A few weeks before my birthday my father told me that he has always preferred woman in their thirties, as they know what they want in life. Apparently, woman in their twenties do not. This was certainly true when it came to planning my three oh(-dear) birthday party - which I did in my thirtieth year, so technically it counts.
One advantage of a party at this age is that I now had the means to make (most of) my ideas a reality. My sixteen year old self would have been proud! So with my theme firmly in place I planned for dinner at my favorite restaurant, a limo ride home and a dessert table that I spent months dreaming up. After all, baking is the main reason why I have parties!
For more on the Ballet Baroque theme have a look at my previous post here.
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| Balloons filled with rose petals; an easy DIY to add some glamour. |
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| I decorated the restaurant table with a scatter of fabric rose petals and gold glitter candles to go with the Ballet Baroque theme. |
The restaurant we went to was Merchants Tavern, Shoreditch. I first tasted Angela Hartnett's cooking at the Whitechapel Gallery's Café and my tastebuds have never forgotten that day. Therefore, when she opened Merchant's Tavern I knew that's where I would be hosting my 30th. Her menu is described as French, Spanish and Italian, and it's delectable. The venue is a perfect blend of casually stylish and indulgently opulent while somehow remaining laid-back (for Shoreditch).
After dinner we took a limo ride back to my house for a dessert buffet and much champagne. As one does.
The center piece of the desert table was a two tier cake I dreamed up especially for the occasion. The bottom tier was pink-milk flavoured with silky ruffles of Swiss meringue buttercream. The top was a red velvet cake with velvety cream cheese frosting. For a touch of drama, I decorated the cake with a scatter of black sugar-paste rose petals, and a cake candelabra. . . of course.
One cake is surely not enough, so I also made an airy ombré berry cheesecake and piped rose cupcakes. These were then interspersed with rose and vanilla meringue kisses, ribbon-shaped butter cookies, chocolate mousse cups and intoxicating Bailey's truffles.
It was a fantastic evening and a great way to start my thirties. And just to surpass my sixteen year old self's dreams, the next morning hubby (bottom right) and I jetted off to New York for a week. I had never dreamt I could be so lucky. If this is what 30 holds then bring it on!
Speaking of all my dreams, I have also just launched an online bake shop and I am very excited! Most of the bakes from this post are available to order.
Have a look adelsbeautifulbakes.co.uk.
xxx