Our DS#1 was getting married on Friday and I still had to finish his wedding cake.
They wanted chocolate so making it well in advance was not an option.
The bottom tier, which was to be cut at the reception, still had to get it's 2nd coat of fondant. I didn't have any option but to ice it very early before the temperature rose any further.The flowers were finished and the first posy placed carefully on the top tier which was sitting securely on the 2nd tier, these layers were dummy cakes so I knew I could finish them beforehand.
I placed the cake carefully on the footed stand and decided I could assemble it at the reception venue.
Packing it into a box and then into the car we then set off for a 48 km trip. There are several roundabouts on the way and after going around a particularly tight one, I started hearing some odd noises from the back of the car .
I decided to pull over and check.
OH NO!The cake stand had tilted with every right turn and righted itself when I straightened up only to do it again and again for every roundabout we drove through.
The scene that greeted me was heartbreaking.
The icing that was way too soft because of the heat, was mashed into the cake where it hit against the top tier of the cake.
Flowers were broken - some beyond recognition, and the feature flower had 3 main petals broken. The pieces embedded in the bottom cake or scattered around the carton.
(At this point in time I was a wee bit overwrought!)
I had a little bit of my kit with me but not nearly enough to rectify this kind of damage, fortunately, we had pulled into a Bunnings car park and we were able to buy some super glue, artist brushes and a packet of coloured chalk. Now to get to somewhere cool so I could work - and the only place close by was the Bride's home.
Should I say at this point she had NOT SEEN her cake?
We pulled into the drive - the outside temperature was stifling -
A cool drink, Empty table, a pair of Tweezers, Cornflour and some space was all I needed.
This is where the Prayer comes in - but then I think the Good Lord already knew I needed His help.
If you can't fix it...
Embellish it!
or hide it - whatever works!
I was able to 'plaster' over the dent, glue one petal back together and hide the rest of the damaged flowers by taking a bit of Gypsophila from the second tier posy and placing it over the broken petal.
I had decided to wrap the cake in "Rustic Twine" - yes STRING of all things (to fit in with their country theme) and that saved the day to mask any other dents in the icing.
So here we have it -
In place in front of the Bridal table
with strategically placed posies and all wrapped in string.
And what did the Bride and Groom think when it was all finished?
I think they were pretty happy!
... and no one else knew anything had happened at all!
Well done on the repairs - the cake looks beautiful (and the piece I tasted was very yummy too, thank you!) and no-one looking at it would guess that a last-minute patch-up had been required.
ReplyDeleteOh good heavens that must have been a stressful week, knowing that so much had to be left until the day of! Well done on your embellishments - we would never know if you hadn't taken photo evidence of the car trip's mangling!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are going to take some time off from doing cakes and projects and other things so that you can have a week or two with your feet in slippers resting on an ottoman somewhere. :)
Ouch! Looking at the cake, no one else would have known about the fixes required - you did a fabulous job! Just a shame that it caused you that stress, though!
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