4 tier wedding cake

I dislike weddings. Actually, I can’t stand them. I think marriage is a beautiful thing, don’t get me wrong. It’s the ceremony to get the couple married. Therein lies the drama. In the U.S., it’s a 1 day event that takes months and months of preparations. Everyone is stressed, the flower girl is throwing a tantrum, the flowers are the wrong color, the bridesmaids…..don’t get me started on bridesmaids, the mother of the bride is also throwing a tantrum, and the shoes are uncomfortable.
And then there is the cake. Rising above the turmoil and craziness is a pillar of peace and calm. A beacon of butter cream and flowers that proclaims, “Calm it down, people! It’s a celebration, not the invasion of Normandy.” (Ok, maybe the cake proclaims, “Welcome to this special day,” but the Normandy thing sounds better.)
This particular cake was four tiers of wonderfulness. The largest tier at the base was filled with a freshly made strawberry and lemon compote. The second layer up was filled with a zippy lemon curd. The third layer, my favorite, was filled with a baked caramel apple filling. The upper most tier was to be saved for the bride and groom. It was filled with vanilla butter cream.
The cakes were all a vanilla based cake soaked in a vanilla simple syrup. The fondant covering was enhanced by small icing flowers with pink centers.
The wedding day is usually filled with drama. I’ve never had a cake filled with drama, but I have tasted one filled with strawberry, lemon, and caramel apple. It was scrumptious.