A “naked” cake. A “succulents” cake. I have to smile when I think of this recent cake. Not only bcz I love who I made it for, but my little backstory. For all the months/years of this “naked cake” or “succulents” cake craze, I’ve been shaking my head and wondering when the fad would pass (and if I’d ever get caught up in it before it did). I even thought, if there’s a cake I don’t want to make, it’s that. And if there are decos I don’t want to make, it’s succulents.
You know those conversations you look back on with tremendous relief that you didn’t blurt out your thoughts prior to someone else sharing theirs? Well, there for the grace of God go I. Our precious friends were in that delightful “planning the wedding” time and they came for a visit to talk over their cake ideas. I always listen intently to couples sharing their ideas/dreams so that I can get a feel for just what they’re envisioning for their cake and decorations. It’s one of my favourite things, to just “get it!” It’s a lot easier to do this than to have a couple say they “don’t have a preference, just surprise us!” Really, it is.
So here’s where the grace came in… we were talking and then looking at images on her Pinterest pages. I’m seeing all sorts of elegant pictures, soft rustic elegance. Scrolling down I begin to see… yep, succulents. Scrolling further, we get to the cakes. Ahhhhh, more succulents. [Ah, Oooo…. naked cakes.] Ah, yes, yes, I get what you’re wanting, I say.
[In my head: Oōōōōō, succulents on “naked cakes” Oōōō my! Oōōō my!]
And so… that began my quest to make the cake of their dreams.
I thought on it and thought on it…. over and over, I thought on it. And then determined I’d love it, too. So, I bought a succulent at the store… set it on my kitchen windowsill above my sink; stared at it for two weeks. I did this so I could “get it.” I did it so it would be in my head.
I made the fondant…
After dividing it into several pieces and colouring each piece different “succulent” shades of grayed out greens, and streaking some burgundy and pinks into some pieces, I went to work making the succulents.
On the wedding day, I made the the almond paste filling (a blend of 2/3 almond paste and 1/3 almond buttercream) and whipped up the almond buttercream frosting.
Then I added a tad bit more frosting to give the “naked cakes” a finished look. These are the middle and top tiers filled with almond filling and frosted.
I’m so thankful I got to make this cake and —seriously— am looking forward to another request to make a “naked cake” and/or a succulents cake. ♥