A Southern California Winter

Dear Friends,

It looks like it's shaping up to be another glorious southern California winter. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this natural (or unnatural, depending on your perspective) phenomenon, let me explain.

It's basically when in the midst of winter, Christmas carols are playing jauntily on the radio, the aroma of eggnog lattes is wafting gently through the air, trees and rooftops are glistening with ornaments... And we southern Californians are pulling on boots and scarves the moment the temperature hits 65 degrees, complaining about the ungodly frigid weather while enduring the ridicule of people who are from places with "real" winters. Believe me I know, because one of those out-of-towners shaking their heads at us is my very own husband Philip, who is from Washington. While folks in other parts of the country are trudging through snow, the temperature around here this past weekend was, I kid you not, in the 80's. I was literally walking around outside in a T-shirt, squinting in the blinding sunlight and wiping beads of sweat from my brow. Although the meteorologists keep doling out dire predictions of El Nino rainstorms this winter, for now, it still looks downright summery here.

Now I'm not one of those southern Californians who believe that this is the only place to be, and that anyone who's ANYone would want to live here. And I have a healthy respect for people who have toughed it out through bitter winters of subzero temperatures, shoveling themselves and their cars out from piles of snow, and frozen pipes without the luxury of running water. Deep down inside, I suspect that in many ways, those people might be made of hardier stuff than I. But the truth is, as I sip iced coffee in my tank top and shorts while watching footage of snowstorms in other parts of the country, I don't mind not being the hardiest or the most likely to survive in the wilderness. I'm simply thankful to be able to live in this amazing place, where cafe baristas need to clarify whether you want your pumpskin spice latte hot or iced, and Christmas decorations sparkle magically in the ever-present sunshine under infinite blue skies. And that brings us to the topic of this cake.

I'm calling this my "Southern California Winter" cake, because although it looks like Christmas, inside it's filled with sunshine: moist fragrant lemon cake slathered with mouthpuckeringly bright lemon curd and silky strawberry swiss meringue buttercream, then clothed in creamy white chocolate ganache. The ganache and the final covering of fondant are, of course, to help ensure that the cake keeps its shapely figure on a warm SoCal afternoon. When this outwardly wintery cake melts like a snowflake on your tongue, it sings unexpectedly--and delightfully--of summer.

So how did this particular cake come to be? This is a practice iteration of the soon-to-be wedding cake that was commissioned by my brother and his fiancee. I had baked a summer-appropriate lemon strawberry cake back in July, and they enjoyed it enough to request it for their December wedding. Since I had just started baking cakes for the first time this summer, I was both honored and petrified by their request. How in the world do you assemble tiers of cake? How do you roll out fondant? Does the wedding venue include a discreet emergency exit through which I could dart furtively outdoors should the cake collapse during the cutting ceremony? But in the end, I decided to put aside my fears and forge ahead to learn how to make a wedding cake. Because after all, when it comes to learning a new skill for the sake of your baby brother on his wedding day, all you need is love, right? Well, that and lots of research and practice.

All this thinking about wedding cakes also got me thinking about my own wedding, which was in November of last year. My husband and I recently returned from a mini-vacation to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, although I had a hard time believing it had already been a year since we got married. So I was making this cake with our fledgling marriage on my mind, and it seemed only fitting to photograph the first slice on a plate that we had received as a wedding gift from my husband's 85 year-old grandmother. Not only does she know a thing or two about long happy marriages, she also burns up the dance floor at every family celebration! That woman is in better shape than I am; yet another reason to respect her wisdom about life.

The photo above is one of my favorites from this shoot. There's something about its luminous purity and simplicity that makes me think of heaven.

As I was about to indulge in my first bite, shoveled eagerly into my mouth with shimmering silverware that was also a wedding gift, I thought about the ups and downs of marriage. Well, honestly, first I thought about how delicious this cake was. The layers were melt-in-your-mouth moist and fluffy, flecked with tasty little bits of lemon zest. Silky-smooth and alive with fruit flavor, the lemon curd and strawberry swiss meringue buttercream formed a perfect dance partnership in my mouth. The happy sensations zinging around on my tongue recalled to mind the warm evenings we had spent with friends and family out on our patio this summer, eating and laughing together.

After I finished thinking about all that, then I thought about my marriage. As I said, I'm still somewhat of a newbie when it comes to matrimony. And to make things more interesting, Philip and I are complete and polar opposites in so many ways. There are times when we are having a "discussion" and we just stop and stare silently at each other, clueless about how to proceed because neither of us can fathom how anyone's thought process could possibly be so clearly and unequivocally misguided. For those of you who have read Twilight, do you remember how Edward was frustrated with Bella because she was the one person whose mind he couldn't read? Well, if anyone out there has heard Philip call me his Bella, now you know that his meaning might not have been quite as romantic as you thought!

All that being said, the picture frame seen in the photo above still remains. If you look closely, the frame is decorated with cute little wooden clothespins holding tiny cards that read "Forever & Always," "Memories & Moments," and "true love." Philip adorably cut out and glued all the little pieces himself, and gifted the frame to me...after we had only been dating a few months. He also stunned me by saying "I love you" after we had been dating for three weeks! Obviously another difference between us is that I hang back cautiously and make checklists, while he leaps in feet-first wherever his heart leads, hollering with excitement and considering the consequences later. When I first received that picture frame I was honestly a little bit rattled, and assumed that the level of certainty hinted at by those words was not something that he truly meant. But that was six years ago, and now I know that he meant every word. Philip was simply more perceptive and quick to recognize what we had than I.

And although I'm far from being an expert after only one year, I guess I'm realizing that one of the good things about marriage is having the opportunity to learn and grow from your partner. There are times when I want to scream in frustration that he can't or won't see things the way I see them, or do things the way I would do them. But then there are those moments when because of him, I gain a new perspective or do things in a better way that I never would have imagined alone. While I remind him to plan ahead more, he reminds me to stop and savor the moment more. I like to think that I'm very slowly becoming a better person through our marriage. More patient. More thoughtful and open-minded. And, dare I say, someone who sees the value of jumping in feet-first from time to time? Well, I'm still working on that one. I have a feeling that it's going to be a life-long process, so I guess it's a good thing that we said "as long as we both shall live."

What do you think? Are you married and have something to share with this almost-newlywed about what you've learned from your marriage? Or are you unmarried and have insights about what you've learned from doing life on your own terms? I'd also love to talk cake with you. I hope you'll leave a comment or question below and visit often, whether you're old friends or new.

Thank you for sharing the sweet life with me.

Blessings,

Michelle ^_^

Dr. Cakebake's Prescription

for a Stunning and Luscious Cake

1) The actual "cake" part of this cake was adapted from the tasty recipe found here (I did not use their frosting recipe). After I test-baked multiple lemon cake recipes, this one was the clear winner as it had a moist mouthfeel and tender crumb, but was also sturdy enough for layering. My suggested adaptions after much trial and error include:

- Multiply all the ingredient quanitities by 1.5 and bake in three 9-inch round pans to make a three-layer cake.

- Increase the lemon zest by using the zest of three large lemons for a three-layer cake.

- Add half a cup of fresh lemon juice to the batter of a three-layer cake.

- Decrease the sugar by 25%. Sorry for all the math involved here, haha!

- Replace the shortening with an equal amount of butter for increased flavor.

- The vegetable oil and buttermilk are key here for moistness. I advise using sunflower oil, which is expensive but worth it for the clean flavor. To me, canola oil has a terrible fishy flavor. Whatever vegetable oil you use, make sure you taste it before adding it to your cake! I'm the gal who once ended up with a tragically fish-flavored chocolate cake. :(

2) Here is the link to the swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) recipe I adapted. For those of you who aren't familiar with SMBC, it is sooo much silkier and more decadent than the crusty sugary supermarket frosting we all grew up with. People rave about this frosting every time I make it. It takes times and patience, but it's so worth it. My suggested adaptations to make strawberry SMBC include:

- I'd advise against heating the eggs+sugar directly in the bowl of your stand mixer above the pot of simmering water. I would instead heat the eggs+sugar in a separate small to medium pot above the pot of simmering water, and then later pour the hot liquid into the stand mixer bowl. If you heat it inside the stand mixer bowl, it takes for-e-ver for the bowl to cool down. It literally took three hours for me once. THREE!

- To make strawberry flavored SMBC that actually tastes strongly of strawberries, I'd advise to concentrate the flavor by cooking the berries. For this recipe, put one cup of chopped fresh strawberries in a small saucepan over low heat. Stirring and mashing frequently with a wooden spoon, cook the berries until they are very soft and mashed to a thick paste, and remove from the heat. Once they've cooled to room temperature, add the strawberries a spoonful at a time to the SMBC in the mixer with the mixer on at low speed. Stop adding strawberries once you are happy with the flavor or if the SMBC starts thinning.

- To really amp up the strawberry flavor, I would strongly recommend adding some strawberry gelatin powder (like Jell-O) also. Place two tablespoons of strawberry Jell-O powder in a small bowl or cup and dissolve it with one tablespoon of lukewarm water. Once it has cooled to room temperature, add the liquid gelatin a small spoonful at a time to the SMBC with the mixer on low. Stop adding gelatin once you are happy with the flavor or if the SMBC starts thinning.

3) The lemon curd I used was store-bought, but here's

the link to a well-reviewed lemon curd recipe if you want to make your own.

- Here's a nice tutorial on building a cake and using a buttercream "dam" when filling a layer cake with something like lemon curd.

- I also slathered more SMBC on top of the lemon curd between cake layers.

4) If the cake sitting out at room temperature for hours at a wedding isn't an issue you face, I would recommend skipping the white chocolate ganache and fondant covering. I'd simply frosting the outside of the cake with more strawberry SMBC, or cream cheese frosting would also be divine. For those of you who want to tackle the white chocolate ganache covering, here is a reliable recipe.

- I made the ganache using super-expensive blocks of 35% cacao white chocolate the first time, but later found that the more affordable Sunspire and Ralph's Private Selection white chocolate chips worked well. I think the important thing is to use white chocolate chips made with real cocoa butter.

- White chocolate ganache is significantly more prone to melting than regular chocolate ganache, so once it's on your cake, keep it refrigerated or at a cool room temperature.

- Although it's fine to refrigerate your ganache-covered cake, condensation will collect on it once you pull it out to room temperature. Give it time for most of the condensation to evaporate before covering with fondant, to avoid melting the fondant.

- If refrigerating a fondant-covered cake, be sure to store it inside a sturdy cardboard box (like a moving box) to soak up the humidity.

Seen in this Post

1) Cake stand: Antique Silver Beaded Small Cake Stand by Universal Lighting and Decor.

2) Knife: the gorgeous Shun knife glimpsed in the photo above was made in a Japanese town known for using centuries-old techniques for creating samurai swords. So yeah, I'm basically slicing my cakes with a miniature samurai sword, because that's just how I roll. ;)

3) Plate: Coventry "Daily Blessings" fine porcelain.

4) Silverware: Crate and Barrel "Boulder" flatware set.

5) Fondant: Carma Massa Ticcino Rolling Fondant, Tropical. Known as the "Mercedes-Benz of fondants," especially for warmer climates. I purchased this mostly because I had no idea what I was doing at the beginning, and I was petrified of using any inferior product that might decrease my already slim chances for success.

*Note - I do not have any financial relationships with any of the above products or companies.

#cake #holiday #wedding #bake #baking #lemon #strawberry #swissmeringue #blog #fondant #smbc