When I learned that the party honoring our departing Bureau Director at work would have a cherry blossom theme, it was easy to come up with a cake design. (By contrast, the Jewish New York theme for the departing Bureau Director's party in 2009 proved more challenging.) Years ago I made an impulse purchase of a set of stainless steel vegetable cutters in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. All of the cutters are shaped like flowers and the set happens to include two sizes of cherry blossoms.
I made the cherry blossoms ahead of time. While there were many steps involved, none of them was difficult. I made rolled fondant; dyed it pink; kneaded in a bit of tylose powder (to help the fondant dry faster); cut out the blossoms; used a fondant ball tool and some shaping foam to round the flower petals; used a modeling pick to make indentations to mimic the appearance of stamens; and applied a little dark pink luster dust to highlight the center of each flower and give them a more three-dimensional appearance.
I also made the letters for the message in in advance. I used tappit cutters from FMM Sugarcraft, which produce very fine and detailed letters. Because I had the blossoms and letters done beforehand, baking and decorating the cake the day before the party was relatively speedy. All of my recipes came from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible. I baked two 12-inch by 18-inch layers of yellow cake; filled and frosted the layers with a double batch of lemon mousseline (mousseline with lemon curd); covered the cake in rolled fondant flavored with lemon juice; made the branches and birds (using the "nature" mold from Wilton); and added the blossoms and letters. I attached everything with homemade edible glue (tylose powder mixed with water and refrigerated overnight).
The cake and mousseline were delicious, and the lemon-flavored buttercream was a great match for the spring theme. While I wish I had done a neater job covering the cake in fondant, I was very happy with the way that this cake turned out. I'm still a novice when it comes to decorating with fondant, but the overall effect of the cake was impressive. It was a big hit at the party!
Recipes: "Base Formula for Yellow Butter Cake," "Mousseline Buttercream (Fruit Mousseline Variation with Lemon Curd)," "Lemon Curd," "Base Formula for 1 Cup Syrup," and "Classic Rolled Fondant" from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
I made the cherry blossoms ahead of time. While there were many steps involved, none of them was difficult. I made rolled fondant; dyed it pink; kneaded in a bit of tylose powder (to help the fondant dry faster); cut out the blossoms; used a fondant ball tool and some shaping foam to round the flower petals; used a modeling pick to make indentations to mimic the appearance of stamens; and applied a little dark pink luster dust to highlight the center of each flower and give them a more three-dimensional appearance.
Recipes: "Base Formula for Yellow Butter Cake," "Mousseline Buttercream (Fruit Mousseline Variation with Lemon Curd)," "Lemon Curd," "Base Formula for 1 Cup Syrup," and "Classic Rolled Fondant" from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
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