They didn't turn out as perfect as I would have liked, but oh were they tasty. Tragically, those responsible for cutting and serving them didn't care so much about how it looked as maximizing servings! By they time they made it to the dessert table, they were not as attractive as they were coming into the building.
This is the cranberry orange cake. I tweaked the cranberry obsession recipe from Sunset magazine - added orange zest and juice to the cake part. VERY tasty. Aaron wants this one again for Christmas.
This one, I used my best chocolate cake recipe, a white chocolate peppermint cream recipe out of Bon Appetit magazine and then a TON of chocolate ganache. It got attacked on my way into the church, hence the smear across the back. It was just right - just enough peppermint to make it good, but not too much. They sliced it with a spoon. Sigh.
Can I just say that I appreciate my mom and grandmother teaching me that you should put forth your best effort? That special occasions call for something, well,
special. I just don't think I'll be making anything this special for a ward function anytime soon. It hardly gets appreciated!