Baking Cakes with Sunkissed Cheeks

Hey Guys!!!

Welcome back. It already mid-April and its back to the hustle and bustle after a busy Easter week. I took a short vacation during it, but I ate and slept pretty much the entire time. Oh, there's nothing better than a hammock and a beer with a blazing sun and the ocean breeze. But its back to reality.

Beach bum on sunny days

So in my last post, I related my weekend adventures in making a 3-tiered cake, covered and decorated in fondant.  This past weekend I also reached a milestone. I made my first wedding cake EVER!!! While not entirely true (I did make a small one last year. Check it out, I did outdo myself. The theme of the wedding was rustic in a way, having taken place lakeside on a sunny spring and summery day. I have lost track of the seasons in my beautiful country and when the sun is out, it feels like spring and summer. Green all around and very hot weather. The color scheme was mainly orange, so I prepared myself accordingly. The bride was looking for a naked cake, inspired by a previous cake I had made. The cake was vanilla flavoured, filled with great amounts of dulce de leche and barely covered in a white chocolate buttercream. I heard it was delicious, which settled down my nerves immensely.

A beautiful, rustic wedding cake. Perfect for spring.

After a calm baking week, which included mini cheesecakes, a Ferrero Rocher cake, a beautiful Rainbow cake and a mini cake, I prepared the layers needed for the wedding cake. It was a cake similar in size to the Book Lovers Cake made the previous weekend. Funnily though, I was not stressed, even though it was a WEDDING CAKE!!! Then again, the design was much simpler than the other cake, which required fondant cover and fondant decor. This cake, was simple and beautiful. Friday afternoon, I began the assembly. After freaking out for a good ten minutes because the wooden cake stand I ordered made had not been levelled properly. Too late to have it fixed and me wanting to start as soon as possible, I glued a popsicle stick to the base and the problem was quickly fixed. I then trimmed the layers to achieve a level surface, filled them up with creamy dulce de leche, and applied a crumb coat. With that done, I placed the straws that would maintain the cake in place and continued upward with the remaining tiers. Once they were al crumb coated and in their respective place, I began the detailed task of carefully spreading more frosting to the entire cake, making sure it achieved the rustic, naked look. Once finished, I popped it into the fridge until the following morning. 

I woke up pretty early, excited and nervous over how I would give it the finishing touches. I had procured the necessary flowers the day before and once I got the cake out of the fridge, I gave it a mental do over to visualize the design. Before I blanked out, I began trimming the flowers, fitting them in little plastic tubes and sticking them in the cake. I wasn't overly happy with the color scheme and the flowers chosen, but it was the bride's decision, so I swallowed down my opinions. But the job was done beautifully. The end result was a rustic spring themed naked wedding cake. Perfect for the lakeside, outdoors wedding of the day. Shortly after, the cake was picked up, settled and secured inside the car and my job was done. I hurried out the door. I had a baby shower to attend. 

Cookies in the making

In the evening, I basked in the comfort of my room, glad to have completed my task successfully. The following week continued steadily. I had several order to fill. 

Chewy chocolatey crinkle cookies...to die for

Among new goodies baked were a DELICIOUS batch of double chocolate crinkle cookies and mouth watering Apple Pie Bites. The latter I had made the week before, but they were so good, it was worth a repeat bake. 

Simple to make and packed with flavour!!!

Easter arrived in the following days, and while I had declined a previous invitation to the pristine white sand beaches of the Bay Islands in my beautiful country, I gladly accepted another invitation. Wednesday morning, we were heading to the north coast of Honduras, to the fantastic beaches of Cortes. In a small area called Tulian, we were welcomed with open arms to my friend's second family home. I had not stepped into sand in a LONG time and the smell of the ocean breeze melted the stress away. Pool days, lying in the sand, soaking up the sun. Seriously, no better way to live. We did cut the trip short though. Saturday in the early afternoon, we were heading back home. Good thing we did. The traffic was getting heavier as we approached the city and while we left with good time, we arrived much later than expected. Thank God for Sunday. I slept for the better part of the day. I had no I idea I was that tired. 

Waterfall at Rawacala Ecopark...among the hidden treasures this fantastic country holds. Freezing water you can dive into, there are hiking trails and Zip-lining for those more adventurous souls.

We paid Lps.100, which is a little less than 5 American Dollars. If you're ever near El Paraíso, Cortés, be sure to stop by.

Monday came and while most people groaned, I woke up much refreshed. Sadly, I seem to be coming down with a cold...Again. Weather changes don't do a single thing for me, but I do have a tan, I am very happy with it. 

Sunkissed cheeks

I decided back in March I would be very selective with my cake orders, barely taking any, as I want to genuinely focus on this baby. My blog has seem to fallen in the shadows ever since I began at the cafe in 2013. Even though I left it in February, it has been very hard to get back to writing regularly. Not to mention, I am currently seeking out someone to design a website. So, please accept my apologies for the absence of weekly posts. Anyhow, last week was very busy. 9 girls, myself included, planned and delivered a beautiful spring themed baby shower for a dear friend on Thursday. It was a bit stressful, but we managed a great job. It was 10:30 at night when I climbed my bed and was gone. 

Excited aunts waiting for our niece

I had been having later nights and I was beat. But my alarm rang much sooner than I wanted. I had three cakes to make for Friday afternoon/evening and I had to start ASAP. By 11:30, all the layers were baked and I took a small break. After lunch, I continued slowly and steady. When you're tired, its best to take it slow. Hurrying up only guarantees errors and mistakes. By 3:15 p.m, the first cake was delivered. One of the cakes was for Saturday morning, so truly, I only had 1 more to go: a gorgeous Chocolate Madness "Wedding" Birthday Cake. What does this entail?

Decadence in layers

Essentially, it is a chocolate cake. It was filled with creamy, dulce de leche (my favourite filling) and chocolate crumbs (more on this later) and covered in what is the most amazing creamy, glossy frosting ever. It tasted like bittersweet chocolate ganache but it was nothing of the sort. For decorative purposes only, I used ripe strawberries, blackberries and beautiful red carnations. It reminded me of Spain for some reason and it looked like a small wedding cake. While I knew the combination would be good, I did not expect it to be wow. I tend to take risks with my cakes, delivering them on the first try and thank God, I have yet to disappoint. The chocolate crumbs, a mixture of butter, flour, cocoa and sugar which is later baked, added a bitterness that meshed beautifully with the sweetness of the filling, enhancing the flavour, not making it sickly sweet. I was a guest at the dinner party of 40 people and I got terrific reviews on it. I thought my body would give up soon, but I left happily around 1:15 a.m. That said, my feet hurt like hell. Having been on them all day long and switching to high heels in a blink took a toll on them and what I got was almost blistering feet, pale white from swelling and short blood circulation. Nice...

Isn't it gorgeous?!

Saturday was a quiet day. I finished the small cake due in the morning and spent the afternoon catching up on my shows and baking a batch of Red Velvet Brownies. The evening involved a funny Wine "Night" and many gin and tonics. After a restful sleep, I was ready by noon, heading out for the day. It was relaxing, filled with laughter, good food, wine and beer. I got home a little after 8. My pjs hugged me and I dozed off with my shows. Monday marked the return of gym time, which left me sore in that way you know you worked out. A small cake out the way later and I dozed off again. And here we are. Its just past lunch time and I'm only hoping the coffee kicks in. With sleepy eyes, I wish you all a fantastic week and I hope to see you here again next week.

Until next time!!!
xx