July Anniversary Cake 2

Our friends, Ben and Liz, celebrated their 1 year anniversary yesterday and before I left Vermont, I made sure to make them a vanilla-frosted lemon anniversary cake to enjoy on their special day.

I decorated it the same way that I decorated their wedding cake last year, however, instead of feeding 150 people, it was baked for just the two of them. 

It was missing the fresh fruit that decorated last year's cake, but frozen fruit is never as good as fresh fruit, so it was a sacrifice I decided to make when decorating the cake.

They certainly are a terrific duo and I wish them many more years of happiness together!

Lemon Raspberry Rolls

Thursday night I posted a question to my Facebook friends, "Two weeks without baking has me going crazy. What should I bake up tomorrow?"

Cookies were the most popular suggestion, but a treat using beer and bacon (for Tom) won everyone over. However, I didn't go with either. Why Not? It wasn't because we don't have beer or bacon, but rather because we had a container of fresh raspberries in the fridge that were screaming to be transformed into something amazing.

And then Joy the Baker came along.

As did her Lemon Raspberry Breakfast Rolls.

They're cinnamon rolls minus the cinnamon. Replaced with brown butter. 

The real question here is, why isn't brown butter an air freshener yet? Because dang, that is quite possibly one of the best scents out there!

I almost threw out the dough because I had forgotten to add the sugar in with the yeast and milk. I didn't realize it until I was half way through kneading it. I wasn't sure if that would make a big deal but I added the sugar and continued on.

It turns out that that was just a minor blip that did not impact the final product. And everything worked out just fine.

Actually, it worked out too well. Because these things are just too good. I struggled (and failed) to stay away from them as I cooked dinner. We brought one to a friend last night and I think she would agree: These are pretty amazing.

Speaking of last night, we watched "All the President's Men" outside at a park in Rosslyn. Everything was going well until we were near the end of the movie. We started to hear some funny noises around the park and then....

The sprinklers turned on!

Someone in the city forgot that the park would be occupied by a few hundred people, relaxing on their blankets and enjoying a movie. We skedaddled our butts right out of there and headed on home.

Happy Saturday Everyone! Will anyone be doing any baking? If not, I hope you still get yourself a delicious treat and enjoy the weekend!

One Year Anniversary Cake

Last July I made two wedding cakes for two pairs of dear friends. I'm not sure about you, but I think it would kill me to keep the top of a cake in the freezer for and entire year! For one, I have no self control and I fear that it would be demolished by month three, and second, who wants to eat a cake that has been frozen so long?

When both couples asked me to make their cakes I told them that I would make an anniversary cake for them this year, free of charge, and fresh for their anniversary. However, I did not anticipate moving to DC.

Instead of leaving them cakeless, I decided to bake and deliver their anniversary cakes early.

Last week I delivered Kat and Anthony their lemon anniversary cake. They celebrated their one year anniversary this week!

Congratulations!

A HOBY Wedding

I'm at that age where everyone is getting married, and there's nothing better than seeing two best friends make a promise to spend their lives together.

This weekend Tom and I headed up to the Sleepy Hollow Inn in Huntington, VT for our friends' wedding. They've been together for 9 years and originally met at Vermont HOBY, a youth leadership conference for sophomores. It was clear how much this couple loved each other at the wedding, and there was no doubt that these two are perfect for each other.

They couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day (except maybe that it be 75 degrees instead of 85!). Tom was asked to read "A Lovely Love Story" during the ceremony, and I was asked to make the cake for them. I was so honored to be able to do so!

The cake was a three tier lemon cake with vanilla buttercream, and topped with Vermont-picked blueberries and raspberries. You really can't get any more delicious than that. I also made a vanilla sheet cake, frosted and decorated the same, that became a delicious midnight snack before we headed up to the bonfire. 

Congratulations Ben and Liz! Wishing you a lifetime of many happy memories!

Wedding on the Lake

This Fourth of July was extra special as Tom and I got to be part of our high school friend's wedding, Kat (who has her own blog here). Tom officiated the marriage and I was Maid of Honor. I mentioned that the wedding was coming up in this post, but didn't mention that I was making her wedding cake and a surprise groom's cake for her now hubby.

The wedding was held in Alburgh, up near the Canadian-Vermont boarder and on the shore of Lake Champlain.

The sun started shining before the wedding, and the rain held off until after dark. It was a lovely wedding, and the bride looked gorgeous!

The wedding cake was a lemon-almond cake with a strawberry buttercream filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. It was topped with fresh Vermont strawberries (some dipped in chocolate) and edible flowers.

The groom's cake was a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling, topped with chocolate and vanilla buttercream. The groom was an amazing soccer player in high school and still loves the sport. He was quite surprised when he opened the box to find the cake.

It was a great time and I was so happy to see the couple together. Congrats to them both! Kat and Anthony - I wish you many years of happiness!

Lemon Bridal Shower Cake

Today I helped host a bridal shower for a dear friend of mine, Kat (you can check out her blog here). I've known her since 5th grade and we even visited each other in Spain when we were studying abroad our junior years. This summer she's marrying her high school sweetheart - which is just about the cutest thing ever.

The party was a lot of fun! Who doesn't enjoy making toilet paper wedding dresses, finding out what crazy things other women carry in their purses, and watching the bride shove piece after piece of Bubblelicous into her mouth as she tries to answer questions about her soon-to-be husband (I wish I had brought my camera for this!)

Do you know how difficult it is for women to not cross their legs when they sit or stand? We each had a clothespin and if someone caught you crossing your legs they got to take it from you. The key was to be the one with all the clothespins. I made it maybe half an hour before I fell victim to the habit.

I made the cake for the shower and decided to try a new lemon cake recipe. According to her mom, Kat likes light cakes with berries. Well, the recipe sounded perfect! I have to admit that I was worried about the cake throughout the whole party. This morning it was waaaay too lemony, but by this afternoon the flavor had lessened.  I frosted it with a lemon buttercream and topped it with blueberries and strawberries.