An elegant Macaroon Tower for an enchanting wedding



Macaroon Tower in subtle shades of
brown, caramel and cream

I made this Macaroon Tower for Riette and Christo for their elegant contemporary bushveld wedding. They did not want a traditional cake and loved the tower as an alternative. The tower stood in the centre of the reception venue and received much praise from the guests. It looked particularly serene as the sun began to set over the panoramic bushveld view. This particular tower held about 260 Macaroons, which were made up of three flavours: Mocha, Vanilla and Salted Caramel.

Since I was a guest at the wedding, and a die-hard one at that, I know that all but two dozen Macaroons remained on the tower at the end of the evening. The Macaroons were a hit and it would appear that dessert is not the exclusive domain of women ... The Groom and his entourage were certainly not bashful when it came to satisfying their taste for all things sweet and chocolatey!



A mini Chocolate Cake accompanied the tower

for the 'Cutting Ceremony'



 

















Versatile and colourful ... the ethereal Macaroon.

Happy Birthday Savannah angel!

Hello Kitty Cake
Choc, Vanilla & Strawberry rainbow cake covered
in Vanilla Buttercream and pink Fondant

Handmade sugar paste bows and roses
adorn the cake, with royal icing piping detail

The infamous Macaroon Tower

Finally, after threatening for the past six months to make a Macaroon tower I finally did it, and it was not half as difficult as I imagined it might be. Granted, there is much room for improvement, but as a first attempt I think its pretty decent. I displayed it at a 'wedding cake tasting' event and the tower received good reviews from the patrons. A Macaroon tower or Croquembouche as it is more correctly termed is a very popular subsitute for a conventional wedding cake in Europe and more recently in The States.
Of course, the only way to really appreciate a Macaroon tower is to eat the Macaroons. I am therefore happy to report that by the end of the morning the cone looked decidedly naked. The flavours were much appreciated, with the coconut & milk choc combination taking first prize in the taste stakes. The other fillings that I used for tower were Raspberry & Litchi, Espresso & Hazelnut, Vanilla & Lime.

The Red Velvet ... still everybody's favourite

The Red Velvet Cake has proven over the past few months to be a best seller. It would appear that my clients (and their pets) just can't get enough of it. I decorated this one for a Birthday celebration with fresh strawberries and chil choc macaroons.

Macaroon party favours and gift boxes

I make up gift boxes and party favours of Macaroons and Petit Fours. My friends love giving these as gifts and their friends love receiving them.

Happy Birthday!

Never too old for singing candles ...



... or too Macho for pink roses!



Macaroons at L'Epis Dore

Nicole's Pretty Perfect Pastry is now supplying Macaroons to L'epis Dore in Menlo Park, Pretoria. So ... all you wonderful people of Pre(his)toria, do yourselves a favour and take a trip to 'little Provance' to enjoy a Cappuccino and a delectable Macaroon amongst the Lavender and Roses in the quaint garden setting of L'epis Dore (Greenlyn Village Centre, 13th Avenue, Menlo Park, Pretoria).

Red Velvet Romance

To Tanya and Brett with love ... 

All you need is love.
Tanya & Brett 2 April 2011

My sister Tanya was gracious enough to entrust the making of her precious wedding cake to me. I say this because I have never made a Three-Tier cake before, let alone one for such a significant occasion. I am relieved to declare, with a fair amount of confidence, that I did not disappoint her.

Tanya and Brett wanted a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. There is simply no better cake through which to celebrate love and life than a fabulously moist and silky Red Velvet Cake. I am certain that the best recipe for this cake, on this planet at least, is the one that I used from Callie Maritz and Mari-Louis Guy. I have made the cake a dozen times and it has never failed to impress ... even the 'die-hard-non-wedding-cake-eating-guy' gave me a High Five Bru for my effort. Thank you Rich, exhilarating praise indeed!



For the love of cake

I first made this cake for 'my friend Stephen' for his 38th Birthday. I say this with the confidence of having made the cake a hundred times, whereas I have only made it five times. I found the recipe in one of my favourite recipe books titled 'Cakes to Celebrate Love and Life' by Callie Maritz and Mari-Louis Guy. The cake is called a 'German Chocolate Cake', but is not German at all. The name comes from the chocolate brand (German's Sweet Chocolate) used by the housewife who created the recipe. It consists of three tiers of moist chocolate sponge sandwiched together with toasted pecan and coconut custard, and covered with a rich Chocolate Buttercream Icing. Stephen described his experience of eating this cake as 'a culinary orgasm'. That's pretty lofty praise for a cake. Thank you Stephen, and thank you Callie and Mari-Louis for such a seductive recipe.

For the love of Macaroons