TWD/BWJ: Wedding Cake

Here we are.

At the end of the Baking With Julia odyssey.

Over 4 1/2 years.

Celebrating with a special cake.

Seems just right.

Lots of steps, and in the end, all motivation to produce beautiful decorations evaporated. Quick and easy won out when I saw the Halloween things at the grocery. Oh yes, the cake was good. But that buttercream scared me, especially after a couple of days in and out of the fridge. Raw egg yolks, even mixed with hot sugar syrup, make me nervous. So we didn't eat it all. Didn't need to. It was way too big for us anyway. Even a small version.

Here are some photos:

Had to break my "no-Walmart" rule to find almond paste.
Only made one batch of the cake mix.

Closest thing we had to appropriate-sized pans.
A casserole dish and a small springform pan.

Made half a batch of meringue for the Almond Dacquoise.
One of my favorite things about this entire project has been the equipment
that I've collected. See that measuring spoon? Best thing ever.
It sits level on a counter, has an elongated end to fit in spice jars,
and the set is magnetized. They find each other in a drawer!

The Dacquioise ready to go in the oven.
Seven hours to bake cramped my style. Left it in overnight.

Next day, the layers were split, a buttercream dam piped around the edge,
and warm apricot jam poured on. A meringue was added, then more 
buttercream and apricot jam, and finally the other half of the cake layer.

Then the crumb coat. I had an assistant.
Yes, this is the one who started college just before
Baking With Julia began.
She graduated and came back home.
Happy to have her sticking around the nest for now.
We've had two graduations and a retirement
since this project started. 

Chillin' in the fridge.
Thank goodness for flexible shelving.

Our little skeleton family. Down to one dog now.
We sure do miss Rachel and Sallie.

There's a little marzipan in there.

Pikachu and a pumpkin on top.
And the layers. The layers!
Couldn't believe that meringue stayed crisp
after being spread with jam and buttercream.
But it did. It was a nice addition.

And there's our Lady.

A huge thank-you to everyone who participated in the Tuesdays With Dorie/ Baking With Julia group. I learned SO much from you. Of course, Tuesdays With Dorie still goes on. The group has also been baking from Dorie's book, Baking Chez Moi, for some time now. I must say that I've grown to love BCM. And at the moment, I'm eagerly anticipating Dorie's newest book, Dorie's Cookies, which comes out in a couple of weeks. What the world needs now is love, sweet love...and cookies!!!

Here's a shoe: