Recently I was on the planning committee for a 69th anniversary reception for a dear couple. Although I volunteered to do the slideshow and photography, when they started talking about ordering a sheetcake, I said I’d take care of the anniversary cakes too. It was to be an elegant affair, so a sheetcake just wouldn’t do.
After pricing nicely decorated bakery cakes, I decided I’d bite the bullet and do the cake myself. And of course, being the over-doer that I am – I did 3 cakes, 6 dozen cupcakes and over 100 chocolate dipped strawberries for a whole elegant dessert table.
I did my usual large stacked roses cake iced in all white – 12 inch chocolate and 10 inch vanilla tiers, topped with a rhinestone initial, displayed on my antique silver mirrored cake plate. This time, I did the top layer in a messy stripe. I stacked the cake onsite, which was a little easier since it would have been really heavy and precarious to transport already stacked.
The small pink cake was three 6 inch layers. I called it Neapolitan because it had white, pink (strawberry) and chocolate layers. I wish I had had time to snap a photo of it cut – it was pretty cute.
Naked Cake
I’ve been wanting to try a naked cake, which are so popular now. I did red velvet (since the color scheme was red, pink, white and black) in just 8 inch and 6 inch tiers. I didn’t really need it to serve a lot, since there would be plenty of cake for the 150 guests; I just mostly wanted it for display. Let me say, I thought the roses cake is easy – naked cake is waay easy. Can’t really go wrong with it.
I also wanted an excuse to try my new Russian piping tips on some cupcakes. Just one squeeze and you get a complete flower, petals and centers. Just add little leaves. It takes some practice and the exact right consistency for the icing. Also, I really only found a couple tips in the set I could get to do a decent flower. I think with a little practice, there’s potential there. But for the trouble, I think I’ll stick to my easy large roses.
For details about creating the large icing roses, see my post The Secret to Easy Gorgeous Icing Roses.
Anniversary Cakes Supplies
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- Wilton Tip 1M – This is the 3 pc set I got – better deal than just the one tip. And I do use the other two tips often.
- Disposable plastic icing bags. This is a good deal for 50 bags. Cut the corner off and stick the tip in. Throw away when finished.
- Icing spatula. I use the small one for small tiers and the large ones for large tiers. Dip in hot water first to spread smoothly.
- Cake turntable. These things are a lifesaver when decorating a cake.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional baker and decorator, so I’m sure I’m not doing this the “correct” way. These are just my tips on how I decorate cakes, based on my amateur experience and trial and error.
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