My Clan of a Different Color

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Family.

Some days are wonderful. Others, not so much. We love them as much as we wish we didn’t. The power they hold over us, and the polarity of feelings they inspire, are astounding.

Sometimes, we can’t even tell exactly how they make us feel… But this is why therapy exist.

This cake was made for my mom and sister. Every year, the two of them brighten up the bleakest month of January when we celebrate their birthdays in rapid succession. (They are only 3 days apart.)

If they are (or rather, I am) feeling extra fancy, I will make them each their own cake.

Vanilla cake with toasted almonds and almond cream filling.

Dark chocolate cake with peanut butter cream filling.

A couple years ago, Mom and Sister decided they wanted to share a cake. Mom chose the flavor (her favorite: lemon) and Sister chose the design (something colorful.) Sister is an absolutely masterful painter with a preference for bold colors. Since they were sharing a cake, I opted to make something a little more classic this time, so Mom would enjoy the aesthetic as well.

I wanted the cake to blend seamlessly onto the board, as though the two were part of the same canvas. I did this by placing the cake on the presentation board, then covering both the cake and the board with the same, single piece of fondant.

I added various colors of petal dust to melted cocoa butter to create the paint drips. Cocoa butter “hardens” like chocolate rather than “dries,” and gives the paint a thicker, more textured look… Much like that of the acrylic paints Sister uses in her work.