When I first made Dorie's fabulous Perfect Party Cake a little over a year ago for a Daring Bakers challenge, I remember commenting that I wished I'd had an actual party to bring it to. Well, it took a while, but I finally got that wish. Last month was my twin nephews' 7th birthday, and when I saw that the Perfect Party Cake was in the TWD queue, I volunteered to make it for the twins' party.
The Perfect Party Cake starts with layers of lovely moist and light white cake, which are filled with raspberry jam and enveloped in clouds of fluffy white Swiss buttercream. Then, sweet, tender flaked coconut is pressed all around the perimeter of the cake. The result is a beautiful mountain of snowy cake perfection.
Because I had already made this recipe as written once before, I wanted to do it a little differently this time. Also, since I was making the cake for two little boys, I wanted to make it a little more kid-friendly. For the filling, instead of the raspberry jam, I used strawberry jam and fresh, sliced strawberries with a thin layer of lemon curd on top. I nixed the coconut altogether, because the boys don't care for it.
Probably the last term I would ever use to describe myself is "cake decorator". I'm pretty hopeless in that department! Anime characters and Transformers were just not happening. But still, I wanted the twins' cake to look fun and whimsical. I tried to achieve that by decorating the cake with multi-colored polka dots that I made with a fondant cutter out of candy melts. I also found some really pretty candy melts that were white with multi-colored sparkles in them. I melted those down and let them harden into one big block. Then, I used a vegetable peeler to make big candy curls, which I piled on top of the cake. It was perfect because the flecks in the candy curls matched all of the different colors of the polka dots.
There were lots of "oohs" and "aahs" heard around the party table as the cake made its entrance. The adults all seemed suitably impressed. From the looks of those big smiles on those happy little faces, I think the kids liked it too!
Many thanks to Carol of Mix, Mix...Stir, Stir for choosing our recipe for this week. If you'd like to make your own Perfect Party Cake, you can find the recipe on Carol's site. And, as always, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see what the rest of the group come up with.
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62 comments:
What a fantastic looking cake, I think you can comfortably call yourself a cake decorator. Happy birthday boys!
What a fantastic cake, I think you can comfortably call yourself a cake decorator. Happy birthday boys!
Happy Birthday boys! What a splendid cake, wow!
Cheers,
Rosa
oohhhhh!!!! what a cake. i think the kids like it too.
I think you're an amazing decorator!! The lemon curd sounds like a nice addition with the fresh strawberries.
That cake is like the embodiment of a birthday party!
Oh, Susan, this looks SO beautiful! And the curls were an inspiration - I kept looking at them and thinking *how* did she *do* that??
So. Cool.
What a great idea melting the candy down and making the curls! Very cute! It looks great!
One of my favorite cakes ever!!! I loved it as a DB challenge and it looks just as beautiful now!!!
You did an amazing job decorating that cake! I wish I had come up with the idea to use candy melts the way you did!
Susan, that is one beautiful cake!!! I love how you repeated the colors in the white chocolate twirls on top!!! Super work!!!
What a fun cake!! It looks really wonderful.
wow ! c'est splendide ! quelles belles couleurs !
Yep, I'd say the birthday boys liked their cake! (they're so cute).
Your cake looks fantastic! I love those choco. shavings on top.
Those candy melts sound cool! Must find!
What a beautiful and delicious looking cake. Those boys are very lucky.
What a fantastic looking cake! I love all those layers, the candy curls, and the polka dots!
Thanks so much, everyone! I'm so glad you like the cake. The Candy Melts are from Wilton, and I found them at Michael's. I've also seen them on the Wilton web site. They actually taste pretty good - kind of like white chocolate. I'll definitely use them again. :)
OMG your cake is AMAZING!!! I am in awe of how perfect it looks!! You should be very proud of yourself for creating such a fantastic looking cake!
Bravo!! I don't think I can officially bestow the title of cake decorator on you, but you can be really proud of what you accomplished here. It looks smashing. And I love its imposing profile.
Now, what kind of kids don't like raspberry jam?!?! Gasp!!
What a great looking cake. Good thing you had such a wonderful occasion to make this cake for!
For sure! I would have ooohed and aaaahed too!
This is brilliant, Susan! Actually even closer to perfect! WOW!
love the curls on top- beautiful work!
Your cake looks amazing! You can definately call yourself a cake decorater! Great job! Love the polka dots!
Fantastic job on the cake! I think you did a great job making it festive looking for your nephews.
~ingrid
What a gorgeous cake!
Now that's a FUN party cake!
What a beautiful cake, very professional looking!! I especially enjoyed the multi-colored sprinkles (I'm stealing that idea right away).
LOVE how you decorated the cake! So cute!
What a fun and festive looking cake! I'm a big kid, so I think I'll need one of these cakes. :)
I'm definitely going to go the fresh fruit in the filling--- the close up of the slice with the strawberry layers is gorgeous.
Great job Susan!
Great job! I love the sparkles in the chocolate shavings on top! What a cute idea. Where did you find those?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhh, Yummy! That sure does look like the perfect party cake...beautiful and ooey gooey. Well done Susan...xxx
Holy moly, I LOVE how you melted down that chocolate and shaved it, genius! This turned out PERFECT :)
What a fun cake! I love it!
oH!! mY! gOODNESS!!!! That looks fantastic. What a great looking cake.
I love Dorrie's party cake! And your polka dots are ridiculous cute!
Cute boys! The cake looks delicious. I love what you did with the decorating.
I love the flecks in the chocolate curls - so pretty. The lemon curd is also a great idea.
THAT looks absolutely awesome, fun and delicious! I love the white sparkly curls on top! GREAT!
I love how you decorated it!!
I love the whole thing.. it is a perfect cake!!!
That's just lovely! Lucky nephews!
That is a stunning cake! It sounds so delicious with the strawberries and lemon curd. I can't get over how beautiful the decoration is!
I have a party coming up, will you make this for me?
That truly is a perfect party cake indeed!
I love your cake! You did such an amazing job decorating it. I'd say you achieved whimsical for sure :)
Beautiful cake! Love the polka dots!
I do remember making this cake for the DB. Love the creative decorations Susan. I'd say you have a lot of creativity:D
Perfecto! So fun for you and the boys, oh yea , those pesky adults too. he he Thanks for showing us great variations. Lemon curd sounds really good too.
AmyRuth
This Cake is Luxuriously Beautiful!
Thanks for sharing your cake recipe:)
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How can you say you are not a cake decorator after all of that?! THAT IS STUNNING! And I need to find those candy melts! Where did you find the ones with all of the colors?
what an amazing cake! i need to get into the kitchen asap to make some of your yummy treats!
Your cake is gorgeous!! The layers are perfect and I love the way you decorated it. YUM!
I think your cake looks amazing - perfectly decorated!!!
how fun!! what a beautiful birthday cake!!
Fantastic cake - and fresh strawberries to boot! Well done.
Delish!
This cake makes me wish it was my birthday! :)
Your cake looks great! You can surely call yourself a 'decorator' with this baby up your sleeve!!
Susan, I am all about cake and yours is splendid. You are a cake decorator as far as I'm concerned. No wonder everyone's was excited when they say the cake. What a great way to celebrate two birthdays!
WOW! Your cake is AMAZING!!!!!
Great looking cake! I really like the curls on top.
That was a REALLY special cake with those flecks in the curls on top, Absolutely wonderful, i'm sure it tasted great too!!
(drool, drool) :-)
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