Yesterday was my one year wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? One whole year. It went by so quickly I can hardly believe it myself. A new job, quitting old jobs, being unemployed, moving across the country. It's been super busy and crazy, but equally as fun. We've been truly blessed this past year and I thought it would be nice to celebrate at home - with a nice dinner, some champagne, netflix, and this Sunday Night Cake from Baked: Explorations.
I know! You are supposed to eat your wedding cake on your one year anniversary, but I couldn't eat my wedding cake on my wedding day. Well, I could eat the "groom's cake" that my lovely aunt made for us, but not the tiered one, so there's no top tier for us to eat. And really, I don't know the reason or tradition behind eating the old cake, but for me, wasting freezer space on old cake for an entire year seems pretty silly, especially when you can make fresh, yummy cake for the occasion.
I baked my cake in a round pan (8 or 9 inch-ish) since that's what I had. It occurred to me later that I probably could have used a glass baking dish that I did have, but oh well. I think that if I had made it in the square pan, or in a springform pan (which would have had taller edges, allowing the cake to rise higher?) that it might have grown a bit taller and been more airy. But we're all short in this house, so I guess the cake fits in.
For the frosting, I used 62% Cocoa dark chocolate instead of the unsweetened the recipe suggests because that's what I had on hand. I don't know what the unsweetened version tasted like, but this was amazing. I did manage to frost the cake, but I for sure licked the bowl when I was done. It wasn't too sweet as cake frosting usually are and, like the donuts, the flavor of the frosting complimented the spice in the cake in the most delicious way possible.
I was pleased with the ease of preparation and flavor of this cake. It was a bit on the dense side for me, but still moist despite me baking it into obliteration. I was a bit hesitant while frosting the cake as it seemed like a crazy amount, but was glad I went all out. Because the cake is so dense, for me, the added frosting helped balance out the cake to frosting ratio, especially since there are no layers to get a bit more frosting in there.
We served this with a dinner of homemade calzones (as requested by the hubs), sauteed french beans and of course, a glass of champagne to celebrate our one year and toast many more to come.
To see how this turned out for the other bakers, check out this link. For the Sunday Night cake recipe, check out Julie's blog, Little Bit of Everything. Thanks, Julie for hosting!
Love the photos! (as usual)!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking cake! Happy Anniversary!
Your frosting looks to die for. I definitely need to make this again to try out the chocolate frosting.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! I love the second to last one with the wedding topper in the background. :)
Happy Anniversary!
Great photos! Your cake looks beautiful! And Happy Anniversary!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary! Our 8-year anniversary is tomorrow. We have that same Willow Tree figure in your post. I am sure that your cake was much better than some year old cake from the freezer. I remember eating ours and it was not good. As always your pictures look fabulous. I didn't get to bake this month, but your pictures make me want to try this for sure!
ReplyDeleteThank you guys! and Happy Anniversary to you, too, PhD!
ReplyDeleteLove your cookbook-worthy photos. Happy Anniversary, and many more!
ReplyDeleteLove how delicious your frosting looks in your pics!! Happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteThanks - it tasted pretty good too!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary. That chocolate frosting is calling me.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary!! Oh yes this cake is better than wedding cake that's been frozen for a year. Your pictures are beautiful. Thanks for baking along with me.
ReplyDeleteThe photos of your cake are beautiful. Happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteHey Jess,
ReplyDeleteAww- what a beautiful cake. So pretty!! you really did a nice job and I am putting it my memory bank to copy. Love the circular frosting- you did it so well - it really looks beautiful. Happy Anniversay!
Champagne, netflix and a freshly made cake sounds like the PERFECT 1st wedding anniversary to me! Congrats on the milestone! Ps - your swirly on top of your cake frosting is so cute!
ReplyDeleteI may have used powdered sugar, but I think that frosting looks so lick-able even on my computer screen! YUM! Maybe I should just make a batch of that.
ReplyDelete