Good Morning!

I’m doing a cake to serve 40+ for bridal shower next weekend and am hurting my little brain trying to get all my questions answered between TCB, HCB and the Forums. So, I think I’ll just ask you all for your experience and guidance.

The bride loves almond/almond cake, lemon, fruity desserts and of course raspberry.. so there’s the background for my madness…

I’d like to do 2 tiers, have borrowed magic line square pans 12”, 9” and 6” but think just 2 tiers are appropriate (I don’t mind if she has leftovers to take home afterward). These people are big foodies and will eat bigger portions than I think the weddings tables reflect.
- I think with number of people I need to do one layer at 12” - would a 6” on top look okay and be enough?

I was THINKING (scary thought!) that I’d do the cake and frosting for the Golden Dream Wedding but fill one layer with lemon curd and the smaller/top layer with raspberry filling of some sort and pool raspberry sauce on the top for pretty presentation. If I can figure out a way to present the lemon peel roses on the bottom layer, I’ll do that too - but it might be too much?

A baker friend suggested that I split the large layer down the middle and fill 1/2 with the lemon and 1/2 with the raspberry - she just did this for a wedding cake and reports that it was successful.
- My question on that is how to make sure the density of the 2 fillings are similar so the final result is pretty and even.

- am I crazy to think I’ll torte the 12”? was thinking I would fill like Woody’s LL cake with curd/filling and frosting between layers.

Next question
- do I need a cake nail for the 12”? I haven’t found any information on that - trying to learn.  I’ll use magi strips or my silicone strips - if I can sort out how to get them on the larger pan.

Frosting - I love the idea of the lemon curd mixed in the frosting for Woody’s LL but am leaning toward the reported “lightness” of the GDWC’s and think it will be a better compliment to the raspberry, but having tasted neither, I could be swayed by your opinions and experience

Now the big ones
- I have the conversion for round to square pans but am getting overwhelmed with that plus any leavening considerations. Can one of you brilliant math geniuses help me out with a quick walk through for the 12”? that one scares me most. Do I multiply the 12” layer batter recipe by 1.33 across the board, including BP & BS? will that formula work for the other layer since she has each layer listed separately? Who knew I’d need a physics degree to bake great cakes? oy! Very grateful to Rose and all of you but my ignorance BR (Before Rose) was much less stressful, LOL!

OK, I’m tired just writing all this out and haven’t even begun the work -

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide, you’re the best!

Stephanie

Hi Stephanie, and welcome!  Great questions you are asking and I will only comment on a few and leave it to some of the experts for the remainder. 

1.  I do think a flower nail is a good idea for the 12” square (and also baking strips) as square pans are more prone to baking unevenly as the distance from the centre of the pan to the outer edges/corners varies.  For this very reason, I don’t know how the Rose Factor comes into play for the baking powder for the 12” square cake as it’s the square shape is less predictable regarding the structure needed to support the cake.  Perhaps someone who has used her recipe successfully can chime in as to whether they kept the proportions the same. 
2.  Torting the 12” layers is possible…I did this with a 14” Round White Butter Cake for a wedding and had no issues. 
3.  As far as frosting choices, that’s a tough call.  Lemon is divine with raspberry.  I guess it depends which components you wish to accentuate.  I sometimes just bake a test cake with all of the components I wish to try (do 3 different fillings, frost one half with one frosting, the other half with another, use different cake bases, etc) and taste different combinations so I know how they interplay. 

Wishing you the best of baking for this adventure and you’ve definitely come to the right place…others will be along soon (I’m sure) with other advice.

Stephanie - 20 February 2010 12:19 PM

I’ll use magi strips or my silicone strips - if I can sort out how to get them on the larger pan.

I bought 4 of them, the velcro kind, and I can chain them together to fit almost anything.

“I think with number of people I need to do one layer at 12” - would a 6” on top look okay and be enough?”

Not sure if you mean a single 12” layer topped by a single 6” layer or a double layer for each tier. But here is the approximate yield in each case (dessert-sized):
6” tier: single without filling 3 to 4 servings - double layer with filling 8 servings
12” tier: single without filling 20 servings - double layer with filling 45 servings

My sense is that whether single or double, the 6” would look a little lost on top of the 12”. But that’s personal taste and depends on how you decorate all the empty space.  For your numbers, what about a single layer 12” tier (20) with a double 9” tier (+22) topped by a double 6” tier (+8)? Grand total of dessert-sized servings: 50.

You could then do the lemon curd filling on one tier and the raspberry on the other. You could leave the 12” single layer untorted or torte it with the buttercream filling. That way, you’re covered for the fruit lovers, the extreme lemon lovers and the ones who would enjoy the cake as originally designed with a light lemon-flavoured white chocolate buttercream filling and frosting. I wouldn’t mess with two fillings on either side of a single tier.

Thank you all for your responses and help, I really appreciate all your suggestions and input!

As it turns out, the RSVPs are in the 30 range, so am going to do the 9” and 6” layer, as Carolita suggested - with lemon for the bottom layer and Rose’s Raspberry conserve for the little one, and will top with raspberry sauce… mmmm can’t wait! I’m sure any leftovers will be taken home and enjoyed after the shower.

Now the next question - After putting together 10 Lemon Peel Roses this afternoon (they’re so beautiful to do!) BUT- once I brushed the (light) corn syrup on them, they seem to have oxidized to a darker, almost brownish, yellow. They’re quite a contrast to the extra gorgeous bright yellow candied peel (to which I did not apply the syrup) I had left over. I’m wondering if I did something wrong, but even more curious as to why they would change color so drastically. Am considering doing them again sans the corn syrup - has anyone done this? I know Rose would have a good reason for each step of her instruction so don’t want to spend the time to re-do them unless someone else has had a good result with eliminating the syrup step?

TIA!

Hector - the king of lemon roses!! Where are you? lol joan

I think u may have overcoocked the peels or the lemons may had been too ripe fruit or stored too long at the grocery store.

AHA! Hector, I think you’re right - lemons were darker yellow from the store AND I let them soak in syrup overnight (didn’t time well to take out before bed at 8 hours that night) so they are probably overcooked! Thanks so much for the input. Here I go to do another batch!

Let me know if you still need math help. I haven’t tried the recipes but if there’s something I’m good in it’s math, so I can help you figure how much you need from any base recipe to any pan, more or less…

Stephanie this cake sounds like it’s going to be wonderful! After this (or next?) weekend, let us know how it turns out!

Thanks Silke & Rachel! This weekend is the fete so I will definitely post photos (if she turns out, lol!)

Since Rose gives me the recipe for the 6” + 9” layers, my 1st draft plan is to multiply it by 1.33 to account for the increase of the square pans. I was concerned about the Rose Factor for the 12” layer - which I’m not doing now. Am I on the right track? If not, any math help will be wonderful! I’ll do the layers Thursday night so I can syrup them in time for Sat. brunch presentation

TIA!!

Sorry, didn’t see your answer. I don’t understand why sometimes I get emails, and sometimes I don’t…

My math tells me it’s 1.27 to go from round to square (4/3.14) but 1.33 is probably easier to calculate, just add a third.