First Wedding Cake for an actual Wedding!

So very recently, one of my best friends got married.  I was lucky enough to be asked to do the cake.  The catch was that I was not only in the wedding and had other duties to fulfill but the wedding was the day after my last day of school for the year.  Yes this was very time pressing for me.  I managed to get 2 tiers done before hand, marking the first time that I have ever fondanted fake tiers.   The third and final tier was done the night before.  It wasn't even put together until the day of the wedding by the grooms father (long story) and I must admit, I am very happy by the way it turned out!

Thank you in advance for leaving a comment!

Newest update to the kitchen

After a long long week, I managed to buy and have installed an over the range microwave! This currently concludes the work I am doing on my kitchen as a backsplash is not on the list of priorities at the moment but I will revisit this later. It see previous posts on the kitchen update click here.

Lets remember the steps so far:

When I bought the house

After the initial painting job

New cabinets!

AND NOW.......

With the microwave!!! Yay!!!

Can you tell that I am super happy?!!!!

New wedding shower card

Tomorrow I have a shower to attend for another friend of mine.  I did a quick card as I did not have any extra on hand.
What do you think?

Simple is what I was going for.  Not sure if I like the umbrella but oh well.  Words and banner made with Wild Card on the Cricut.

Meringue nests/Pavlova: Depending where you live

So Im not entirely sure if you have all seen the show "American baking competition" but if you are a baker, it is awesome!  I learned soo much about baking from watching these amateurs compete to take home the ultimate prize of a cookbook deal!
Sadly it wasn't a long show, having only a small number of episodes but there were a few where I was mesmerized as to how to make things that I didn't know existed (or didn't know the "American" term for)!  One of the "showstoppers" was a meringue tart with custard and fruit topped on it.  I liked this because it reminded me of my days in France where I would see meringues in the pastry shops' windows constantly.  Having never actually having tried a meringue (other than on my lemon pie), I decided to try my best and create my version of the same thing.

I have some of my closest friends over today to be my guinea pigs! :) Thanks guys!

Pavlova Recipe: Courtesy of Chef John on Allrecipes.com

• 
  
  3/4 cups of granulated sugar
  2 teaspoons cornstarch
  3 egg whites at room temperature
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  3/4 teaspoons of white vinegar (to stabilize it apparently)
  
  
• Directions:
• 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• 2. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• 3. Whisk sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Set aside.
• 4. Beat egg whites in a bowl until they are foamy and have a thick, ribbony texture, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 5. Pour 1/4 of the sugar mixture into the egg whites; whisk until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. Repeat for the rest of the sugar mixture, whisking after each addition, until all of the sugar mixture is incorporated and the egg whites are glossy and thick.
• 6. Pour vanilla and vinegar into egg white mixture; whisk until you can lift your beater or whisk straight up and the egg whites form a sharp peak that holds its shape, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 7. Spoon egg white mixture onto prepared baking sheet; spread out into a 2-inch high by 6-inch wide disc.
• 8. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
• 9. Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door and let the Pavlova cool for one hour.

10. Spoon lemon filling onto meringues and garnish with berries. Enjoy!

In the oven like this

Served with Sheriff lemon pie filling and fresh berries