Our niece, Chelsea has decided to leave the sunny Southern California coast for the seasons, hills, and rivers of Idaho. We couldn’t love her more if she were our own daughter. She’s 25 and is leaving to find herself. She’s smart and beautiful and we wish her all the luck and happiness in the world. She knows we’ll miss her, that we’ll always love her, and she has a room at the beach whenever she wants to come visit.
As soon as I unwrapped my copy of Baked Occasions, Chelsea coveted the fun, colorful 3-layer cake on the cover. So, I had to make it for her farewell dinner party hosted by my mom. Worthy of a party all on its own, this vanilla cake delighted our family. To make it all the more special, we toasted her with Le Grand Courtage Pink Champagne. The cake was all Chelsea hoped it would be and I was thrilled to see her so happy.
Baked features the recipe for the Baked Ultimate Birthday Cake here. As a member of Baked Sunday Mornings, I’ve made my share of beautiful Baked layer cakes. The Very Vanilla Frosting is a lightly sweet, super light cooked buttercream. The trick to making this frosting is patience. I always press ice packs up to the bottom of the bowl with towels. In my experience, achieving the perfect buttercream takes longer than the times called out in the Baked recipes, so let it blend until it’s light and fluffy. To make this cake, I ordered a pound of jimmies from Amazon. For the technique of spreading them onto the cake, check out this video.
This cake will be a hit at any party! If you’d like to join us in baking our way through this book, rev up your Kitchen Aid and check out Baked Sunday Mornings!
Chelsea, I love you to the moon and back!
mary h hirsch says
Oh, Susan, you are one of the most wonderful and generous of women on this planet. I already know what a good Aunt and Uncle you and John are to both your neices. This cake is magnificient and I can only imagine the time involved in putting together such a masterpiece. I would have spent many hours with my head inside the refridgerator, right? (Inside joke.) That is a beautiful picture of the two of you. I am looking forward to seeing you Saturday for a whirlwind trip to the wineries and a Lester-Hirsch Saturday night cook-a-thon here. Travel safely.
Chelsea says
Auntyness! Thank you SOOOO much for my beautiful and delicious cake! I absolutely loved it! But even more so thank you to you and Uncle John for EVERYTHING you have done for me. I love you both so very much and God sure did bless me with you. I look forward to seeing you both soon. Love you to the moon and back!!!! xoxoxox
David says
A gorgeous cake, a wonderful send-off, and a stunningly lovely niece! Sounds like a perfect evening!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Such a pretty cake for your niece, the best send off for her new adventures!
Robyn says
What a beautiful post, Susan! I am so excited to make that cake in the summer when it comes up on our schedule. It looks like it turned out perfectly, and made your niece so happy!
Chelly says
Picture perfect! What a nice post!
Dafna | Stellina Sweets says
Just beautiful! I can’t wait to make this cake. It really turned out just like the picture. Chelsea is one lucky girl! 🙂