It finally happened. Ohhhh… it was awful. And there was a brief moment when I thought nothing could be saved and there would be no wedding cake. Can you imagine?? Your One-Big-Day never to be repeated like birthdays or graduations and the centerpiece of the cuisine ruined.
As you can see, the completed cake before the 2 mile drive to the reception was pristine and smooth. Since it was such a short drive I was less nervous than usual about it tipping or sliding. I had engineered a strong structure that was spill proof. What could go wrong?
Not one block away from the fridge that stored this creation the bottom tier cracked and the top two tiers went sliding into the back seat. No matter how strong your structure is if the cake breaks tiers will roll. Fondant was torn and frosting shmeared everywhere.
I panicked.
That's it! The cake is ruined!!
We drive back and carry the broken mooshed cake back into the kitchen. What do I do?? How do you fix a cake in 5 minutes? The reception was to start in 45 minutes and the wedding coordinator was telling me that guests were already starting to arrive. Having no idea of what to do I had no idea of how much time it would take to put this cake back together. Voice shaking I relay the last 15 minutes over the phone to the wedding coordinator and promise to deliver a cake. I decide that no matter what, even if the clock strikes midnight, I will deliver a beautiful cake that looks as close to the original as possible.
Never give up.
Thankfully all the sugar flowers, chocolate seashells and palm trees were still intact. Carefully pulling them from the cake to be reused I assess the damage and choose what can be re-iced and what cannot.
Deep breaths.
Ferociously reshaping, re-icing and re-covering the cakes my heart rate came down. I decide to box each tier individually and stack the cakes on-sight. Unfortunately, the bottom tier was beyond repair but still edible and so it was boxed up too.
An hour and a half after the original delivery I return with another pristine and smooth cake decorated just the same although a little bit shorter.
A week later I find out that the bride didn't even realize the cake was missing a tier and that the cracked mooshed bottom tier was the yummiest and enjoyed the most. Thanks to the caterers that tier was sliced behind kitchen doors. Whew!
I did it! And I'm grateful for the experience. Should it ever happen again (which it will NOT) I'm prepared.
Keep on truckin'!
Connie
