blancophilia

Probably the largest cake I've ever made, this one was created to celebrate a new chapter in Mr.S's life, his quickly approaching move to San Francisco, and a sad departure from a lifetime in Baltimore. (Pardon me, it's really not as depressing as I make it out to be.) There was much excitement as friends and family all gathered on a rainy Sunday at Red Star to wish him bon voyage and happy adventures in Cali. For the fete, a white cake with a bed of white roses was the centerpiece, to represent new beginnings and a clean start.


Rich, white cake with raspberry filling and a white chocolate-sake buttercream.



I had great fun making the cake, in retrospect, but at the time, with an apartment that soared to almost 90 degrees, chocolate work was no easy feat. And to add to that, buttercream has difficulty coming together at that temperature. The final creation was not exactly what I had in mind, but was still beautiful. Originally, instead of the white chocolate curls on the sides, I had envisioned sheets of white chocolate, alternating in height, surrounding the perimeter. It was an image that I'd seen a while back in an issue of Donna Hay, and was recreated by Nordljus here.


I'm not going to post the recipe, simply because it's a cake that serves 35-40 people, and the measurements are for the most part, somewhat impractical. However, if you should ever find yourself in a position to make a 20-lb+ cake, and would like the recipe, please email me, and I'd be more than thrilled to part with it, and also to impart some words of wisdom in taking on an endeavor of such tremendous caliber.

The effort was well worth it as Mr.S was smiling the whole time, surrounded by his loved ones. He will be missed!

FYI: Red Star does wonderful private parties. The upstairs room is the perfect setting for any personal event you may like to host.