Marsha
May 13th, 2009

Of course I have to show you the cake

p5027764cake.jpgI’ve mentioned before that my husband is a cake-baker extraordinaire. Sylvia always gets amazing birthday cakes, and this year was no exception. She requested “a fairy cake,” and Jan delivered. The outside was covered in green buttercream with piped-icing lilies of the valley (which were just starting to bloom in our yard during her party) on the sides and various fairy-garden-inspired ornaments on top.

Jan prides himself on making sure that everything on his cakes is edible (with the exception of wooden support posts inside tiered cakes), which is why he uses fondant (blech) only if the cake recipient/client really wants it. He thought about making the top decorations out of marzipan, but didn’t have the time or materials on hand. So he used gum paste, which is technically edible but tastes pretty awful. We explained this to Sylvia, but this was clearly a case of “in one ear and out the other”: as soon as a hedgehog-bedecked slice of cake was placed before her, she popped the little gum-paste critter right into her mouth.

p5027778hegehogbite.jpgHere she is, right before her face melted into an “oh, I don’t want to eat this and I wish I hadn’t put it in my mouth” expression. I told her she didn’t have to, so she very unceremoniously spit out a very chewed-up gum-paste hedgehog onto her plate, then happily dove right into the rainbow-colored cake!

12 Responses to “Of course I have to show you the cake”

  1. # MACon 13 May 2009 at 5:51 am

    Beautiful girl & beautiful cake!

  2. # Chrison 13 May 2009 at 8:55 am

    The cake is amazing!! And the hedgehog was adorable.

  3. # Shannahon 13 May 2009 at 12:13 pm

    And the inside of the cake is rainbow, too? Fabulous!

  4. # Imperatrixon 13 May 2009 at 4:20 pm

    That is a *lovely* cake! And what a cute gum paste face your daughter makes. :-)

  5. # Deboragon 13 May 2009 at 4:28 pm

    What a great cake! Not only is it pretty on the outside, but also on the inside. Sylvia looks like she enjoyed it too!

  6. # JessaLuon 13 May 2009 at 7:42 pm

    What a lovely fairy cake!!

  7. # Marshaon 13 May 2009 at 10:19 pm

    Thanks, everyone! The cake (well, not the gum-paste parts of it) was indeed delicious. That’s what happens when you use a TON of butter when baking! (One big reason why we aren’t vegan. Heh.)

  8. # JDon 14 May 2009 at 6:10 pm

    Awesome cake, both inside and out! Could tell it was made with a lot of love. Happy birthday, Sylvia!

  9. # Bethon 17 May 2009 at 9:53 pm

    Ahh, the cake looks fabulous and was!

  10. # Paulaon 20 May 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Oh my, almost too pretty to eat

  11. # Marshaon 21 May 2009 at 7:45 am

    @Paula: Almost too pretty to eat—but not quite! We ate it all up!

  12. # knittymamaon 25 May 2009 at 9:37 am

    Happy belated birthday!! What a gorgeous cake!