Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh. A big sigh and a bitter sweet end to a fun project. To those of you who didn't get an excited email or frantic phone call for help about this project we wanted to tell you all about it!
Sweet Designs Cakery was asked to make the sweets for the 2008 Mt. Carmel Foundation Gala. The theme was An Evening At Tiffany's. And what an evening it was! Wait...I'm jumping ahead of myself.
Since we found out for sure that we would be doing the desserts the week before Valentine's day (giving us 2 weeks until the big event) we really only had one week to prep/bake/decorate/and everything else. So, after V-day was over we got to work! Don't get us wrong, we have done several weddings to serve at least 340 people and more before, BUT this time, we had to make 2x2 inch mini cakes to look like the signature Tiffany & Co. Boxes. We consider them to be Petite Fours...though traditionally petite fours are smaller and normally covered with poured fondant and filled with an apricot jam or glaze. Talk about a lot of work!
Okay, time for a picture....I'm sure you are already tired of reading!
This is a picture after the sheet cake had been baked, torted, and filled with buttercream frosting. All of the cakes were Vanilla with buttercream. We had to do 10 of these to get the right amount of small cakes. Each sheet cake was cut by hand into 2x2 inch pieces.
I know...your thinking...why couldn't I help with this project? Right? Well, if you are brave feel free to help on the next one! You will definitely learn a lot! Just ask Justin O'Toole. He was our master fondant colorer (is that even a word...probably not). We recruited him for his muscles and he did a wonderful job coloring 18 lbs. of fondant for us! Ladies...what kind of a guy would do this for a friend??? You guessed it...only my friends! Thank you Justin! You were a tremendous help. We love you.
Okay, time for another pic.
This photo is of the cakes completely covered in buttercream. My wonderful friend Holly Kranker helped with this part (among everything else). But, she was the master at this. She frosted circles around me!
From that point fondant was rolled out and used to cover all of 345 mini cakes. (did you notice 345, not 340? Out of all those cakes we only had 5 turn out crappy so they went in the "pooh-pile".)
Here is what they look like after covered in fondant:
We are getting closer!!! I promise. I know this is a long blog...but it was a long week! Set back, relax, and KEEP READING!
After the cakes were covered in fondant they were boxed up and taken to my mom's house. The week before when we were making Valentine sweets she was making the bows to go on top of the cakes. They had to be made ahead of time so that they would be dry enough to put on the cakes. Way to go mom! They all looked GREAT!
Once Holly and I had covered all the small cakes we transported them to my mom's house for the placing of the bows! My husband Roger helped with this big task. He had a couple obstacles but made it safe and sound to mom's house. My sister Keisha and my mom put some of them on, I helped a little and mom did the rest herself.
Here is a picture of the bows being placed on the cakes. One by one, by one, by one. Each ribbon was cut and sized to fit the cakes and then the bow was placed on top.
This is what they all looked like after they were put together. After such a long process it was worth it! Just look at these cute little gifts. Here they are plated at the Gala.
Each plate was placed on these tables:
And each table setting had a program like this:
The program descibed the dessert as:
Delicate Diamond Dessert
Charming Tiffany box petite four with black pearl cake bites.
Created by Heather Horton of Sweet Designs Cakery
I wish I could have put all my thank yous in there listed under the dessert but I'm afraid they just didn't have the room!
So, I want to say: THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who helped with this big project. A special thank you to Holly Kranker. Holly was in the trenches with me the entire time and I wouldn't have had it any other way. This project might not seem significant to some, but it was. The process it took to make this Diamond Dessert was a precise one. Not having my own shop to work out of was an obstacle but with all the help the process was smooth. I have to also thank my dad Randy for letting me use his kitchen. The space was great to have! We couldn't have done it without you too!
Okay, I think I'm done accepting my Emmy (that's what it seems like). If I missed anyone...I'm sorry.
I am very lucky to have the friends and family that I have. All that I am able to do in life is because of them. I love you guys. Sounds mushy...but what is the point of having a blog if you can't tell everyone how thankful you are of them!
Thank you to the Mt. Carmel Foundation for the opportunity and for having faith in me.
If you are still reading...thanks for hanging in there!
