Today my husband and I celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. In a few months we’ll have been together for 21 years. It’s amazing how sometimes things go by in a blur and you don’t notice the passage of time and at other times you do. Usually I feel like I’ve known him my WHOLE life, not just half. I couldn’t have found a more amazing man to spend eternity with. He’s so patient with me when in all honesty I don’t always deserve it. He truly loves me unconditionally and I’m so grateful. He believes in me when I don’t believe in myself, he encourages me all the time. The motto he always recites is “never give up!”… something we work very hard to teach our kids. I could go on, but then I might get overly squishy. LOL
Here’s a cake I made for our anniversary last year. I attempted to recreate our wedding cake (as best as I could). While I’m pretty sure it wasn’t spot on, it was still super tasty!
This post originally appeared on Sweet Tea and Saving Grace as:
Chocolate, Hazelnut, & Rum Cake
Happy September! September is an awesome month because that’s the month my hubby and I were married. ? Last week we celebrated 12 years of marriage! I’ve been having this little tickle in my brain to recreate our wedding cake for a while now. I hope you enjoy this recipe for Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Rum Cake.
I remember that our wedding cake was AH-mazing! I recall the basic flavor components and what it was called. I could’ve ordered an anniversary cake from the bakery that originally made our cake, but quite frankly I was too lazy to drive into the city to get it. Plus, not to brag… I’m not a bad baker. LOL! I will say this though, if you ever find yourself in Chicago and you have a desire for some delicious European baked goodness then Oak Mill Bakery is your place. My entire family loves it and has used them for many special occasions. In fact, my brother’s only requirement for choosing a reception venue for his own wedding was based on whether or not the facility used Oak Mill.
Since my recollection of the precise layering and filling of the cake was vague, I just kind of winged it. I got the major components… there was chocolate, there were hazelnuts, and there was RUM! First I made a chocolate cake, then a yellow cake with toasted hazelnuts, and chocolate mousse. Oh, and each of those components has rum in it. Then to finish the cake off I made a silky, vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.
After I made the cake I thought it would be cool to incorporate my actual wedding dress in the pictures. The dress and veil you see behind the cake was all handmade by my grandmother. She was an insanely incredible tailor! She not only made my dress, but all 10 of my bridesmaid dresses, my mom’s, my mother-in-laws, my other grandmother’s, and her own. Bringing out my dress for this reminded me so much of her and all the amazing things that she had made not just for me, but so many others. <sigh> As I was editing the photos I realized that a little finger swiped through the frosting. My grandmother would’ve found that hilarious and hey, what is a cake without a little 3 year old having left their mark to make sure that frosting is tasty. ?
Yes, this cake is not the kind of cake you just whip up in 30 minutes, but I promise that you will love it! And you don’t have to wait for a wedding or an anniversary to make this cake… I think your family will love you forever if you bring it to their house for the next party or holiday.
P.S. I decorated this cake by piping swirls all over it. I was going for a wedding-esque look and I wanted to practice my piping skills. Much of what I learn when it comes to decorating a cake comes from YouTube. A few key things to keep in mind that will help you up your homemade cake decorating game is doing a crumb coat, chilling the cake, and cleaning off your spatula of excess buttercream. Here is a great video with a simple decorating technique using just an offset spatula.
Click here for the complete recipe.
Enjoy!
xox Roxana
