morris's birthday cake

Our good friend Morris - Josh's regular sushi buddy - just celebrated his birthday, and I was super excited when Liz asked me to make his cake. She asked for vanilla cake, filled with whipped cream, blackberries, and raspberries, and frosted with vanilla buttercream. At the bakery, we either use one or the other, so I wasn't sure how well whipped cream would go with buttercream. Given more time, I would have used my super-secret buttercream combo recipe*, which I think is just a touch more sophisticated in flavor and texture than regular bakery icing. However, the timeline was brief, and a quick taste test showed that the flavors all worked together. I kept the decorations simple and classic. After all, he's a classy guy.

Happy birthday, Morris!

*It's a mixture of about 60% Italian meringue buttercream and 40% bakery icing. On its own, Italian meringue buttercream is like eating a stick of butter; on the other hand, bakery icing can be cloyingly sweet and a touch gritty from so much sugar. This basic ratio yields a silky texture, the perfect mix of buttery and sweet, and it frosts and pipes beautifully.