My baby brother got married! I actually already talked about that in this post here, but that was the actual wedding in Idaho. Their reception was out here in Washington since this is where they are both from. I made the cake and about 17 dozen cookies for their reception. That, along with a couple other orders, is why I was so busy last week!
According to Tommy (my brother). neither him or Carly are big cake fans. Because of this they didn't want regular cake, so they decided on pound cake with Coconut buttercream frosting. That, my friends, is a whole lot of pound cake! It was so good - but rich!
For transportation reasons, I had to keep the tiers separate and
assemble/finish the cake when I got there...
And of course I got there late, so I was rushing to get things done! As my sister says... that's what happens when you try on 4 different dresses and can't decide what to wear! It's true. In the end I just went with something that matched my boots because I just had to wear them... I wish I'd gotten pictures of those!
I had a helper though, so that sped things up was completely adorable but a major time waster! It's hard to get things done with a two year old trying to swipe a taste of frosting.
He is too cute to be upset with though!
Thankfully Grandpa swooped in and saved theday cake.
Thankfully Grandpa swooped in and saved the
People were starting to arrive as I was finishing, but I think I did alright!
Tommy said they wanted a "homey" looking cake... I'm not sure exactly what that means... or if I should be offended that they came to me to produce something "homey"... but he's my brother so I suppose I'll give him the benefit of the doubt!
Aren't they cute? Here they are exchanging their rings.
Carly just looks so pretty here!
Cutting the cake... you can see from these pictures that as wedding cakes go, this one is on the smaller side. They didn't want anything too big so the largest tier, on the bottom, is just 12 inches.
They donned aprons while serving the cake - naturally my brother wore the girly one!
So how about a recipe? The coconut buttercream frosting is just wonderful! Again, it's very rich - especially when paired with the pound cake - but so amazing!
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Coconut Buttercream
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
3 tablespoons water
6 cups powdered sugar (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1. In a large bowl, cream shortening and butter.
2. Add coconut and water .
3. Gradually add sugar, a little at at a time, until all of the sugar is
incorporated. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often.
Continue to beat until icing is light and fluffy.
* Refrigerated in an airtight container, icing can be stored up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
* This recipe makes enough to fill and ice a standard two 8" or 9" round layers, or three 6" round layers.
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
3 tablespoons water
6 cups powdered sugar (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1. In a large bowl, cream shortening and butter.
2. Add coconut and water .
3. Gradually add sugar, a little at at a time, until all of the sugar is
incorporated. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often.
Continue to beat until icing is light and fluffy.
* Refrigerated in an airtight container, icing can be stored up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
* This recipe makes enough to fill and ice a standard two 8" or 9" round layers, or three 6" round layers.
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I've got wedding cookies to show you guys too, those will hopefully be up tomorrow! In the meantime I'll leave you with this beautiful picture my mom took of the reception hall... I'll have to find more pictures of the reception itself, it was so pretty!
Looks so beautiful and tasty, my mouth is watering!
ReplyDeleteIt really was a fabulous cake (and very tasty!)...and the boots really worth 4 outfit changes:) I wouldn't say the look they were going for was "homey" though, they had a big antique/vintage theme going on. I think that the cake fit that perfectly because it didn't look mass produced or mainstream. It looked very elegant and beautiful in its simplicity. Everybody I talked to asked me about the cake and cookies - everybody was so impressed and I got to brag about you all night - plus a brother getting married and a new fabulous Sister-in-Law - it was a good night!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted these. The cake was actually rather elegant, judging by the photos! I soooo wanted to be there, but ended up feeling punk that night and didn't want to share that with the newly weds.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I'm here via Kathy's blog. Do you have a site for your bakery to order cookies?
ReplyDeleteMmm! I finished off the leftovers we had of this beautiful cake today. So good!
ReplyDeleteMelanie, I can't believe we didn't get a chance to tell you, the cake was perfect! Honestly, I couldn't have imagined anything better. I could not believe how beautiful the cookies were too! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
ReplyDeleteAnd if anyone is curious, Mel's pound cake + coconut frosting is to die for. Eat as much as you can cause it'll go fast.