My Best Friends Wedding... Cake!

Fiona and I at her Hen Party, Dingle, May 2015.

 

I have reached the point in my life where my friends have started getting engaged and married. I have always loved weddings from reading about them, attending them and even planning them (come on ladies who hasn't been planning their wedding since they were a little girl?). There is something very special about attending the wedding of someone you love but even more being part of the wedding of someone you love.

 

This photo was taken the day after our Debs, 2006!!  

 

Myself and Fiona, London, 2009.



 

I met Fiona over 11 years ago in school and our friendship was sealed over crusty rolls and chicken wings when we worked together in our local supermarket deli. Fiona lived outside of our town and I was in walking distance to work so early shifts (coupled with nights out before) meant Fiona stayed at my house quite a lot.. which is where she met Bommie. Bommie (Thomas) was friends with my brother Darragh and Bommie was also living outside of town so he also spent a lot of time at our house. I don't know when the two of them fell for each other but I do know that just over 9 years ago they had a sneaky little kiss on our front porch and the rest is history. They married on the 14th of this month in a beautiful ceremony in Abbeyside and then onto the most wonderful reception in the Radisson Blu, Little Island, Cork.

 

Mr and Mrs Kiely heading off to their Wedding Reception 

 

When Fiona rang me 2 years ago and asked me to be her bridesmaid it was a resounding YES from me. She was the first of my close school friends to get married and we were all beyond excited for the big day. I remember Fiona saying from the beginning that they did not want a big wedding cake but a desert table with a small token cake to cut. When they asked me to bake this cake I was absolutely thrilled to say yes.. although a little unnerved! It's one thing to bake a cake for a party but a wedding? This was a first!!

 

Having discussed it with the happy couple they decided on a two tier buttercream cake, lemon on one tier and chocolate on the other.  As I live in London it was difficult to have a tasting so they put their full faith in me from the get go.. no pressure!! I decided on a 10" lemon sponge filled with lemon curd and vanilla buttercream, covered in vanilla buttercream on the lower tier. For the top tier an 8" chocolate sponge filled with chocolate buttercream and covered in vanilla buttercream. Then we had some beautiful fresh flowers from Fiona's florist to decorate.

 

Mrs Kiely and I, August 14th, 2015.

 

The wedding was taking place on a Friday so I had initially decided on making the sponges the weekend before and freezing them which I had read on a number of blogs. Unfortunately this would not have worked out as our freezer at home was just too small and full for this. In the end I made the sponges on Wednesday, let them cool and wrapped tightly in cling film overnight. I then filled and assembled the cakes on Thursday ready for fresh flowers on Friday.

 

The finished product!

 

As I started to assemble the cakes on Thursday I thought to myself in the morning "This is going well". Spoke too soon. The weather decided to be unusually hot for Ireland those few days running up to the wedding.. as any baker will agree.. not ideal temperatures to be working with buttercream! With only one meltdown and an emergency trip into town for the lemon curd (thanks mum!) I got there in the end. I think I just wanted it to be perfect for Fiona and Bommie and when things weren't going well I panicked. I honestly would not have coped had it not been for my mum being my own personal cheerleader behind me all the way. Six batches of buttercream later the cake was done and chilling in the fridge and I could go and check up on the bride on the eve of her wedding.

 

Thank you to Mum and Dad for getting the cake to venue and Mum again for placing the flowers on the cake while I was glamming it up and sipping Prosecco with the bridal party :) ! The appreciation from the Bride and Groom made every bit of it worth it. The hotel even kept them back 2 slices of each when they were cutting it up and they enjoyed every bite of it the day after. Wishing Fiona and Bommie the worlds love and happiness for the rest of their married lives. Love you guys and thanks again for such an amazing weekend!!

 

Let them eat cake!

 

I'm back..

O x

Raspberry and Lemon Loaf Cake

One of the things I love most about summer is the food. The new potatoes, the summer fruits and always having an excuse to eat ice-cream (not that I ever need an excuse to eat ice-cream). The biggest one for me though is the fruit and especially strawberries and raspberries. Anyone from Ireland knows that the best strawberries and raspberries come from Wexford and I have the fondest memories of driving up to visit my Granny in Dublin during the summer months and stopping off to get fresh strawberries and raspberries from the vendors dotted along the coast road to Dublin from Waterford (before the motorway existed that is). Now unfortunately this recipe doesn't include Wexford raspberries as they are pretty hard to come by in London but the raspberries I am using are perfectly acceptable!! 

My parents were visiting at the weekend and while mum was engrossed in the Golf and Dad in his Sunday paper I thought it was the perfect time to go baking. They always complain they never get to sample the treats they read so much about online I couldn't let them leave without baking something for them. We had some raspberries left over from the previous nights desert and I spotted a lonely lemon in the fridge and decided to try out a new recipe. This cake is so tasty and easy to make and lasts for days if stored in an air tight container in a cool dry place. Why not try it for yourself?

Ingredients:

175g Butter (at room temperature)

175g Caster Sugar

175g Self Raising Flour (sifted)

3 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Zest of 1 Lemon (grated)

1 Cup of fresh Raspberries

300g Royal Icing Sugar

Juice of 1 Lemon

Prepare:

Grease and line your loaf tin with butter and parchment paper and preheat your oven to 170C. I used a 2 lb (or 900g) loaf tin.

Method:

Cream together your butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl until a light and fluffy consistency. It is important that your butter is at room temperature as it helps to dissolve the sugar. If your butter is too cold your mixture will just clump together and you will not get the proper consistency. One by one add your eggs mixing in between each egg. For this cake I used a handheld electric whisk. You can also use a free standing mixer with pedal attachment or unlike me if you have great upper arm strength a regular balloon whisk! 

Once all your eggs have been added stir in your vanilla extract and lemon zest. When that is all combined you can fold in your flour. It is important to fold in your flour as opposed to mixing it in because you want to keep as much air in the mixture as possible to help the cake rise. Once the flour is well combined you can fold in your raspberries. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and place in the oven for 55 mins - 1 hour. You will know the cake is cooked when it is golden brown in appearance and a skewer or cocktail stick placed in the middle comes out clean.

Place on a wire rack to cool and go ahead and prepare your icing. Place your icing sugar in a mixing bowl and slowly add your lemon juice. Begin with 2-3 tablespoons and one teaspoon at a time after that if needed. Stir until you get a runny paste consistency. You will know the icing is done when you lift and pour a spoon of the icing onto itself and it holds its shape for a few seconds before disappearing. 

Once the cake has cooled COMPLETELY you can pour the icing over the entire top of the cake and let it ooze down the side of the cake naturally. Try to resist coaxing it down as you may pull crumbs with it! You may want to put some kitchen paper or parchment paper under the cooling rack to catch the excess. Leave the icing to form a slight crust before slicing and enjoy :) . 

I hope you do try out this recipe and if you do please let me know how you got on. As always you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so tag me, tweet me or just leave me a message telling me how you got on. I hope you are all having a lovely summer so far and the weather is nice wherever you're reading this from! 

Happy Baking,

O x