April Shower

Unexpectedly, I received a phone call from the mother of my niece's best friend.  Her daughter, who is planning a wedding for May 14th, was to be the guest of honor at a Bridal Shower on April 4th and they wanted to surprise her with a cake.

The mother's request was for a white wedding-like tier decorated with pink roses and white calla lilies.  Roses I could make, but having never attempted calla lilies, I was a little intimidated by that task. 

The almond-flavored cake layers baked up quite nicely and were crumb iced and chilled in no time at all.  A stiff frosting for the pink tinted roses was prepared.  Using my flower nail, I piped out a small army whose rows stood at attention on a white tray that were left to dry overnight.

Onward to the calla lilies.  Not fond of fondant on my cakes (its flavor and texture is none too appealing), sometimes there are exceptions.  These flowers would require using it to appear realistic.  So I began, rolling white buttercream fondant, which has a slightly better flavor than most, as thinly as possible, then cutting small heart-shaped pieces.  Each heart was then rolled onto a metal form normally used in preparing cream horns.  The rounded edges of the heart form the bottom of the lily, the point and straight edge were curled away from the mold with the aid of a small skewer.  Twelve were created, but only the top six will be used on the finished piece. 

A small amount of fondant was tinted yellow to create the stamens that would later be placed in the center of each flower.  A dark green tint was added to fondant to begin shaping the long, thin stems for each flower.  One end of each stem was left as larger bell-shape, hollowed out by the point of a bamboo skewer to allow the lily to be slipped into it.  More heart-shapes were cut from the remaining green fondant to form leaves, each hand-veined with a knife, before being placed on a long stem of its own.  After adhering each leaf to its main stem, they, too, were left to dry overnight.

Early the morning of the shower, the cake was re-iced with almond buttercream and given a smooth finish.  Using a small, round icing tip, the whole cake was then covered with a thin layer of squiggles to resemble lace.  Switching to a large star tip, the bottom border went on followed by a smaller top edge border using a small star tip. 

Thankfully, the calla lilies slid from their metal shapes without incident.  A small dot of buttercream was squeezed deep into the flower and the yellow stamen was put into place.  Another dab of buttercream was placed into the cone of each stem and the flower was slid into it.

Now to arrange the flowers on the cake.  Taking a deep breath, I began to place each flower carefully, knowing that out of the many handicrafts I attempt, floral arrangements have never been my forte.  Gently placing each lily in groups of two, I leave room for the roses with their stems and leaves.  Once the roses are in place, I tint and roll out a thin strip of pink fondant dusted with powdered sugar to resemble a velvet ribbon.  Two long ribbons are draped over the flower stems and then arranged to hang down the side of the cake.  A shaped bow with a center tie was placed over the ribbon.

As finishing touches, a fine, edible, silver dust was brushed onto the centers of the lilies, as well as on the outside of each flower and the edges of each rose petal and leaves.  Then a sprinkle of clear sugar crystals to resemble dew drops and a touch of sparkle and my April Shower cake is complete.  I hope the bride-to-be enjoys it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Happily seeing the cake when she came to pick it up, the bride's mother asked me to create the three-tiered wedding cake as well.  Stay tuned for more pictures of that creation to arrive in May...!