Eat Cake!

They say, whoever "they" are, that when you're a bride-to-be and you're shopping for a wedding dress that "you just know" when you've found THE ONE. That you'll put it on and get emotional and just have this avalanche of feelings come over you saying, "This is the one." That never happened to me. I tried on every type of dress: mermaid, A-line, fit and flair, princess, ballgown, etc. I never felt more strongly toward one or another. I knew I wanted a dress that wasn't uptight and I knew that I liked lace and I liked the airiness of tulle so I went online and just bought one that I liked without putting too much thought into it. Like I was picking out a cocktail dress or something. I also didn't want to spend the average cost of a wedding dress ($28,000 according to CNN!) because it literally gets worn for just a few hours! It's a dress, not a diamond! I was so not a bridezilla. (Lucky for my husband!)

I just wanted to marry my love. I did want to have a wedding, rather than just go to the courthouse, because I felt that such a momentous occasion deserved a little bit of a celebration. I was planning the wedding myself, and we were paying for the wedding ourselves, so in a sense the dress was just another item on the checklist that was needed to have a wedding!

Me being me, the cake was a very important item on the wedding "To-Do" list. Being gluten free meant that I'd have to find a gluten free cake baker who could actually make a delicious cake that didn't taste gluten free. That seemed to be a tall order. I toyed with the idea of just getting a regular cake but that would've meant that I wouldn't have been able to eat any. No thanks! So as usual I ended up taking matters into my own hands and made my own wedding cake. Gluten free without compromising texture or flavor - the only way!

I made a vanilla cake with very finely chopped edible organic roses. I frosted it with a rose flavored buttercream and topped it off with assorted organic edible flowers. It was delicious if I do say so myself. Half of it is sitting in our freezer ... it used to be about two thirds but one day I had a craving and thawed it to have a piece. I know we're suppose to save it and eat it on our one year anniversary, and we will, if it's still there! I guess what I'm trying to say is I guess I'm just not the sentimental type. I used to be but the older I get the less I seem to care. What matters most to me is the big picture - that I married the love of my life, I had a wedding, my friends and family were there, and we ate cake! And most importantly I never had a single doubt or second thought about marrying my husband. It just felt like the natural thing to do.

Eating cake is a natural thing to do also. Not just at weddings, not just at parties, not just on your birthday, but whenever the heck you feel like it. I'm a proud supporter of giving in to cravings. I honestly believe that eating a little bit of cake whenever you want probably keeps you from eating an entire cake one day because your willpower just can't take it anymore!

Here is my all time favorite go-to vanilla cake recipe: Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Cake Recipe.

Whenever I want to make a flavored cake (like cotton candy!) I use this recipe and just add flavorings.

If I'm making it for regular people (people who can eat gluten) I use regular cake flour. If I'm making it for me or someone like me and it needs to be gluten free I substitute the flour with my own gluten free cake flour mix. I use a mixture of brown rice flour, potato flour, tapioca starch and xanthan gum but there are many gluten free flour mix recipes out there as well as pre-packaged flours that will work.

"A party without cake is just a meeting." - Julia Child