Noces de Diamant

I’m back in Paris and even though school is already going at full speed, I still have Korea on my mind.  It was such a memorable winter with it being my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary, or as the French say Noces de Diamant. All the family gatherings and holiday festivities really felt like a lead up for the big party we held for them just before the new year.  It felt even more so that way for me because I spent a lot of time thinking and planning about how to make their tiered celebration cake!

Despite the fact that I hadn’t baked anything for 80+ people before, the hardest part wasn’t the large quantity, but rather deciding what flavors and recipes I wanted to use. I had a lot of different ideas and experimented a little, but in the end I went with the hit marron-caramel mouse cake I made for the dinner party I cooked a few weeks back. It was a really successful recipe and I thought it was really compatible with the Korean palette.

It was quite a challenge to cook everything in our crammed kitchen, so I utilized all the surrounding areas, including outside, which in wintertime is the perfect solution to finding more fridge/freezer space! During one of my “resting” periods, when I had to wait for the mouse to set, it even snowed a bit.  Luckily I had covered the cakes with turned over pots, so nothing was ruined.

The cake essentially stayed the same from the first time I made it, but included a joconde biscuit wrap around the edge, and had more layers.  Instead of two cake layers, I made three so that it would hold better when cut.

  

  

  

The whole process took a good two days.  I was still baking and making finishing touches until the last minute, mostly because I decided last minute to add a decorative swiss meringue element (inspired from the Martha Stewart Cupcake book my sister got me for Christmas!).

I have to say, I must give credit to my mom who helped out a lot, especially at the end.  As much as the cake was built on my own, it was everything else (buying ingredients, washing dishes, helping transport, moral support!) that really made the cake.

It was truly and extraordinary experience and one that I will look back on time after time.  It wasn’t perfect and I have a lot of things to improve on, but I hope that my love and eternal awe and respect for their marriage came through with this project.

Cheers to my wonderful grandparents!  I only hope that one day I’ll be as happy as they are.

Recipe coming soon…