Happy birthday baby sister!

My baby sister turned 23 a few weeks ago....what?!  Although she has grown up to be someone whom I admire and am quite proud of, I can't help but still think of her as that cute little baby I used to carry around and dress up like my little doll.

Here we are back in the good old days.  She must have been a little over a year which would have made me 8 or so.  Isn't she adorable?!

Even with a seven-year age difference between us, she is my very best friend and I would do anything for her.  So, of course I had to bake a very special cake for her big day. 

I knew that I wanted her cake to have a pig on it.  My sister is a lover and collector of pigs just as my dad was (not real pigs, just pig paraphernalia).  Making a fondant pig of some sort would have been a cinch for me now that I have become really familiar with the stuff, but fondant was off limits.  You see, fondant contains gelatin, an ingredient that is derived from an animal by-product, and my sister has been a vegetarian for nearly seven years.  I suppose I could have used icing, but I really like the contrast of using firm, smooth fondant in conjunction with soft, more textured buttercream.  While poking around in the baking aisle at Whole Foods (my home away from home) I found marzipan, a dough made of almonds (wholesome and 100% vegetarian!), and figured it was worth a try.  Working with the marzipan was a little tricky.  It was incredibly sticky and got crumbly quickly, but it tastes soooo good.  After a few failed attempts of pig-making and trying not to eat the marzipan, I ended up with a pretty convincing pig face.  I added a bow and some pretty eyelashes to make piggy look girly and voila...

Chocolate Cake with raspberry puree filling and raspberry cream cheese buttercream.

Happy Birthday Serena.....and many more!!!!