Mother's 90th Birthday
Mother’s Day Extravaganza
Bakers and Cake Decorators are lucky in that we can express our feelings through our talents and actually give our art to those we love, admire, or thank. This was the case for Mother’s Day 2011 as my family celebrated my mom’s actual ninetieth birthday on Sunday, May 8th!
Of course I wanted to create something extremely special and wished to tie the design of the cake to a theme related to the table decorations for the event since I was in charge the seven tables as well. After spotting some pink hydrangeas at a local market, I was inspired to create them in gumpaste and adorn the cake with those lush balls of blossoms and accompanying leaves. Each flower cluster includes at least twenty-four blossoms and five leaves. I envisioned at least five clusters so I had my work cut out for me.
Each of the approximately one-hundred-twenty five blossoms and twenty-five leaves were made by hand using a cutter and press designed for the hydrangea. Surrounded by hydrangea plants that I purchased for inspiration and literature about the flowers from sources from my extensive library I began creating the blossoms in pale pink gumpaste that I make myself. I use layers of color dusts to replicate Nature’s genius.
Mom expressed a preference for chocolate cake as she felt that most people would enjoy that as well. The baker in me decided to pair white and dark chocolate for the cake and filling in the form of Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cake and White Chocolate Cream Cake with Chocolate Chip Italian Meringue Buttercream Filling laced with Raspberry Puree. This combination would also repeat the colors of the hydrangea blossoms and the pink floor-length table cloths.
Mom loves marzipan so I first covered the three cake tiers in my handmade version before using fondant for the final coat. I used the party invitation as inspiration for the airbrushed and hand painted flourishes on each tier and paired gumpaste and fondant for the ribbons wrapped around each cake.
This cake was a labor of love for me. Mom so appreciated the cake as she expressed her delight many times during the party and after in our discussions. Bakers and Cake Decorators are lucky people, indeed!
Chef Susan
