I wanted my husband's double surprise birthday celebration to be fabulous (it was a big one!, no numbers mentioned, but it was a big one!) and, looking back on it, my daughter and I not only managed to surprise Maurizio two days in a row but both parties exceeded all our expectations.
Food, of course, is always key. And the dessert should be the crowning glory of the meal....especially if it's a birthday.
Our elegant Saturday night party featured a luscious dark chocolate espresso cupcake tower. Each cupcake had a slightly different look, mostly garnished with berries. The top of the tower was a small chocolate cake decorated with chocolate espresso candy nuggets. The chocolate was so rich that with fifty guests we finished the cupcakes and only just made a dent in the cake itself. For the entire following week we were able to keep ourselves in chocolate.....just where I like to be.
Our Sunday party required another birthday cake, this one a richly dense carrot cake with a cream cheese & lemon curd icing. No raisins, but plenty of walnuts. At first glance the cake didn't seem like it could possibly suffice for our group of sixty but it did. When I carried the cake into our salotto, I could feel just by it's weight that it would be plenty. And what flavor and richness!
My Food Fairy, Sara, provided me with several very clever cake cutting designs which help you cut perfect pieces to serve a large group. Thankfully one of our guests took the cake cutting into hand.
The delightful Sara and her Food Fairy partner do catering, food events and, of course, amazing cakes for everything from weddings to casual birthday parties. Contact them at foodfairiesroma@gmail.com or check out their blog: www.foodfairiesroma.blogspot.com.
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