Boho Buttercream

When I had the opportunity to create a Boho/Southwesten wedding cake for the special anniversary edition of DIY Weddings Magazine, I knew I wanted to go with a buttercream twist!

Some of my favorite Southwestern images are the textures of adobe or stucco, the delicate combination of turquoise and silver, and the ultimate Boho chic element, feathers!

I wanted to pull all of those images into one elegant wedding cake design, so I looked to Boho Southwestern jewelry from my inspiration.

I love the movement in the stamped silver, almost reminiscent of sand dunes in the desert.

I decided to incorporate that effortless movement into this cake by piping the buttercream design applied over a stucco buttercream surface. I wanted the pattern on each tier to be a little different but still feel cohesive when it was stacked together. After a few attempts, I found the patterns I liked best were the ones that were evenly spaced. Even if the designs were different, they felt like they blended together if the spacing and size of the piping were similar.

Turquoise and silver gumpaste beads and a gumpaste medallion painted silver add additional visual interest and a pop of color to the cake. Another Boho element, braided leather, was incorporated by using brown modeling chocolate cut into thin strips and braided onto the cake.

I finished the cake with my favorite Boho chic feature, gumpaste feathers tipped in silver. The movement of the gumpaste feathers and buttercream piping soften the modern, square cake design.

I love the simplicity and elegance of this cake! It may be subtle in terms of design, whispering Boho/Southwest, but it has a great visual impact with all of the elements put together!

~Shannon