Cherry Blossom with Hand Painted Plate Topper

Guy moves to China and meets the love of his life, they marry in China. On their first anniversary the new bride and groom come to Canada. This cake was made for their Canadian reception. It boasts several symbols of Chinese in origin.

This three tier cake is a vanilla / almond base with raspberry cream filling. The bride ate raspberries for the first time when she arrived in Canada last week and
she loves them, so the raspberry cream filling was a perfect choice. The cherry tree climbs to the top of the cake with a number of gum paste branches extending outward and upward. Each branch is adorn with hand crafted cherry blossoms, buds, and leaves. The branches are extended past the gum paste giving it the illusion of wrapping around the cake. The cake top is a hand painted gum paste plate with three Chinese symbols: the Double Happiness symbol, the mandarin ducks which mate for life, and the lotus flower which represents purity. There is of course one very Canadian aspect to this cake, the heart carved into the tree trunk.