Butterfly Cake

It was a an honor to make a cake for my grandmother's memorial reception today. It's amazing what you learn about people at a memorial service. I had no idea she almost signed a record deal as Las Hermanas Islas, or she cooked gangsters dinner as she told them about Jesus. Pretty remarkable stuff. Life's a vapor, live it.

She loved the color purple and I wanted to make something pretty...

I saw these butterflies in a Wilton magazine and I thought I would try them out. Here's how to make them.

1. Make royal icing.

1 egg white

1 tsp of lemon juice

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Whip the egg white till foamy add the rest of ingredients and mix for a few minutes till it's shiny.

2. Spray foil with aerosol oil.

3. Pipe our your butterfly wings with a #2 tip. Let dry overnight.

4. Gently lift the wings off the foil. Pipe a thick line for the butterfly body and tilt the wing into the body. Let it rest on a cotton ball and dry for a few hours.

Tah-dah! Aren't they purdy? I love, love, love this cake. And the inside we gorgeous too. 3 layers of chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream. Needless to say there wasn't a slice left. That's a good sign to a baker :)