Saturday

Celebrating a royal wedding with a cake



In honor of the occasion of the event in England, I set out to bake a Bunt cake, shaped in a crown for my British neighbor Valerie, who was hosting a brunch for some of the ladies in the area.



Decorated with Borage flowers
bow and ribbon to emulate Kate’s veil and train


Unfortunately I was unable to photograph Valerie’s beautiful table setting as I had a cardiologist appointment and when I was there not all the food was set up. Nevertheless I can tell you that there was a portrait of William and Kate just below the flower arrangement. A beautiful light and airy fabric cascaded down from the elevated flower arrangement, creating wonderful hills and valleys. In between the rolling material was set a typical British silver tea service and dishes.



Photo by Valerie


Valerie honored me by having reserved the center of the table for my cake, that too was elevated by a glass pedestal. I had also dropped of a plate of mini blueberry muffins, decorated by two different Dutch irises, a number of Borge and yellow Daisy flowers.


I hope that you all had a great time sharing the event with friends as we have so little to celebrate these days.



The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine
Hugo Burnand/Clarence House/PA/Landov



The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with attendants and then with families
Hugo Burnand / Clarence House / PA / Landov




The recipe 



8 tbsp./40 oz. unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
4 large organic brown eggs
3 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of firm Greek yogurt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. orange extract
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried apricots - diced
3/4 cup yellow raisins
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans, cut into small pieces


Directions

  1. On a large dish or medium bowl mix the apricots, raisins, cranberries and pecans, then dust with flower to prevent them from sining to the bottom during baking
  2. Mix the soft butter with sugar until well blended
  3. Add one egg at a time and blend
  4. Add orange and vanilla extract and briefly blend
  5. Slowly add the flour with the mixer at low to medium speed. After half of the flower has been added, add the yogurt and mix, then resume adding the remaining flour. If the dough feels to thick and not elastic enough, add a dash of milk.
  6. Using a spatula, fold in the dried fruit and nut mixture until well distributed. Do not use the hand blender or mixer for this step.
  7. Now add the mixture to a Bunt pan that was buttered and dusted with flour.
  8. In a preheated oven set to 350° degrees, set the cake mold in the center of the oven. Check after 45 minutes by inserting a toothpick or cake needle. Cake usually takes 50-60 minutes to bake.

Enjoy


Thank you for your visit
and comment . . .

Egmont



12 comments:

Sophie Munns said...

How wonderful Egmont... looks delicious.
There were so many parties and gatherings yesterday... what an occasion! Loved the choral music at the wedding I must say... loved the trees, the flowers and the couple looked genuinely happy ... good to see it all went off without the slightest noticeable hitch!
Greetings from the other side of the Pacific

Caterina Giglio said...

My Dear Egmont,

Your cake is gorgeous and looks so delicious, it must have been a lovely party...
I hope your appointment went well also...
happy spring...
xo
caterina

Four Seasons in a Life said...

Greetings my dear friend Sophie,

Sadly I was unable to see the entire wedding other then what the news offered later in the day. Yet from what I saw I was glad to know that William and Kate blazed their own trail.

NOw here is the joke on me, originally I posted the wrong picture of William and Kate until a follower on my Ms Kitty's blog told me they were 'look-a-likes.'

Ouch! I guess I must have been just too tired and took the first large picture I could find.

Warmest regards,
Egmont

Four Seasons in a Life said...

Greetings my dear Caterina,

Thank you for your presence as it brings always a smile to my face.

I learned from my wife that she had a great time and everyone enjoyed themselves. The husband of the host loved the cake and wants me to bake him another one, let's see if I can duplicate this.

Doctors appointment went real good as I learned my lab results were excellent and my HDL (good cholesterol) jumped from 32-35 that I have been averaging these last five years to 70. Yes 70! All other numbers were very good.

I guess now I can enjoy a slice of my own cake since the neighbors event was attended only by women.

I hope you took some time out to watch the magical event unfold.

Warmest regards,
Egmont

Anonymous said...

A man of many talents -= a baked cake! It certainly looks scrumptious and I bet it was a delectable dessert.
The table setting looks very inviting. We watched the event here in Australia, as it was screened in the evening. An elaborate affair but a wonderful bit of light heartedness, after all the dramatic events that have occurred world wide, at the other end of the emotional spectrum.
Wonderful to hear your positive prognosis. Enjoy a slice of cake!

Four Seasons in a Life said...

Greetings dear Sylvia,

Thank you for dropping by, it is always a joy to see you.

Usually it is the autumn months you will find me focusing on baking, but then I like to be in the kitchen cooking. Maybe I missed my calling but then I have no regrets for having chosen art. I just wish it were not so fickle due to the economy.

Valerie did a wonderful job on the decorations and getting her house ready for the occasion.

I am glad that you were able to watch it at a better time then the one that was available to us, which was 1 AM in the morning.

I still have to update The DIRECTORY with your new blog address, in general I have to check all the links and make sure all blogs are still active.

Warmest regards,
Egmont

JJ said...

Terrific cake, and fabulous photos. Thank you!

S. Susan Deborah said...

What more lies to be found, dear Egmont. Baking seems to be a sweet revelation. Glad to know that you are a multi-faceted persona.

Hope you have been well, dear Egmont.

Joy always,
Susan

Four Seasons in a Life said...

Greetings JJ,

Forgive me for taking more than a week to acknowledge your comment.

I truly appreciated your visit and having a virtual taste test of the cake.

Wishing you all the best,
Egmont

Four Seasons in a Life said...

Greetings dear Susan,

Thank you for visiting and having a look at the cake I baked. Which you could have been hear to have a slice with a good cup of tea.

Speaking of multi-faceted persona, I used to be called the renaissance man back in college, but then there was also a movie released 'A Man for all Seasons."

Wishing you all the best,
Egmont

PS: please except my apology for taking so very long to acknowledge your visit and comment. -e

Jala Pfaff said...

The cake is so beautiful! A work of art.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous cake; it was a very special day and for once I watched television. Hope you are well - I just launched a new blog this week (and apart from that have just not had time to read blogs of late; apologies. Ann from England.