Tuesday, April 15, 2014

TRES LECHES CAKES IN JARS FOR THE WEDDING

So this past weekend was 2nd Man's Niece's wedding.  She and her fiancĂ© both wanted a casual and stylish at home wedding.  They asked 2nd Man if he would make his famous "Tres Leches" (Three Milks cake, click here if you've never heard of it) as their wedding cake.  When we saw the invitation, we had a thought.  Would they like cakes cooked in jars?
They loved the idea since their theme included mason jars.



2nd Man was in charge of the inside of the jar (the cake) and I was in charge of the outside.  We decided to pull elements from the invitation into the jar decor.  The first thing I did was find the exact same purple and white string from their invitation.  I  found office supply store hang tags and swapped out the string.



Then I purchased a stamp set with letters of the alphabet and an ink pad.  This way, I was able to recreate their initials as they had them on their invitation.  "A heart E".  I stamped them all, one letter at a time, and then went back and stuck a red heart sticker in the middle of each one.  We think it looked pretty nice when compared to the invitation. 




The other theme from their invitation was the burlap and lace.  I found some burlap and cut it into squares.  Then I bought a spool of lace ribbon and cut it into strips.

This is what it looked like when I was done.  I would put the metal canning lid on, then a piece of burlap with the lace in a strip one direction and the hang tag with purple/white string the other direction.  Lastly, as I was holding it all in place, I screwed the ring onto the jar to hold it all into place. 

As much as I could get the decorations ready, they still had to be baked, the tres leches poured over and allowed to soak in and whipped cream topping put on, all before I could decorate.  The batter was poured in each jar and baked, sixteen at a time, in the oven.


Here are seventy two jars, filled and baked, waiting for whipped topping and then the jar decor.  At this point, only 24 more to go!





This is what they looked like in the back of the car, ready for their wedding debut.
Wedding cakes in jars, burlap and lace
Lastly, here they are on the table at their house.  We made 96 of them.  I believe 90 people or so RSVP'd so we we figured better to have a few extra, plus the jars come in cases of twelve.  They were, from all outward appearances and comments from everyone, a huge success.

The wedding was just beautiful, "E" looked SO pretty in her dress and "A" was smiling from ear to ear throughout the entire event.  A really nice touch came at the end of the ceremony after they exchanged rings.  They pulled out a box, opened it together and beautiful monarch butterflies flew out and into the yard.



You know, I grew up an only child, so we just never had a big family.  It was just Mom and Dad and both sets of grandparents most to the time for any special occasion.  To be welcomed into this wonderful and large family means the world to me.  I am truly blessed!



33 comments:

  1. what a wonderful story. the wedding sounds memorable! you guys are cooking like me!

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    1. You will probably not believe this but as we were doing them, I thought of your posts where you make all that food for the shelter. :-)

      Thanks!!!

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  2. You are amazing, and I bet this large family is pleased as punch to have you around.

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  3. Awesome job you 2. Clever ideas.

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  4. I have been wanting to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog, every single day. Absolutely my favorite. Informative, amusing, beautiful and gives such a warm feeling of living and enjoying life as it is meant to be shared and enjoyed! I have never posted before, but after reading this account of the wedding and once again being invited in for a glimpse of your life together, I just want to say thank you!

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    1. Well my gosh....how do I reply to this? You are very kind to say these words. It means a lot to us both. We certainly do enjoy life, at least we try to, it's too short not to right? :-)

      Thank you again, very much, you touched us with your words.

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  5. What a wonderful job. I would never had thought of that.

    I must say I had to read the title twice. I read "tree leeches" and thought on, no, they're supposed to be in water. A thousand things went through my mind in the two seconds it took to read it again!

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    1. HILARIOUS!!! Tree leeches, I love it! Yikes, now I just thought, is there such a thing? ha. Thank you again!

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  6. bahahahaha! i have to admit that i, too, originally read "tree leeches", like Gail above and i am bilingual!!! (*goes off and hangs head in shame*) ok, back now!

    it seems like the cakes and the beautiful decorations must have been a huge hit. and honestly, 1st Man, i truly understand what you mean about being accepted into a large and loving family. i have no family to speak of, but since arriving here in our community i have more brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, mothers and fathers than you can shake a stick at. so i truly understand what you are feeling and it is something that can't even be described in words. i am glad that the wedding was such a success and i am glad that a whole pile of people have embraced you as theirs.

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Another win for tree leeches!! Hey, maybe I should have called it that, drive more curious people to the blog, haha. It was (we think/hope) from all appearances (and comments) a big success.

      Isn't it nice being welcomed into a family and becoming a part of something bigger? We're kindred spirits in that respect. Glad we landed in "good places" huh? Big hugs!

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  7. Talking of weddings we've just booked ours!

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  8. The jars are beautiful. I'm sure your niece appreciated how much thought and consideration you put into them. Seems you are all quite lucky to have each other.

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    1. Aw, thanks!! She did enjoy them. It was a great day.

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  9. You guys are SO creative. Great job. I must admit that I too read tree leeches. Was very pleased to read that I wasn't alone. I bet the butterflies being released was a really beautiful touch.

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    1. And another vote for tree leeches! That is so funny!!! Love it. Yes, the butterflies were a surprise....they exchanged rings and after that, they got this box wrapped in ribbon and the held it together and undid it at the same time and then they flew out (a few took some coaxing) but they fluttered all about the garden and it was just so pretty (will definitely have to remember that).

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  10. I am absolutely amazed at all the creativity! You both have done a wonderful job & I am sure everyone enjoyed & appreciated your hard work. Well done!

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    1. Well you are very nice to say that. I love being creative. 2nd Man uses food to be creative too. It keeps us young, ha.

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  11. 1st and 2nd Man,

    Beautifully done, and from the heart. I'm so happy and proud of the mighty fine job you two did.
    Hugs to you both,
    Sandy

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    1. Well a big Texas hug to you as well! Thank you for the comment, it means a lot!

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  12. What a great idea. I have never heard of this cake or eaten it. I had just eaten way too much chocolate when I read this, so reading the recipe made me queasy. However, I did enjoy the queasy feeling as I anticipated this dessert. lol You both took great pains and the results are spectacular. I will remember this for next Christmas!

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  13. Wow!!! The jars coordinated beautifully! I read Tres Leches, but only because I have a friend that made this scrumptious cake for me before. Yum-MO! I'm sure they appreciated the hours and hours you guys put in to help create a special day. And 1st, who needs to paint when you're THIS creative. Job WELL done guys!!! xoxo

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  14. Wow! You're so amazingly creative! As always. Having sampled 2nd man's cooking, I know he is too. And you both make it look so easy, you inspire others as well.

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  15. What a wonderful gift for the young couple! Very clever and thoughtful.

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  16. Where is recipe for the cake? Great idea.

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  17. So happy you are in our family! Loved seeing y'all sat!

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  18. What a wonderfully thoughtful gift! I am sure they were as delicious as they were beautifully presented. Well done!

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  19. Very cool. My niece is getting married next fall. I'm just sayin'....

    Happy Easter to you and 2nd man. Love you.

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