There Was a Wedding

Cupcakes and Cakes

Readers, i know you will forgive me for my absence when i say that i have been busy with a big project: a wedding. Yes a wedding cake! In Brazil, fondant is known as "American Paste" or something like that, as very few wedding cakes in Brazil are covered with the stuff. Leave it to an American to fulfill the prophecy. Petit in size, the two-tiered cake was accompanied by an army of cupcakes; also unheard of in Brazil. I signed up to make the cakes from the minute i found out about this wedding, and of course i planned all along to bake and decorate it all on the day before the event as i knew there would be a few other things to do; such as getting the rest of the event planned and legalized. Wedding planner too? Whose wedding was this? My own :)

Yes. me. wedding on Saturday at 10:35 am in a civil registry office wearing a very tight (but coutour) pearl white dress that hit the knee. No fluffy "Say Yes to the Dress" princess gown. The plan: small wedding as un-wedding like as possible. But do not think we are rebels; it wasn't because we didn't want, but because i wasn't interested in having a real wedding with my side of the aisle empty. With the rest of my family back in the United States, there was no possiblity of asking everyone to fly to Brazil at the same time. The result: civil registry office with 16 witnesses followed by a lunch at a Brazilian steak restaurant (yes the ones with the dressed up Gauchos) and my laptop computer planted squarly on the table in lieu of my plate. Wedding reception via skype. Yes much different, but to me, the day was perfect.

Because of cake.

What is the perfect day to bake the cake for a saturday wedding. Answer: friday. I woke up friday morning (with an unexpected hangover from the previous night's dinner with fancy pants business men visiting from the US. i am asked along of course because i am an English speaking curiosity. what?) to do all the shopping for the cakes. Started baking about 2 (after a nap of course) and finished the army of cupcakes and small two-tiered rice and tapioca flour lemon cake. I covered the cake in white fondant and embellished with white fondant polka dots and white fondant ribbons to cover the horrid seams. I dusted the dots and ribbons with an irridescent pearl dust (not particularly visible in the photographs). Cupcakes, well they are too many flavors to list. The point is, I made my own wedding cake. And everyone, in particular my husband and I, loved it. So in my mind, the day was a success. Well, that and also driving to Paraty in Rio de Janeiro state right afterward. But that's for another post.


I moved to Brazil two months ago to attempt a new language, a new culture, a new career, a new life, and above all the rest, to get married to the man I love; The crazy brazilian who has been part of the Salty Cod since the beginning, the "editor" for those of you long-time readers who can recall. This blog began three years ago because of Paris, and that's exaclty how H and I began; three years ago because of Paris. Two months of paperwork, two months of house work (moving in tomorrow!), and just 6 more months of pending permanent residency, but we're married. We're happy. And now we're back on track with more regular posting.

Upcoming: Exploring the colonial town of Paraty, Rio de Janeiro & inaugurating my new kitchen. Stay tuned.

a bientot