Triple the fun! Triplets Bar Mitzvah Cake

Congratulations to triplets Ethan, Caleb and Louisa!  I made this cake for their b'nai mitzvah celebration (yup, that the plural) which was on a fabulous fall day at the beautiful Keeler Tavern in Ridgefield, CT.

When I make cakes for people, I try to personalize the cake for the recipient.  I like to use colors they like, and I also often incorporate the recipient's interests in the cake design, so that the person receiving the cake knows it was really made especially for him or her.  That's a much harder task when making one cake for 3 kids with different interests, preferences and personalities.  That said, I was pleased with how this cake turned out, and even happier that the triplets and their parents loved it!

On the bottom of the cake is Ethan's tier, which is made of lemon butter cake, filled with lemon meringue buttercream and raspberry jam, and topped with lemon meringue buttercream.  The covering is blue, Ethan's favorite color, and the football (which is 100% edible, made of rice krispy treats and modeling chocolate) and the penant flag reflect his love for his New England Patriots.  He's also a big Red Sox fan.  (I blame their father for this Boston passion. Sigh. They should be Yankee fans, not Red Sox fans.  But what can you do?)

In the middle is Caleb's tier.  Caleb is a soccer player (he plays goalie), and he too roots for Boston-based sports teams.  Caleb's favorite color is orange, but their mom asked me to incorporate the lime green color which was a theme in the party decorations, along with blue and purple (no orange in the party decor).  Finally, on top, Louisa's tier has an edible ipod perched in front of it and handbags around the sides, as Louisa loves to listen to music (James Taylor is a favorite - she has excellent taste!) and she likes to accessorize.  Purple is Louisa's favorite color.  Both Caleb's and Louisa's tiers (the top two tiers) were made of chocolate cake with the crowd favorite cookies and cream (aka Oreo) filling, which has big chunks of real Oreos in it.  The outer frosting was a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.  There wasn't a bite left from the entire cake, which was made to serve about 80 people!

On top of the cake is the logo used in the b'nai mitzvah invitations: a modern take on the two scrolls of the torah, although to me they look a little bit like candles too.  As a result, I thought it was the perfect thing to use on top of the cake.  I think the topsy turvy design added a bit of whimsy on this cake made for newly minted teens.

It was a fabulous day for the triplets, and I wish them all the best!  Their parents should be very proud of their terrific trio!  And of course, the triplets should thank their parents for everything they do for them.

Diet Coke and Sandwich Groom's Cake

Groom's cakes have become a very popular part of weddings these days.  They're cakes made especially for the groom, since, let's face it, a great deal of the wedding is all about the bride.

This two-part groom's cake was made for one of my daughter's favorite teachers as a surprise for her fiance.  It seems that he has a rather limited repertoire when it comes to lunch: a turkey sandwich and Diet Coke are his favorites.  And so that lunch was transformed into a cake, making a loving tribute to a future spouse's quirks.  I, of course, as an appreciative parent, was thrilled to be able to make this cake for her teacher and really enjoyed getting to know her a better through the design process.  I'm happy with the way the cake turned out, and more importantly, they were thrilled!

Don't let the photo fool you: this is a pretty large cake, meant to serve 50.  The diet coke cake is almost 11" tall,  larger than a half gallon of milk!  Inside, the cake is a deep chocolate cake made with a pint of Young's Double Chocolate Stout in the batter, and it is really, really tasty.  The stout flavors the cake but it is very subtle; the alcohol burns off and all that's left is a bit of depth and complexity of chocolate goodness.  Nonetheless, the cake has a nice crumb and isn't too dense.  I love chocolate and think it should be its own food group, and in my opinion, this is one of the best chocolate cakes I've tasted.

We paired the cake with alternating layers of chocolate buttercream and mint buttercream as fillings between the layers, and covered the cakes with dark chocolate ganache (a delicious mixture of chocolate and cream, which gives it a fudgy consistency).  This cake is a chocoholic's dream!

I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish Lauren and Tim all the happiness in the world for their future together.