Red Poppy Wedding Cake

My darling cousin (who is more like a sister to me) was married yesterday. She honored me by asking me to make her wedding cake. Of course I said yes, and have been busy at work for the past two weeks making flowers, frosting, etc. My mom baked the cake and I assembled and decorated it.

First, I made LOTS of gumpaste flowers.  There are three sizes of red poppies, white daisies and smaller five-petaled white flowers, plus three sizes of leaves. 

The bride does not like fondant, so I was charged with the task of creating a smooth buttercream surface. I made lots of icing - about 20 batches! The cake was three square tiers, plus two square satellite cakes. Luckily my Mom's fridge was empty so I stored them in there overnight.

All the finishing work was done on site. I really would prefer NOT having an audience when finishing a cake, it is kind of stressful, but I had lots of onlookers. They were very interested and didn't interfere, so it is all good. (I may have some pictures coming of my finishing the cake.)

And here is the final product. I think it turned out pretty good for my first wedding cake.

Lessons learned: Make sure your baker knows to level the cakes before freezing them. Make sure the cake base is transported in the same vehicle as the cake so you don't have a heart attack when you can't find it. And, don't pull the ribbon too tight on a buttercream base.