wonderment

This past weekend, a friend and I threw a surprise birthday party for her sister. The kicker was it was her half birthday, which doubled the surprise.

We knew it would be tricky to pull off the surprise on her formal birthday, as she had thrown a surprise party for her hubby earlier this year, so she'd already be expecting something. Or at least be on her guard and suspicious. I suggested we look at a half birthday party, and when perusing the calendar, we realized her actual half birthday was on a Saturday. Perfect!

Then the flurry of planning began and we invited family and friends, figured out the menu (we went with a soup bar--three kinds of soups, veggie platters, fun cheeses, breads, crackers) and I set out to pick out a cake.

Abigail leans towards fruity cakes with light or no frosting, so I grabbed my lemon cookbook and my big cake book. As the RSVPs rolled in, I realized the lemon cake I was leaning toward wouldn't be big enough. 

Thus, the Buttermilk Sponge Cake with Cranberry-Raspberry Preserves and White Chocolate Frosting* was created.

I love being able to make cakes in stages. The preserves I made three days ahead of time. The cake the day before, and the frosting I whipped up the same day as assembly.

Sugar syrup for frosting: this is about three quarters done--can you see how it's clear on the right and still a little thick on the left?

The book said I'd have a little leftover preserves, but I just put it all on the cake with no issues.

Our raspberry patch produced a few raspberries this fall (quite unusual), so I could grab some for a garnish, along with a mint sprig from the garden.

This cake turned out perfectly--the frosting is super light and not killer sweet, the preserves add a tart aspect and the cake is dense enough to hold up to the filling, but not so heavy the frosting is lost. I ate my piece the next morning and everything was still holding up quite well. The color does get a little purplish, rather than red, but it still looks pretty.

I'm sure you're all wondering: was she surprised? YES. We were completely successful and it took her half an hour to recover. Once she got over the shock, she had a blast and gladly took the spotlight as the guest of honor for the evening.



*Want the recipe? Get the book! Perhaps your local library has it.