A Cake to Remember

The reason we were home last weekend was for a surprise party for my brother-in-law, Todd. My sister, knowing I'd taken a cake decorating class, asked me to make the cake for his party. Even though I told her I'd do it for free (hello - she's my sister!) and would have settled for a "payment" of being able to put her down as a future reference if the need comes about, she insisted on paying me. She's just generous like that. So, this was my first real gig at trying my hand as a freelance baker. Needless to say, I was more than a little nervous.

I baked the cakes and made the buttercream icings here, drove home, and made the fillings and assembled the layers and tiers the night before the party (thanks for the help, mom, dad, and Ju!!). The bottom tier was a 12 inch chocolate cake, filled with cookies and cream filling, and iced in chocolate buttercream. The middle tier was a 9 inch white cake, filled with raspberry buttercream and a layer of raspberry jam, iced in vanilla buttercream. The top tier was a 6 inch chocolate chip pound cake with chocolate mousse filling, iced in chocolate buttercream. I wish I would've taken a picture of the tiers when they were cut into, but I forgot.

The morning of the party, I was decorating...
See that look of pure concentration?
Of course, there's always time for a photo op!
Still hard at work:
Don't you just love commercial kitchens? I do. That's weird, huh? But I always find they're much more roomier and have lots more counter, refrigerator, and freezer space than the kitchen at my apartment. Wonder why that is...

And finally, the finished product (click on the picture to see it bigger):
As the baker, I can always see the little imperfections in every cake I make. It drives the perfectionist part of me crazy, but the other part of me says it needs a few imperfections!

So, this is my first "hired" cake! I learned a few things during this adventure, and am pretty pleased with the result. :) Thanks so much, Aim, for the opportunity!!! And happy 40th birthday, Todd!!