Many of my followers ask me about my cake designs, so I thought I would write a post dedicated to designing cakes. There was a huge learning curve for me with baking. I am happy to say, that I persisted and everyone likes if not loves all of my desserts. My dear friend who travels the world says my cakes are so delicious, so I suppose persistence pays off. All of these skills have been self-taught.

The cake above is my Lemon & Thyme Cake – here is the link to this very delicious and rustic cake –https://marioochskitchen.com/recipe/lemon-and-thyme-cake/ which I made using my Vanilla Cake Recipe from my cookbook and then adapted it. The bottom of the cake is designed like a Naked Cake which essentially means you reveal the actual cake. It’s a rustic cake design and one of my favorite. I ice the sides of the cake with a good amount of icing, then use a pastry scraper to scrape off the excess and reveal the beautiful cake. It’s ALWAYS best to freeze the cake layers and work with a firm foundation. The good news is that the rustic cake design lends itself to slight imperfections, so just have fun experimenting. One important detail is the edges, be sure they are perfect, and be sure to smooth out the sides and the top if you do not add any other design elements.

The filling was made with a combination of goat cheese, honey, and some Mascarpone Cheese as well as some powdered sugar. It’s fun to experiment and have some unexpected tastes and flavors. Another nice option is a lemony filling or just the icing – these all work! The key is to taste the combination and be sure it pairs well with the cake.

For this cake, I added a polished design element as you see at the top of the cake. These are done using a piping bag, tip and done one by one, so a bit time consuming. I think part of my success is that the icing is store-bought, and very easy to work with and holds up very well. I use a piping bag, and place it inside another piping bag with a tip on it. This contains the icing very well.

Finishing touches on my cake are done with fresh thyme and lemons, and some lemon ribbons. I would have preferred they be curly ribbons, but I need a better tool. The lemons are candied by adding a few lemon slices to a pan along with a few tablespoons of sugar, water and lemon juice. Heat until the sugar dissolves, then simmer 12-15 minutes until translucent and soft. These look nice, but are not too tasty.

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Above is my Lemon & Thyme Cake with a vanilla icing and a Mascarpone Lavender Infused filling served with a warmed Blueberry Blackberry Sauce. You can find more details on this cake by clicking on the link. Again, I used fresh thyme, blackberries and lavender to design this rustic cake. The combination of flavors were amazing!

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This is also my Vanilla Cake Recipe from my cookbook, a family favorite as you might have already guessed. I added a store-bought chocolate icing, and some mini chocolate covered Oreos all around the sides. On the top of the cake I added in some fresh raspberries and chocolate hand-dipped strawberries. The filling was just a chocolate icing, but a chocolate mousse would have been great in this or a chocolate raspberry mouse filling.

I hope this has inspired you to create a beautiful cake for your next party or celebration. The Vanilla Cake Recipe is only in my cookbook which is available on Amazon – Mariooch’s Kitchen Food That Will Gather Your Family or on Ibooks on the Apple Store.