here comes the bride

There comes a time in every pastry student's life when a wedding cake must be made.
Some students look forward to it all session.
Some dread it.
But the time had come!
Making a wedding cake is a multi-day endeavor. Cakes (10", 8" and 6") were baked and buttercream and fillings made on Monday night.
The cakes were torted on Wednesday night and filled with a variety of flavors, like lemon curd, blueberry buttercream, pistachio cream and whipped ganache.

Saturday morning, bright and early, we were joined by wedding cake creator Julie Durkee of Torino Baking (www.torinobaking.com) who brought her expertise in all things bridal!

The students worked in teams, crumb coating their cakes, then applying the final buttercream icing, making sure they had everything level and precise. Julie demonstrated her beautiful piping techniques, and the students tried their hands at scroll work, basketweave, dots and flowers.

After decorating each layer, the cakes were built. I think this was the most nerve-wracking part for the students as they made sure the cakes were perfectly centered.

But the finished results were magnificent!

Here's the happy group at the end of the day... ready to cut into their masterpieces and see how delicious they tasted!

And here's the even-happier group, at the post-class gathering for a well-deserved beer!