Our Lil’ Angel!! Karis Grace! Karis is David’s and Kelsey’s firstborn. (David is our youngest son, and Kelsey is his precious bride.) Karis arrived into this world almost two months before her due date! She weighed 2 pounds, 10 ounces!! She was so strong and on room air; absolutely amazing! God was with her every step of the way. She got to go home two weeks before her “due date” … About a month later, we had a “Welcome to the Farm” party for her.
I prayed about a special cake for Karis! One day, my husband, Steve, called me to come back to his office. He had found a picture of the PERFECT cake for Karis! I said, “Oh, YES! "That’s PERFECT!” The cake had Angel wings on the top and a baby Angel nestled in the wings. Her party theme was “The Hundred Acre Wood,” but since she was my “Lil Angel,” I did this Angel Cake and I also did my first ever Sugar Cookies, which, of course, had to be Angels! Thanks to my Precious leader of the clan, I had the idea of what to do and had an idea of how to create it, but I checked with my #1 mentor to see if I was on track or if he had some ideas that would be better. He is Chef Serdar Yener from www.YenersWay.com. I study his tutorials and email him with questions, which he actually replies to me! What that man can create with sugar is beyond words AMAZING!! He gave me the “thumbs up” that I was on track!! Yeah! Now to twiddle SUGAR! My very happy spot!
Day 1: I had been praying over making this cake topper for days! I talk to God all the time, and He’s always there to listen, and if “I” will be STILL, He answers! I breathed for a minute and dove in! I made the baby cake topper in a mold with Modeling Paste, which I colored a flesh tone. Then I made the Angel feathers out of white fondant for the wings, one “feather” at a time, and placed them on a tray to dry.
Day 2: For the baby’s dress and diaper, I used white Gum Paste and dressed the Baby. I made some tiny purple bows to go on the back of her dress and on the top Sugar Cookie. I also made gold pearls out of fondant to be the border around the bottom of the cake. Then, I placed them on a tray to dry. At the end of the day, I painted the baby’s hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, lips, and a little blush on her cheeks. Last for the night, I painted the tiny bows.
Day 3: COOKIE DAY! I mixed cookie dough, rolled it out, cut out the Angels, and put them in the fridge to chill. Then I baked them, and while they were cooling, I made my Royal Icing and got it to the right consistency (which took a bit of patience). I then had to sit, breathe, and pray for a steady hand before I started icing the cookies! By the Grace of God, they went better than I ever dreamed they could! Today, I also made White Chocolate Ganache to use on the cake before covering it with fondant. The Ganache has to sit overnight to come to the right consistency.
Day 4: Time to BAKE CAKE! I used Chef Yener’s White Chocolate Mud Cake recipe, as well as his White Chocolate Ganache. I baked two 10-inch cakes, torted, and filled them with Buttercream. Next, I carved the top of the cake to make the Angel wings. Then I crumb-coated it with Buttercream and put it in the fridge to chill. After that, I put two coats of White Chocolate Ganache on the cake, being very careful to smooth it well, and let it sit for a little bit. While the ganache was setting up, I rolled out the white fondant. I love putting fondant over ganache because it creates such a smooth surface and a great canvas to decorate on! I misted the surface of the ganache so the fondant would adhere, and placed the fondant on and smoothed it, taking care to accentuate the Angel wings.
Day 5: Time to put it all together! First, I put the gold pearls around the bottom of the cake for the border with a touch of the White Chocolate Ganache on each one. Next was the feathers for the Angel’s Wings, which I also glued on with a little ganache. Finally, the Baby Angel, which I placed so carefully! Walla!! It’s DONE!!
My first daughter, Jaime, her first daughter, Kaitlyn (MY first Granddaughter), my last daughter, Ashli, and of course, MY “forever by my side” husband, Steve, helped get EVERYTHING ready for the party. Jaime created a spectacular “Diaper Cake” overflowing with ALL kinds of baby necessities! My Kaite Bug and Jaime blew up (about a million) balloons and decorated the living room with them! Ashli made name tags for the various foods on little wooden labels to look like the “Hundred Acre Woods” and helped her Daddy (Steve) prepare food and set up the food area.
It was such a blessing for me to do this for David, Kelsey, and Our Lil’ Angel, Karis Grace! She was so tiny when she was born that this was the first time most of our family got to hold her. In Hebrew, Karis means "Grace." Karis Grace's name came from John 1:16. "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."
Oh God, I thank you and praise you for being with Karis Grace. I know she will be a warrior for You, Lord, and seek Your will in everything she encounters! Please keep a hedge of Angels around her always. Amen
