I made this. Really. I kind of can’t believe I did it. Planning the cake and buying the supplies and test baking kept me busy for weeks and weeks. Many test cakes were baked and frosted (and many samples were taken to both my office and the boyfriend’s office). Some test cakes were covered in fondant. Two of them were even stacked on top of each other just to make sure that we knew what we were doing for the real thing. Despite all of the samples and tests, I have to admit that I doubted I was going to be able to pull this off…right up until the morning of the wedding.

This cake was made for my younger sister’s wedding. She asked me to bake the cake shortly after she got engaged. I’m not going to lie…the thought of it kind of scared the dickens out of me when she asked. But I happily agreed to do it and hoped that I wouldn’t fail her on her big day.

I’m now proud to say I didn’t fail her. We (the boyfriend was a huge help in the entire endeavor) did it! A three tier wedding cake was successfully baked, decorated and transported an hour’s drive from my house.

Details about the cake: Each layer is a different flavor. The top was carrot cake with caramel buttercream frosting, the middle was red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and the bottom was amaretto cake with amaretto buttercream frosting and a layer of strawberry jam. The bride and groom chose the carrot and red velvet layers and I chose the amaretto. All 3 layers were covered in a thin layer of vanilla buttercream and all of the layers were covered in Wilton fondant. Contrary to what you think you know about fondant, Wilton fondant is actually edible. I’ll even go so far as to say that it’s kind of tasty.

The ribbons around the cake were picked out by the bride. The flowers were a last minute decision that really worked. My mom grew all of the flowers used for the wedding and did all of the arrangements herself. The night before the wedding I asked her for a handful of flowers “just in case” I needed them for the cake. My other sister, Tasha, lent some moral support while were assembling the cake and arranged the flowers for me.

That’s all I’ve got for now. I might write a longer post later with more cake making details.

And just in case you’re interested in seeing something other than the cake (the bride perhaps?), here’s a slideshow of the handful of photos of the wedding I’ve shared on Flickr thus far. There will be more…many, many more. Probably a zillion more to be exact.

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One of my friends wanted to come over to our house for a visit. But she had ulterior motives and she was up front about them. She wanted cupcakes. Who am I not to indulge a request for cupcakes? Especially if the person requesting the cupcakes is more than willing to help make them and to chip in for ingredients? Especially if the friend’s kitchen isn’t very well-equipped for baking and mine might very well be over-equipped? I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to say no when a friend asks to come to my house to bake (or cook). I’m a regular good samaritan, eh? I’d like to think I’m doing my part for the desserts of the world.

After flipping through Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World for the zillionth time, we decided to make S’mores cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes with peanut buttercream frosting.

I’ve made the peanut buttercream frosted cupcakes at least a few times in the past and they’re always well-received. In all honesty, I could eat this frosting all by itself. With a spoon. By the vat. Not that I know exactly what the quantity of a “vat” is. The point is that this stuff is good. Really good. So good that I’m glad I have a wee little bit of self-control. Without it I’d be passed out on the kitchen floor with a spoon and an empty vat.

For these cupcakes, bake your favorite your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. You can add a little creamy peanut butter to the batter if you’d like to bump up the peanut butter flavor. I usually add about 2 tablespoons to my batter.

Peanut Buttercream Frosting

Recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Makes enough frosting to generously frost 12 regular size cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 1/2 teaspooons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 1 to 2 tablespoons soy milk

Directions

1. With electric handheld mixer, cream together margarine and shortening at medium speed till smooth.
2. Add peanut butter, molasses, and vanilla; beat until very smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Beat in sugar; mixture will be very stiff.
4. Dribble in soy milk a little at a time, beating continuously till frosting is pale tan and very fluffy.
5. If frosting is too thick or too thin, adjust the consistency by adding small amounts of soy milk or confectioner’s sugar if necessary.

For the record, I’ve never had to do step 5. This recipe has been perfect (and possibly divine) every single time I’ve made it.

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