Friday, October 18, 2013

Humid & Rainy Fall Wedding and then some

Late last month I had a fall themed Destination Wedding at Lake Anna. It was an outdoor wedding and   unfortunately that particular fall day was warm, humid and drizzly. When I drove up to the venue all the gloominess and darkness disappeared. The views and setting were absolutely beautiful making it hard to notice the less than ideal weather. Being right on the lake in an intimate setting really set the mood for fun laughter and love. 

All that being said, this cake did come with it's challenge; very common in the baking world. Luckily the challenge this time did not come in the cake or structure, albeit the humidity is it's own beast and is mucho annoying to deal with "cake sweat". Unfortunately the custom toppers ordered online never made it to me. I was not satisfied, how could a cake have a whole tree on it without adorable birds on it. The awesomeness of a cake to me is not only in the taste but in the details as well. With only a couple of hours left before I delivered the cake I drove to hobby lobby looking for something I could throw together as a replacement. 

By pure luck I found something that could work.

   
I never have used rub on letters before but was relieved that I did not have to attempt cursive (something I am not so good at). I fortunate to find the wooden birds similar to what was ordered. I rushed back to my studio and took out my hot glue gun, markers and toothpicks. I gave the edges of the birds a distressed look, rubbed on the "We Do" and hot glued the toothpicks to the back. I think Martha  would have been proud.



Before Delivery  
When I arrived at the venue there were two tents, one for the chefs cooking and preparing the delicious dishes on site and the other for the guests and the party. The staff were so kind and helped me walk the cake under their umbrella to the party tent. I was so pleased to see the table set up so beautifully. I quickly dropped off the cake admired the setup enough to take a few shots and left. 



Iman,
The cake was OUTSTANDING.  Loved by all.  Thank you so much for going out of your way to make sure we had the cake topper.  It really meant a lot.
Again, thank you so much for helping to make our day so special.

Christina 




Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Bonn Boni Introduces Manooshe to Fredericksburg

October 5th was the last Farmers Market of the season for Bonn Boni and I wanted to make it special. Not only did we bake up our normal customer favorites such as our marble loaves, baklava, scones, & paleo bars we also included some new creations such as our nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies, tomato tartletts and red velvet trifle. We baked up a storm and also introduced a brand new food item to the region. Manooshe was made fresh to order on an oven called a Saj. Mariam, the expert on manooshe rolled out the dough like a pro and added Zatar (wild thyme, sesame, sumac, olive oil mixture) mozzarella or both.

Manooshe is a Lebanese flatbread that is made on a Saj, an oven that dates back thousands of years and is common in the area of the Levant (Eastern turkey down to Israel). You can call it Lebanese fast food as people eat this every day for breakfast, lunch or really anytime. This is a very versatile and healthy meal or snack.

Here is a preview of how it is made.




This was such great fun as always. I loved seeing my usual customers as well as new faces. The use of the Saj with the Manooshe being made fresh to order really generated a buzz throughout the market!