On September 13th I not only had the pleasure of attending my friends Kris and Rachel’s’ wedding in beautiful Lake Tahoe but I also had the honor of making the cake.One of the main challenges of making this cake was firstly logistics, I live in San Diego and the Wedding was in Lake Tahoe, how do I get the cake there without damaging it? Secondly there were time restraints, unlike more traditional wedding cakes made of fruit cake that can be made months in advance and stored successfully; a sponge cake needs to be baked just days before hand. To overcome these initial obstacles I decided to ‘fake the cake’. The first three tiers were made from stryofoam or ‘dummy cakes’ as they are referred to and covered in fondant icing and decorate as you would a ‘real cake’ (the guests would eat sheet cake). The top tier was a delicious lemon sponge filled with a fresh raspberry butter cream. I carefully wrapped the fake cakes in bubble wrap and dropped them off to the Fedex store, said a few prayers and hoped that they would make it to Tahoe in one piece. The top tier I wrapped and boxed up and put it in the fridge. The next morning I flew with the cake, cake board, sugar flowers, royal icing and all the other cake decorating tools to Reno. I got a few curious looks at the airport and on the plane but I think most people just thought I was a bit crazy, they were right!

The night before the wedding all the guests were invited to a cocktail party to meet the families and guests, the next morning there were a few sore heads and I had the challenge of putting the cake together. I could see the bride and the bridesmaids getting ready as I put the cake together. The guests started to arrive and I have to say I was a little stressed assembling the cake. There were a couple of little bruises on the cake that needed to be disguised, but with the help of my friends and some icing we hide any blemishes. The bride was breathtaking and groom handsome as ever. It was a very special day for two special people that I was so happy to be a part of. Note: Thank you to the ladies at ‘Do it with Icing’ www.doitwithicing.com for their help and advice on all things cake related. www.wilton.comis also a great resource for cake decorating tools, ideas and tips.