a lovely living

Last weekend we celebrated my Mom’s 60th birthday. My family and I threw her a brunch that we managed to keep a surprise. Trust me, it’s hard to get things past her…even at 60! Love you, Mom ;)

Paris has always been a favorite city of hers, so that’s the theme we went with.

I decided to tackle the cake for her party. She has always loved the boxed classic, cherry chip, so I found a recipe to make it from scratch using maraschino cherries. My girlfriend had decorated a rose cake for her daughter before and I have admired it ever since. When I inquired about it she promised me it was a piece of cake (wink, wink). I took her advice as well as a few tips from Pinterest and tackled it like the amateur cake decorator I am. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but that’s why I love it. One, big, beautiful mess of icing!

In a quick summary, here’s how I tackled the cake:

Bake cakes (cherry chip recipe below).

Ice cakes with a thin crumb layer of icing.

Use a round cookie cutter and gently press around the cake to indent an outline of where the roses will go (this step was a huge help in keeping all roses the same size and spaced appropriately!).

I used a large 2D piping tip and simply piped the icing in a circular motion from the inside of the circle to the outside.

Continue until all circles are filled.

Cherry Chip Cake and Buttercream Icing via Completely Delicious:

Ingredients
• For the cake:
• 1 10 ounce (283 grams) jar maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups (226 grams) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cup (315 ml) buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice

For the buttercream frosting:
• 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups (900 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions
1. To make the cake:
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
3. Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice. In a food processor or with a sharp knife, finely chop the cherries. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg whitesone at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine the buttermilk and maraschino cherry juice. Add the flour mixture to the mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Mix after each addition and scrape down the bowl as necessary. Stir in the chopped maraschino cherries.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. To make the frosting and assemble the cake:
8. Place the butter, sifted powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and almond extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (alternately you can use a hand-held mixer). Mix on low speed until moistened, then increase speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
9. Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Cover with 1/2 cup of the buttercream frosting. Place second cake layer on top and cover tops and sides with remaining buttercream. Let firm up for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before serving.
10. Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.