Who's excited! I am so happy to finally be sharing this bridal shower! It was about a week ago, but school has been keeping me crazy busy and I just haven't had the time. First and foremost, I wanna give my best friend Emilie a big huge hug and CONGRATULATIONS on her bridal shower! Everything went just as planned, the decorations were perfect and the food was delicious. And she got so many presents! We all had a great time, and I hope she had as much fun as we did. 🙂 I will share the recipe for this show-stopping 15 pound monster cake at the end but for now... let's party!
The theme for this adorable bridal shower was Breakfast at Tiffany's! Well, brunch at Tiffany's. 🙂 Our sweet little bride-to-be is vegan, so we wanted to make sure we included lots of choices to please everyone! Food included vegan blueberry muffins, fresh fruit, ham and cheese wraps, nuts, quiche, and pigs in a blanket. And of course the cake! For drinks, we had tea and coffee, along with mimosas and sparkling grape juice. Fabulous!
We also played some fun little games! We did one where the bride would read off facts and we would have to guess if they were about her or her future hubby. We raised a crown if we thought it was her, or a little mustache for the man! Totally cute. Another one was this clothespin game... each person got two clothespins, one with "Wedding" and one with "Bride." These were the forbidden words for the party! If you caught someone else saying them, you could steal their pin. The person with the most at the end won! This was cute also because it was low-maintenance and went on for the whole party. It was easy to forget, which made it fun because you were caught off-guard!
Now, time to talk cake! I wasn't kidding when I said this baby weighted 15 lbs. I didn't actually weigh her, but I'm sure it was something close! She is made of 5 layers of dark chocolate cake, filled with chocolate ganache, and frosted with buttercream... all totally vegan! I have to say this is some of the best cake I've ever eaten, vegan or not! The cake itself was moist and dense, not crumbly, and tasted almost like a rich brownie. The "buttercream" was some of the easiest buttercream I've ever made, came together in just a few minutes, and tasted great! It was light and fluffy, and perfect with the chocolatey cake. This turned out better than I could have ever imagined!
If you are needing a vegan cake recipe {or just a really good chocolate cake recipe}, I absolutely recommend this one! It's originally from Sarah Bakes Gluten-Free Treats. I made a couple of changes so we could fit it to our needs, but it's absolutely amazing! As for the frosting, you simply pipe the roses with a Wilton 1M tip. Start in the center of your rose and twist your way out! If you need a more detailed explanation, you can go to i am baker's website. Happy happy baking!
Vegan Bridal Barbie Cake
Recipe from Sarah Bakes Gluten-Free Treats
Yields: 40+ servings
for two cakes
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white granulated sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup water
⅔ cup corn oil
4 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
for the buttercream
½ cup Earth Balance vegan butter
¼ cup butter-flavored Crisco
3 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoon coconut milk coffee creamer {almond milk will work here as well}
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the chocolate ganache filling
1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips {Ghirardelli is vegan}
⅓ cup coconut milk coffee creamer
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, dust with flour, and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add in the almond milk, water, and oil, and mix vigorously. Add in the vinegar and vanilla, and mix until well combined. Divide the batter between the two pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes. For the Barbie cake, you will need to make three round 8-inch cakes plus one batch of cake {as written above} baked in a glass bowl. I baked it in my greased and floured 2.5 quart glass Pirex bowl for about an hour. If you don't have one, they are about $4 at Walmart! Once all the cake has been baked and cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours to solidify.
When you are ready to assemble, take your cakes out of the fridge. Using a serrated knife, split the bowl cake into two even pieces. In a small nonstick pot, heat the coffee creamer {for the ganache}. When it starts to bubble, pour in the chocolate chips. Turn off the heat, and mix until melted and smooth. Place your first round cake onto your serving platter, and top with some of the ganache, spreading it with a spatula. Repeat with all layers until everything is stacked, obviously leaving the two halves of the bowl cake for the top. Chill while you prepare the buttercream.
In a medium bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, make a HALF recipe for the buttercream above. Combine ¼ cup Earth Balance and 2 tablespoon Crisco, beating until fluffy. Add in 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, then 1-2 tablespoon of coconut creamer. Beat until light and creamy. If your cake needs to be trimmed, do it now! Then, using a spatula, give the entire cake a crumb coat. The half recipe should be just enough! If you have a Barbie, now is the time to insert her. I made a simple bodice out of white fondant {purchased from Hobby Lobby}, then wrapped her legs tightly with plastic wrap. Simply stick her in the middle of the cake! Place the whole thing in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
When you are ready to decorate, make more buttercream! Including the crumb coat, I made 3 FULL batches of buttercream. If you want a frosting that is closer to pure white {as opposed to creamy ivory}, I suggest using plain white Crisco and clear vanilla flavoring. Repeat the process above, then fill a decorating bag fitted with a 1M tip. Decorate as you wish! Cake doesn't have to be chilled again if it will be served shortly after. Have fun and enjoy!
p.s. Dear Emilie, we all love you so, so much! Lots of hugs and blessings for your special day, and life with your wonderful man. Love always and forever, your sisters! <3
Leave a Reply