Monday, February 14, 2011

The Cake of My Dreams

Sometimes I get this picture in my head of a cake to make, and I can't get it out of my head. Its really annoying. Just ask Big D. Anyways, my husband's alma mater makes this annual weekend retreat for all its alumni. So when we got the invitation, somehow this idea popped into my head that I should make a cake. Yes, a cake! Not just a cake, but a four tier cake! Who puts these ideas in my head?! Anyways, this idea just wouldn't leave, and it wasn't just sitting there- it was getting bigger, and clearer, with lots of details. Gold ribbons! Colors to match their website! Cut out of the school logo! Did I mention four tiers?! Once I started dreaming about this cake, I realized things were getting serious. Meanwhile, Big D is muttering in the background "Why can't you just make brownies??" Anyways, the only way to get rid of these pesky ideas is to follow through with them. And thats just what I did....




I tried to base the design of the cake on their website:



The pictures of the cake don't show the color well due to poor lighting. The actual color is more of a reddish burgundy, than a brown. I never realized that burgundy is such a difficult color to make. My mother pointed out to me afterwards that the website is maroon not burgundy, and that might have been part of the problem. I found my journey to burgundy quite humorous:
I started off with Wilton Burgundy food coloring. There must have been a label misprint, because that turned the fondant bubble gum pink. So I added lots of cocoa (I didn't have any brown food coloring, otherwise I would have used that.) Still too pink, so I added red. Getting close, but not quite. So I added black, which helped bring it to the right shade, but still too pinky, so I added some blue. I got a beautiful shade of burgundy, but I knew it just didn't match the website (it would have been clearer had I had the sense to realize the website is maroon, not burgundy- grrrrr!) So my brain did this little equation- if red+green=brown, then if something is too pinky, add green to make it more brown. And voila, it worked! 
I know its not the exact same shade, but its close enough.
 And you just got a scary sneak peak at what goes through my head while I bake.
But seriously, next time I would listen to my gut feeling, and start off with brown, and add a little red. I was planning on doing that in the first place, but got distracted by the Wilton food coloring....



Now, some points to deter myself next time a crazy idea pops into my head:

*There are 8 recipes of chocolate cake here. Like 16 cups of sugar, 16 eggs, 6 cups of cocoa etc.
*The supplies alone costed over $50. Obviously this cake was a present to the school, but I still found that mind-boggling.
* I wanted to weigh the cake and then post that the cake weighed a million pounds and then everyone would gasp and be in shock. The cake was so heavy that me and my husband had to carry it together- and Big D is super strong. So when I got on the scale together with the cake, it weighed so much that the scale just read "error." 
It was heavy, trust me on this.
* The cake took over 12 hours to bake, decorate and assemble.

Hmm...take that, you crazy idea!



21 comments:

  1. I have one word, 3 little letters
    O
    M
    G
    !!!!!

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  2. Holy Cow.

    Who are you and how do you do that ???

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  3. Fiddy- do what? Sound like a crazy lady?

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  4. WHEN are you coming for Shabbos with DB?? hehehehehe
    awesome cake!

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  5. I am torn between being afraid of you and in awe of you. A bit of both, I guess.

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  6. I'm not sure which I like more, the cake or the description. And I went throught the process with you!!
    It's great! You're great!! and so are all the big and little monkeys.

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  7. What's the difference between burgundy and maroon?

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  8. I think that maroon is a reddish brown and burgundy is more of purplish red.

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  9. Awesome job! I know exactly what you are talking about with those pesky ideas. It happens to me all the time.

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  10. Beautiful. I'm in awe not only of your talent but also your patience. 12 hours on a cake. My hat is off to you.

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  11. Thanks Rochel- It wasn't 12 hours straight though, it was spread out from Sunday-Thursday.

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  12. When I heard about this cake I was amazed, but wow, this is not just amazing.... THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!! Ya-hats off to you, but also hats off to Fiddy, and ALL the monkeys! just have one question, did anyone try eating it,!?!?! i really hope no one touched your 12 hour piece of work! Make sure to save me a piece, i'll take a slice from the middle :)

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  13. what is the logo made out of?? and how did you make that???? its beautiful!!!!!!!!!!

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  14. Thanks! The logo is made out of melted chocolate and gold sprinkles.

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  15. You did an excellent job on that cake! I bet not one person looked at that cake and said "Oh, I think that color is a shade off!". We are always our own worst critics.

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  16. Holy smokes! You got more nerve than me.

    Plan B

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  17. This cake is excellent! I love the cut out crown. I think its a great interpretation of the website. And just so you know -- whoever makes Wilton colors might be color blind. I had the same problem when I first got the burgundy color. They should have labeled it magenta. It is SOO not burgundy. (When I make maroon/burgundy I start with red and add brown and a touch of black. I only use burgundy if I accidentally add too much brown.)

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  18. Liloa- You are right! I should have remembered that you knew how to make burgundy! Oh well, next time. Thanks for the color combo though.

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  19. I helped cut and eat the cake(that's a very big honor)!! It was more awesome in real life - and best of all it tasted GOOD!!!!!!

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