a red velvet birthday.

yesterday, we celebrated my sister... erin's 27th birthday! she had two simple requests. the first... she wanted chicken and vegetables for dinner. so, siobhan made a delicious wonton soup... from scratch!! (it was pretty tasty... considering a 13 year old made it) we also made a pretty tasty pad thai. erin's second request... was the cake. red velvet. with a mascarpone icing.

not to long ago, i watched the pioneer woman take on a 14 layer cake. it was magnificent!! and, i thought if she could do it, as could i! i just went back to her site, and the cake is no where to be found!! how frustrating. anyways, i had made this cake before... for our family christmas. and the finished product tasted fine. but, esthetically... wasn't quite as appealing as it could be.

i bought 9, 9' aluminum round pans. brushed them with wilton cake-pan release. and cut out circles of parchment to ensure the cakes would definitely not stick to the bottom!




i baked the cakes 3 pans at a time. cooled. and made the icing! easiest fancy icing ever! cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, vanilla and icing sugar. and then fold in whipped cream! yum!! everything went well for the first 5 layers... but, as soon as i added the 6th... i got a bit nervous. so, i stopped at 6. put the cake in the fridge overnight to let it set. and then the next morning, i finished icing it.





i would love to bake cakes all day long. but, i really don't think that is a good idea. it's in every one's best interest if they are made on a purely special occasion basis! ohhh... and lets not forget the ever exciting cut-cake picture!!




happy birthday erin!! it makes me happy that for the next 5 months, you and i will only be 2 years apart! i hope that your 28th year is a happy, successful one... filled with exciting adventures!




love you baby sister!