are grease-proof.  And the silver dragees set them off perfectly.

Christmas is coming...palate.  I really love changing up the expected Christmas green by swapping it for turquoise.  The look is fresh and chic.  These ruffled cupcakes in their "Platinum Glitter" wrappers would be lovely for a sophisticated holiday gathering.  Make your own ruffles by cutting circles of fondant, folding them in half, and then folding in half again.

P.S.  I love Christmas.

 Spring brings a palate of girly pinks and purples, flowers and butterflies.  I think girls of all ages would appreciate these at a birthday party or spring tea.  This first photo finally caught a fraction of how much these things sparkle.  I made the decorations using colored white chocolate.

Thank you again to Dress My Cupcake for this awesome opportunity to get creative!  Cupcakes with no wrappers will look so boring from now on...*sigh*

Love,

Rachel

 

My favorite wrapper off the website.