A Little More Over-piping

I made a little cake for a tasting/ dinner party this past weekend.  It felt good to be decorating again after a bit of a break over the holidays!

Anyway, I might have gotten a little over-excited (as is known to happen).  And my mild obsession with old-school piping and Lambeth method might have reared its little head.

This whole cake is piped with swiss meringue buttercream and finished with little fondant flowers.  The quadruple piped strings on the top sagged a little in transit, but it was in the car for a little while.  In real life, I'd use royal or at least refrigerate longer before traveling.

I tried to come up with my own variant on Lambeth for a bottom border.  It could still use some refining, but I like the vine and leaf organic movement coupled with the more traditional shell and overpiping.

The cake was butter cake with grand marnier syrup, fresh raspberry puree, and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.  It was super tasty!

Hope you enjoy!

I do have many projects in the works for this year, but I am also very busy trying to finish my PhD by May.  So forgive me if my posts are a little spotty... ;) After I graduate, I've promised myself till the end of 2012 to a) relax and b) pursue cake and sugar endeavors!  That's right, I'm gonna do some investigating...

Best to you all!