First Chapter

Wedding Cakes You Can Make

John Wiley & Sons

Chapter One

Lemon Blackberry Cake

With its lighthearted look, this cake is perfect for an outdoor wedding, in a backyard, or a garden or lawn anywhere. This cake is simply (but beautifully) decorated with bright purple-blue cornflowers, Gerbera daisies in a color called Confetti, and blackberries. If you can find blackberries on the vine, that would be perfect; otherwise, perhaps you can find some wild vines and wind them around the tiers, as we did here. Creating this cake is simple. Basic yellow cake is enhanced with lemon zest, the moistening syrup made tangy with lemon juice. For fillings, each tier has alternating ribbons of lemon curd and fresh blackberry jam. Additional lemon curd is folded into the buttercream to give it a subtle lemon flavor and pale, creamy yellow color. The round tiers are offset for an asymmetrical look. This cake is best prepared when blackberries are at their peak, so make sure they are available. This cake is lovely if plated along with a scoop of blackberry sorbet.

Serves 75

RECIPE COMPONENTS

* Yellow Cake with Lemon Zest

* Lemon Moistening Syrup

* Lemon Curd Filling

* Fresh Blackberry Jam Filling

* Lemon Curd Buttercream

DECORATION

* Fresh blackberries on the vine

* Cornflowers

* Gerbera daisies

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

* Two 6 x 2-inch, two 9 x 2-inch, andtwo 12 x 2-inch round pans with corresponding cardboard rounds

* Ateco #2 tip (round tip) and #67 tip (leaf tip)

* 14-inch round cake base (can be covered with deep blue foil)

* 1/4-inch-thick wooden dowels (1 yard)

* Pale periwinkle (lavender-ish) blue tablecloth is perfect

TIMELINE

* Up to 1 Month Ahead:

Make the Buttercream base and Moistening Syrup base

* Up to 1 Week Ahead:

Make the Lemon Curd Filling

* Up to 4 Days Ahead:

Make the Fresh Blackberry Jam Filling

* 2 Days Ahead:

Make the Yellow Cake with Lemon Zest

* 1 Day Ahead:

Finish making Lemon Curd Buttercream and Lemon Moistening Syrup, Assemble the Cake

* Wedding Day:

Decorate, Present!

Up to 1 Month Ahead

Make the Buttercream Base: While the lemon curd should not be added to the buttercream until you are ready to frost the cake, you can save time by making the buttercream base well in advance and freezing it. Make the Essential Buttercream (see page 69) 2 1/2 times.

Make the Moistening Syrup Base: The moistening syrup can also be made ahead but should not be flavored with lemon juice until right before using. Make the Essential Moistening Syrup (see page 68) 1 1/2 times, but do not use the vanilla bean or vanilla extract.

Up to 1 Week Ahead

Make the Lemon Curd Filling: Make the recipe for Lemon Curd Filling (page 97) 3 times. To save time, you can make 1 double batch and 1 single batch, but don't attempt all 3 batches at once! Set aside 3 1/4 cups of this for the filling and 4 1/4 cups to fold into the buttercream. Any extra is delicious spread on English muffins and scones. The lemon curd should be made at least 1 day before you fill and frost the cake.

Ingredients Tips:

* Buy firm, heavy lemons. The firmness will make them easier to zest and the heaviness usually means they are full of juice. Figuring on 2 tablespoons juice per lemon, you will need about 18 lemons for the moistening syrup, and 12 more for the lemon curd.

* Remember, the same lemons will provide zest for the cake and juice for the syrup (and curd, if you are not making it in advance).

Decoration Tip:

* Finding blackberries on the vine might be tricky. If you are lucky, you might have blackberries in your yard, or a friendly neighbor might help. If not, speak with a vendor at a farmer's market. Or call Green Valley Growers (see Sources).

Up to 4 Days Ahead

Make the Fresh Blackberry Jam Filling: This is simply a mixture of berries, sugar, and water cooked until thick. A little lemon juice sparks up the flavor. The jam needs time to set in the refrigerator, so make this at least 1 day before assembling the cake. Make this recipe 2 times. (If you have a very large, wide pot, you may make it all at once by doubling the recipe. The cooking time will be almost twice as long; use the visual cues for best results when doubling.)

Fresh Blackberry Jam Filling

Makes 3 cups

4 cups blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water (optional)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 Pick over the blackberries and remove any stems or leaves. Place in a large nonreactive saucepan with the sugar and water (use water if they are dry; leave it out if they are juicy). Stir to combine. Place over low-medium heat and cook until the mixture comes to a simmer.

2 Simmer the mixture, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 30 minutes. The blackberries will have broken down and the mixture will resemble jam, although it will not be sticky. It will become sticky and spreadable as it cools.

3 Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to help release heat. When cool, refrigerate in an airtight container until needed, for at least 1 day.

2 Days Ahead

Make the Yellow Cake with Lemon Zest: Make the Essential Yellow Cake (see page 61) in 6-inch, 9-inch, and 12-inch sizes, with the following changes: When creaming the butter and sugar, add lemon zest: 1 tablespoon for the 6-inch recipe, 2 tablespoons for each 9-inch recipe (the 12-inch cake is made from two 9-inch recipes).

Technique Note: Since you are zesting the lemons, scrub them with a vegetable scrubbing brush to remove wax and possible pesticide residue. Remember that lemon zest is the yellow part of the skin, not the white part right underneath, which tastes bitter. I use a microplane zester, which effortlessly removes just the zest (see Sources).

1 Day Ahead

Finish Making Lemon Curd Buttercream and Lemon Moistening Syrup: For the Lemon Curd Buttercream, simply beat the 4 1/2 cups of the Lemon Curd Filling into the buttercream base until well blended. If you want to do this in batches, beat 1 3/4 cups lemon curd into each 7-cup batch of buttercream and about 3/4 cup lemon curd into the half batch. (1/4 cup lemon curd for every cup of buttercream.)

For the Lemon Moistening Syrup, stir in 2 1/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice to the entire batch (or to taste). If you are making the syrup now, do not add lemon juice until the syrup has cooled completely.

Assemble the Cake: Before assembling, have all the components made and ready to use. Have all your tools and equipment on hand, and make sure there is space for the tiers in the refrigerator.

1 Level and torte the cake layers (see pages 27-29).

2 Moisten the cake layers, fill, and assemble each tier (see pages 29-32) as follows: Cardboard, first cake layer, syrup, jam, corresponding second layer, syrup, lemon curd, third cake layer, syrup, jam, corresponding fourth layer, syrup.

3 Apply the crumb coat (see page 32) with Lemon Curd Buttercream. Chill until firm. Meanwhile, prepare your cake base (see page 37).

4 Apply a final smooth coat of buttercream to each tier (see page 35). Chill again, if time allows. Place the 12-inch tier on the center of the cake base. Stack the remaining tiers in an offset manner (see photo, page 78, and diagram below), so that the tiers align at the "back" of the cake and then fan out from there, using dowels for internal support (see pages 38-39). Align dowels with the central position of the tier that will be resting on them.

5 Fit a pastry bag and coupler with Ateco #2 tip. Pipe vines on the sides of the cake (see photo). Switch tip to an Ateco #67 and pipe small leaves here and there along the vines (see photo).Using same #67 tip, pipe an overlapping leaf border along the outside top edges and bottom edges. (See page 45 for instructions on piping a leaf border.) Chill overnight.

Wedding Day

Decorate, Present! At the site of the wedding, place the cake in the center of the tablecloth-covered display table. Trim flower stems to about 1/2 to 1 inch. Arrange flowers, blackberries, and greenery on top of the cake and cascading down in tiers (see photo for inspiration). Serve at room temperature. Piping vines on sides of tier

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Wedding Cakes You Can Make by Dede Wilson Excerpted by permission.
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