This is the huge cake I did for an anniversary party this weekend. 18 inch square, 16, 12, 9, 6 inch rounds, double layer 11 x 15 side cake.

My firsts:

Never made a cake this BIG! That sucker weighed 88 pounds! My son joked that I was never again allowed to make a cake I couldn't carry by myself!

Never made a cake with SMBC (only practice cupcakes!). I used 80 egg whites and 12 pounds of butter!

Never had used SPS before: thanks LeahS! I loved it! A sweet very elderly lady stumbled and caught herself on the cake table. The cake shook but stood proud and tall!

First time working with so many edible images! Those babies are fragile!

First time using the lace molds my DH got me for our anniversary. I'll admit I got sick of trimming all that fondant!

Never had anyone stick a finger in a cake before: two ladies were admiring it, and one just poked it with her finger! Then she gasped and said "I didn't think it was real!" Is that a compliment??? I filled in the hole and didn't smack her!

Thanks for all the help and encouragement from folks on this site. I never could have tackled this without all of you!

BTW...that is NOT my first thank you to CC!!!


Jodie

Looks fabulous! Great job!!!!

What a gorgeous cake! How did the recipients react? I know if I saw a cake that beautiful with important people in my life on it, I'd start to bawl.

Kudos to you. You're in the big leagues now.

Holy Moly, that's a very LARGE and IMPRESSIVE cake.

Great job and congrats on all your firsts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JodieF

A sweet very elderly lady stumbled and caught herself on the cake table. The cake shook but stood proud and tall!

Never had anyone stick a finger in a cake before: two ladies were admiring it, and one just poked it with her finger! Then she gasped and said "I didn't think it was real!" Is that a compliment??? I filled in the hole and didn't smack her!

Must compliment you on your self-control.
(I'd have had a terrible case of the flux.)

Wow!! That cake is GREAT!!


I can't believe you didn't smack her for sticking her fingers in the cake! Why would you even try?!?!?

AMAZING JOB!

Great GREAT work....I'm impressed, lol.


Also you should've popped that lady on the forehead and said..."Oh, sorry, I didn't think YOU were real...I thought any adult would know not to do that!"


LOL, jk of course.

The woman with the one how stuck her finger in my cake practically yelled "I can't BELIEVE you did that!", so that made me feel a little better. I was trying so hard not to hover around that cake, but it sure made me want to stand guard!

As to their reaction, you can't see it, but behind the cake there was a box of tissues for Theresa. She did cry when she saw all the photos on the cake. Then she cried when she saw her wedding cake topper. Then she cried when Don fed her a bite. THEN she cried when she found out it was my gift to them.......yep.....she definitely cried!

Well done Jodie! It's a very impressive cake!!

80 egg whites ?!?! Wow!! Your cake is very impressive, and I for one think it should become your avatar so we can admire it more often

Wonderful job! I never would have guessed it was your first time doing any of the elements of this cake.

Wow! That is a big cake for an anniversary Out of curiousity, how many people was this cake supposed to feed? I don't have my charts in front of me to look it up....

Fantastic job!

The 80 egg whites were JUST in the SMBC! That doesn't count the ones in the cakes! Let's see......2 dozen in the chocolate cakes.....another 4 dozen in the white cakes......

I saw this one earlier=- i'm so envious!

I went by Earlene's charts. There were about 375 people at the party. The 6 and 9 inch cakes were left, but were enjoyed by the family with their out of town guests the next day.

Jodie

Very cool GREAT JOB. So confess did you crack all them eggs, or did you buy the egg whites? hehehehe

Mike

Mike....I cannot tell a lie. I cracked every one! I kept some of the yolks back for the lemon and rasberry curd, and I made myself some creme brulee a reward for all that hard work! I bought a case of eggs at Sams...and still had to buy more!
Honestly, I had read in the "making SMBC thread" that the carton egg whites didn't beat up as well in the meringue, so I was afraid to chance it!

Edited to add: This was their 50th anniversary.....so the huge party!

I would've had to buy them. If I cracked all them eggs I would've ended up w/ a Three Stooges cake, full of egg shells. LOLOLOL

All of the carton ones I have used actually have whipped up better. The key is having them at room temp.

Great cake

Mike

Thanks Mike.... I've sold cheesecakes for 25 years, so I'm pretty good at breaking eggs. I separate them through my very clean fingers!

great job Jodi! I'm truly impressed. You can just see all the love and attention that you put into this cake. It's so beautiful and I'll have to put it into my favorites now. I would love to have a cake like this for an anniversary.

I've cracked an entire case of eggs before for a lot of cheesecakes. My does that get old after a while. I was impressed by you doing that and not going stir crazy...let alone not smacking the lady who poked your cake.

Honestly, trimming around all the edges of the fondant lace, appliques and beads was FAR more tedious than cracking the eggs. I never thought I'd get done with it! I love those lace molds SO much, but having to do so much of it was overwhelming.

Jodie,
That is one gorgeous cake! Great job! I wish my grandparents' 50th anniversary cake was that pretty and unique.

Michelle

I appreciate all the comments. I'm not sure I'll ever take on another cake like this again, but if I do I'm sure gonna make some money on it!

OH....I'm definitely gonna remember the forehead smack thing if anybody ever pokes a finger into my cake again!