We picked up grandson Nathaniel from school for term break, and he was still wearing his uniform. He had just finished the last lab of his training. Next term, and for the next two years, he will have only academic courses. David took the luggage to the car, while Nate carried the top tier of a wedding cake! He had made the cake, and as he was leaving, his chef told him to take the top tier. Usually students don’t take food from the lab, but it was too late to serve any to students or to donate it. We were the happy recipients.
Not only did Nathaniel know how to produce a wedding cake, he knew how to cut it. He said the top tier should serve 15 people. According to him, the fondant covering should be discarded. That’s why the slices on the plates looked naked. Naked or not, the cake was delicious.
Mehrling Muse 
Looks yummy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So cool!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a beautiful cake, even if it is only the top of it. Loves me some wedding cake, I do. Glad you enjoyed yours.
LikeLike
I found out Nathaniel prefers to decorate with butter cream, and that would be my first choice for taste. We’ve had seconds on the cake and will finish it today. The cake is staying moist and very firm. Nate said his chef commented that his cake was a perfect base for decorating. Nice praise, but he still prefers to make bread,
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fondant seems such a ridiculous idea. I’ve never understood why it’s used other than “looks”. Nathanial is very talented… and I just love that smile of his!
LikeLike
Nathaniel would agree with you. Fondant is mostly for looks. He much prefers butter cream for decorating. Bread baking is his favorite. He doesn’t feel he has a flair for decorating or for designing cakes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would eat the fondant too- I wonder why they discard it- is it because the combination of sugar and fat is too much. That would be the best part of the cake for me.
But seriously, that cake was so beautiful- it could be sold in a shop.
Did he make it himself? If he does only academic courses, next term, will he still practice all these skills he is learning somewhere- what I am asking is do these skills go away without practice?
Glad Nate is home with you all. Wish I could have met them too.
Susie
LikeLike
If I understood him correctly, a wedding cake covered in fondant is cut in the kitchen and goes out to guests without the fondant. Seems silly to me. I much prefer butter cream, as does Nathaniel. I agree with you that the icing is the best part, but maybe not fondant. Nate wouldn’t let us taste it.
Nathaniel made the cake himself — everyone in the class made one. He will not cook at school again, though he might have catering jobs off campus. He works in the cafeteria, so he will be cooking, but not making a wedding cake. I’m sure he could hone his decorating skills quickly if needed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve often wondered about fondant. Seems too perfect to eat. Anyhow, I’m not a fan of icing so I wouldn’t eat it anyway. The cake is gorgeous. He will be an amazing chef.
LikeLike
Butter cream is much tastier than fondant, I think. That is what Nathaniel prefers to decorate with. The wedding cake might have been his final exam in that course.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My mom made the best butter cream!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a gorgeous cake. He is doing so well in his course.
LikeLike
Nathaniel feels he doesn’t have a flair for decorating or designing cakes. I guess it’s enough that he can do whatever he needs to do. He would love to own a bakery that features bread. I guess he’d hire someone else to do the cake part.
LikeLike
I’m with him on the love of bread. Homebaked bread is just heaven. But…I do enjoy looking at the extremely over decorated cakes.I even have Penterest spot for them .
LikeLike
I enjoy seeing specially decorated cakes, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yum! How beautiful! I’ll bet you didn’t know if you should eat it, or frame it! 😀
I’ll want mine to be chocolate – if I do get another stab at a wedding. (I hope! 😉 )
LikeLike
I’m with you! Make it chocolate!
LikeLike
I never knew that fondant wasn’t to be eaten. That explains its taste!
LikeLike
We rarely go to weddings. I doubt we’ve ever seen a cake covered in fondant. Please watch to see if the fondant covering is served to you. I’d love to know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am afraid right now we are out of the wedding circuit and into the funeral circuit.
LikeLike
We’re on the funeral merry-go-round, too. Most of the people were old and had lived full lives. There is more quiet appreciation than raw grief.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Until we moved east I had never been to wakes. Now I have gotten used to seeing bodies, sometimes even of people I didn’t know, I just knew their family.
LikeLike
I think caskets were closed at most of the wakes I’ve been to.
Did you not have wakes where you were before?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not at all in Oregon. Here for some reason the caskets are usually open. Odd.Kneel and pray in front of the dead one.
LikeLike
We usually skirt around the kneeler.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t figured out how to do that gracefully. People seem to line up and move together one after another.
LikeLike
We walk past. No one has ever suggested we should stop and pray. People know we pray for live people, not dead ones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find it rather odd myself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was reading the prior comments – I did not know about the fondant and can’t remember the last wedding I went to – maybe 1976? I prefer butter cream frosting too. In Canada, they save the top layer for the first born birth celebration. They keep it in the freezer, as did my parents and it was frozen for three years. 🙂 However, in Canada they used to have just fruitcake with an icing on it … the fruitcake slices are wrapped in plastic, a paper doily around it and secured with a ribbon – they are inside the fake cake.
We used to have a rustic bread store with hearth ovens and when it opened up, rustic breads were not commonplace. But my mom and I stopped in often – we had bought/eaten rustic breads for years as my father liked the Dimpflmeier German bread or peasant breads. We were beating a path there more and more and it was about a 20-mile round trip, then they suddenly closed. They were pricey, but it was a treat for us. When Marge’s husband retired (due to cirrhosis of the liver – he was on a liver wait list), one of their kids bought them a bread-baking machine for Christmas. Marge said they got up every morning, perused their “ready-made mixes” and then sat there watching the bread-baking machine make their bread. They’d smell it and were hungrier by the moment. They were eating a small loaf daily and then they finally packaged it up and put it in the basement after they couldn’t fit into their clothes anymore.
LikeLike
The Canadian customs are interesting. The top tier of our wedding cake would be served on the first anniversary. Nathaniel asked me about it, because that’s what he was told in school. He had never heard it before. He is only 20 years old, and none of his friends have gotten married. I presume a chef told the class about the tradition so they would not cut and serve the top tier at the wedding reception.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I assume they stiill do this custom as a few years ago my mother’s godchild’s daughter got married and they sent us a box with some of the fruitcake in it. When Kate Middleton and William were married, they had two wedding cakes. I had heard this story before, but the traditional cake was fruitcake and there was a separate cake that catered more to Williams’ tastes. Here is a story on it:
https://www.thespruce.com/the-royal-wedding-cakes-3490157
LikeLike
I enjoyed reading that. Thank you for the link.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome Anne – I thought you would enjoy it, having lived in England and maybe Nathaniel would like it too. And interestingly, since Harry and Meghan are striving to be non-traditional Royals, they did not have a traditional wedding cake either. No fruitcake, a regular cake with buttercream frosting. I had heard and was surprised.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a14018988/prince-harry-meghan-markle-wedding-cake/
LikeLike
That wedding cake was interesting. Thanks for the link.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome Anne – I am guessing that straying from tradition with the cake probably raised a few eyebrows and the Queen had no idea what was eventually coming down the pipeline.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful!!! Is it going to be hard for him to stick to straight academics and no labs?
LikeLike
I suspect labs were the greatest part of his college experience, but we’re all encouraging him to get the four-year degree.
LikeLike
A true artist!!
LikeLike
Nathaniel doesn’t feel he has artistic flair, but he works hard to make things as good as possible.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a talent! My daughter loves to eat fondant but I’m with Nathan about pulling it off. Those photos make me want cake right now!🍰
LikeLike
We had another tiny piece of cake tonight. There are still five pieces to go.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not sure I could resist over-eating, leaving none left😄! Great job with your self discipline!
LikeLike
When everyone watched the cake diminish, no one would sneak a piece. Besides, it was tricky to cut, so we asked Nathaniel to do the honors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a magnificent cake topper and I’ll bet it tasted as good as it looked!
LikeLike
It tasted very good. The health aspect was excellent, also. The servings were tiny on the second day. They will be even smaller the last time.
LikeLike
That is one beautiful cake!!
LikeLiked by 1 person