Pe-Ya-nee, Pe-Oh-Nee! 100th Birthday PEONY Cake!

A month ago, my mother-in-law, Winn, mentioned that we are having a family get-together/Popo's 100th Birthday celebration.  I asked what I can do to help and a happily agreed to a cake.  But, travelling out of town with a cake - ferry ride and all, is a totally unknown experience for me.  My usual cake pick-up/ delivery are local areas 10-15 minutes of driving time.  This has been in the back of my mind for a month.  After asking numerous questions about colour, flower choice, flavour etc; Winn and sisters decided on purple, peony and mango.  They pretty much allowed me creative freedom on the design. 

After researching, I didn't realize that the Peony flower had such an abundance of petals.  Which means, it takes longer to do.  It was stressful for a bit, trying to find the right tools and materials for the peony but it worked out with a week to go. 

A blessing, also, showed to give me a helping hand... Lynn (bro-in-law's girl)! She is a cake decorator and I sorta asked her to give me a hand.   We laboured for 2 hours to create 5 blossoms! Whew! It worked! We are happy! A small hitch, paper towels used to open blossoms stuck to the petals and created breakages! Since I knew how to make them, it was easier to re-make 3 more blossoms and repaired the broken ones!

I thought I have been mispronouncing the word, PEONY!  I said, peyaknee and I was correct to say Pe-Oh-knee! But, Auntie Nelles, who was a former florist said that it's a Potato, Pohtatoh thing! So I felt better. 

So without further adieu, here is final result of the hard work and I must say I am very happy.

Vanilla Chiffon with Mango Buttercream and Mango Syrup

The party was great.  It was nice to see the cousin-in-laws and all the Aunties and Uncles!  It was such a nice day despite the early morning 5am wake-up schedule to catch the ferry. 

The cake was a hit and I beam like a proud mama when my little boy sang Tomorrow (Annie) accompanied by Renee on piano.