Honey Moon Cake

Last weekend was the Honey Moon, a rare event when the moon appears large and yellow in the night sky. It was also close to the solstice, which makes the moon appear even larger, so it was especially notable. I tried to replicate the color in the icing, with the dark blue of the night sky for the decorations.

It was also the Engagement party of two very special people, so the perfect time for a fancy cake.

This cake was absolutely heavenly. I forgot to get a picture of a cut slice, for a good reason - they were eaten too quickly! It was a big cake, but I saw people going back for seconds, and thirds, and maybe just a little slice more...

The bottom layer was a slightly-altered-for-the-better version of my Strawberry Velvet recipe, baked with a homemade syrup I made fresh from strawberries we picked just a few days before at Highland Orchards. They were so sweet, I didn't even use any honey - just mashed them and cooked them down until they were a good consistency, then ran them through the mini food processor. I used 8 oz. in the cake, then another 4 to make a Strawberry Buttercream that I used for the crumb coat. The outer icing was Coconut Buttercream. It all combined for a light, fluffy cake that was sweet but subtly so.

The Strawberry Velvet batter:

The top layer was an all new recipe: Cocoa Cabernet. This was downright delicious. The cocoa makes it rich without being heavy, while one recipe uses about 3 cups of wine combined. The wine is used as the liquid in the recipe then injected directly into the baked cake and allowed to soak in before it is assembled, which makes it unbelievably moist. Unlike many cakes with liquor, this one retains both some of the alcohol content and the tang of the wine, making for a unique taste. It used the Strawberry Buttercream as filling and the same Coconut Buttercream for the frosting.

Congrats to Ryan & Rachel on their engagement! It was an amazing party for the Honey Moon!