You may notice I've never posted a strawberry-rhubarb crisp recipe. It's because I just never really loved the combination of the oat crumble topping with the flavors of the strawberry rhubarb. But a strawberry rhubarb cobbler - now we're talking! This is absolutely delicious and whips up so quickly! Perfect to use with all the fresh rhubarb and you can use fresh or frozen whole strawberries in the recipe. The topping recipe can be used for one pan or split between two pans for a lighter topping. If you would prefer a lighter cobbler topping, consider whipping up a cherry cobbler or peach cobbler alongside! Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven - strawberry rhubarb cobbler!!! Yum!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

In an 8" x 8" glass pan, fill pan to 3/4 full with: 

~2-3 cups diced rhubarb, diced/sliced

~1-2 cups whole strawberries (slightly defrosted whole strawberries from the freezer works perfectly)

I aim to use approximately 1/3 strawberry and 2/3 rhubarb for a nice flavor ratio.  For me, this worked out to spreading some strawberries mostly covering the bottom of the 8x8 pan, and then adding chopped rhubarb until the pan was filled 3/4 full.  Rhubarb and strawberries come in all shapes and sizes, so exact measurements aren't great for this recipe.  I found one bunch of rhubarb worked great to fill the pan to the 3/4 full along with the strawberries. 

Add and mix in: 

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-free Flour Mix

Set aside and prepare the cobbler topping. 

The pan filled 3/4 with fresh rhubarb and whole partially thawed strawberries. Ready to mix in the bit of sugar and flour mix.

Cobbler Topping:

If you want a lighter topping, make half the amount listed here - it'll work perfectly well, too!  In fact, I tend to prefer the lighter topping. I often make the full amount and split it between a cherry cobbler or peach cobbler.  I add a bit of cinnamon to the flour and sugar mixed with the fruit for those cobblers, otherwise everything else is the same!

In a large bowl, mix together:

1 cup Kristin's Gluten-free Flour Mix
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add, chopping in with a pastry cutter until you have a crumbly topping:
3 Tbsp butter, chilled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the prepared cherries. 

Topped and ready to bake - this is topped with half the cobbler topping, so it'll look like twice as much if you use the full cobbler topping. Both ways are equally delicious!

Bake at 350 F for ~50-55 minutes, until topping is nicely browned.  Great served hot or warm. 

The cobbler can be served alone - but we love it with a tiny dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream needed!  Enjoy!

Strawberry rhubarb cobbler and a cherry-apple cobbler, fresh from the oven! Yum!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Strawberry Vanilla Pound Cake (Blueberries/Raspberries work, too!)

 This yummy gluten-free berry vanilla pound cake recipe is less sweet and heavy, perfect for what I was hoping to create - something that could be a snack for my teenage son.  Freeze-dried berries make this something that can be whipped up without worrying about having fresh berries on hand, or adding the extra baking time using frozen berries.    If you want a dairy-free version, you can use dairy-free substitutes for the butter and sour cream.  A dairy-free yogurt will work in place of the sour cream as well.  

Tasty GF pound cake, we can never wait until it actually cools to taste-test. 

Pound cakes can be made in mini loaf pans, or in an 8 x 8 pan. 

Strawberry Vanilla Pound Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line 4 mini loaf pans or one 8" x 8" pan with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl or mixer, combine: 

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract, but the bean paste really makes the vanilla flavor in this pound cake)

Add and mix in until combined: 

1 1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Fold in: 

3/4 cup crushed freeze-dried berries (strawberry, or mix of strawberry, blueberry and/or raspberry)

Spread into prepared mini pans or 8" x 8" pan.  Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes.  (I find it works the same for mini loaves or larger 8" x 8" in terms of time.) 

Spread in a lined 8 x 8 pan, then after baking! Yum! 

Rest a few minutes, then remove from pan onto wire rack to cool.  Slice and serve!  I love it served warm. 

Enjoy! 

Strawberry Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Strawberry Shortcake Rounds with Homemade Strawberry Coulis Sauce

There are so many different ways to make and enjoy strawberry shortcake.  We've happily eaten buttermilk biscuit-based shortcakes, used spongecake cupcakes for shortcake-style cupcakes, and topped leftover cake with diced berries and whipped cream for a make-shift shortcake.  These shortcake rounds are a fun and pretty shortcake with a touch of white chocolate that adds a lovely flavor to this recipe.  The strawberry coulis sauce drizzled on top gives it an extra special look.  Plus, the leftover coulis sauce is amazing on sourdough waffles, dessert waffles, or pancakes!  Enjoy!

Delicious shortcake rounds, topped with diced strawberries, whipped cream, and homemade strawberry coulis sauce. Yum! 

Strawberry Shortcake Rounds

Makes 12-18 rounds

Butter 12-18 whoopie pie molds (it just depends on the size of your molds)

Melt together in a microwave-safe container in 30-45 second increments, when it's smooth, set it aside to cool while you mix the rest together:
2 oz white chocolate (high quality)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste

Beat until frothy:
1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs

Mix in until smooth:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
Melted chocolate mixture from above

Divide the batter among the whoopie pie molds, filling just over 3/4 full.  I have two pans, and one makes smaller whoopie pies and the other makes larger, so you'll just have to adjust accordingly.

Bake at 350 F for about 10-12 minutes.  These cook quickly, so keep an eye on them.  They may need a little less or little more time depending on how large you made them.

Let cool 5 minutes in pan, then use a rubber spatula to loosen and remove the cakes from the pan to a wire rack to cool.

Fresh shortcake rounds, ready for eating!   These are browned a little more than I usually aim for, but I find because of the coconut flour, they're still nice and moist. 

To serve, dice 8 oz strawberries and mix with 1-2 Tbsp powdered sugar.  Set aside to chill.  These can be prepared in advance, if needed.  Top shortcake round with fresh berries, whipped cream and drizzle with the fresh strawberry coulis sauce, below.  Enjoy!

Freshly diced with a touch of powdered sugar mixed in on the left.  Berries ready for cooking into coulis sauce (below) on right. 

Strawberry Coulis Sauce

In a medium-sized pot, bring to a boil over medium heat:
8-12 oz strawberries (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups, before removing ends)
4-6 Tbsp powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp water (more or less depending on desired thickness)
zest of one lemon
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Cook 1-2 minutes, then puree with a stick blender.  Return to the heat and cook and additional 2-3 minutes.  You can puree it again, or just press it through a sieve to strain out the seeds. (I like to rub the spoon back and forth in the sieve to help strain it)  Cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.  Yum!

Strawberry Coulis Sauce, just before straining.

Strawberry Shortcake Rounds with Homemade Strawberry Coulis Sauce by Successfully Gluten Free! 

Huge kudos to my sister who came up with the best way to make this amazing strawberry lemonade.   It's definitely a special summer treat.  Absolutely the best strawberry lemonade.  The sugar syrup poured over the frozen strawberries works perfectly.  No more sugar granules resting at the bottom of your lemonade.  Yum! 

Fresh pitchers of strawberry lemonade

The perfect accompaniment to a big homemade enchiladas feast! Grilled veggies, grilled corn mixed with spices and cheese, homemade guacamole, salsa and bean dip with chips. Yum! 

A-Ma-Zing Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

This recipe will make TWO large pitchers of strawberry lemonade.  I like to use a stick blender to blend the final drink together.  

Squeeze, removing seeds but keeping any pulp: 

9 fresh lemons 

You want to have approximately 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice. 

In a pan, heat until just boiling, so all the sugar dissolves.  Then, remove from heat:  

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water

In a 4 cup measure cup, place: 

2 cups frozen strawberries

1 cup ice

Pour the hot syrup over the strawberries and ice.  Set aside. 

*** Each item below should be divided between TWO large pitchers***  

1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice, from above

4 cups water plus ice to equal a total of 5 1/2 cups water

4 cups of strawberry/sugar syrup, from above

I like to scoop out the strawberries and divide them evenly between pitchers before diving the sugar syrup between the pitchers.  

Use a stick blender to blend up the strawberry-lemonade.  

This will be nice and cold and can be served immediately.  Best made and enjoyed fresh.  You can certainly halve the recipe if you don't want as much - but if you're sharing, you may want to make the full recipe!  Enjoy! 

Two fresh jugs of homemade strawberry lemonade. Yum! 

A-Ma-Zing Homemade Strawberry Lemonade by Successfully Gluten Free! 

Strawberry Pineapple Muffins

Delicious strawberry, pineapple, and coconut filled muffins.  A yummy summer muffin.  A tip for these (and any) muffins - transport them in a backpack with water bottles while in a tupperware instead of a ziploc bag.  Otherwise, they're great for all occasions.  (Everyone still loved them even after the water bottles wreaked havoc on them when we went hiking).

Delicious, fresh strawberry, pineapple and coconut muffins! Yum! 

Strawberry Pineapple Muffins (Gluten Free)

Makes ~12 muffins

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line muffin tins with liners.

In a large bowl, mix together:
1/2 cup crushed canned pineapple - in fresh pineapple juice (use the fruit & a little juice)
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Gently fold in:
1 cup fresh strawberries, washed & diced (I like to dice them into small pieces)

Ready to fold in the fresh strawberries

Divide into muffin tins lined with paper liners and bake at 375 F for 20-22 minutes, until lightly browned on top.  Remove from pan to cool on a wire cooling rack.

Batter divided between muffin tins and ready to bake. 

Fresh from the oven! 

I prefer to let these muffins cool completely before eating, but they are nice warm, too.  You can freeze leftover muffins as well.  Enjoy!

Gluten Free Strawberry Pineapple Muffins Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Beautiful Mini Lemon-Strawberry Cake

A tiny cake, but with a big impact.  A nice, light lemon cake with a simple strawberry jam filling, topped with colorful marshmallow fluff frosting.  You could even go simpler, and leave off the frosting.  Just sprinkle with a little powdered sugar before serving.  This was lovely for Mother's Day!

It looks humongous in this picture, but this pretty cake is small and dainty - just 6" in diameter (a bit more with the frosting)

A lovely slice of strawberry-lemon cake, perfect for any celebration.

Beautiful Mini Lemon-Strawberry Cake - gluten free!

Makes one 6" cake with three layers

Jam: 
If you're making homemade jam, make it first so it can cool.  A high-quality store bought jam will work well, too.  For this cake, I made the following and used it to layer the cakes once it cooled.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook until starting to thicken (20-30 minutes):
~12 oz strawberries, washed, hulled, and finely diced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

In a small bowl, mix together:
2-3 Tbsp cold water
2-3 Tbsp cornstarch

Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the strawberries, stirring constantly.  This will thicken up the jam nicely.  You can make this thinner or thicker, depending on your preference.  A thinner jam may run off the sides of your cake a bit.   
Pour thickened jam into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to avoid a film forming on the top.  Let jam cool completely.   To speed this, you can place the bowl in a container of ice and put a baggie of ice on top of the plastic wrap.

Freshly made jam on the left, and speeding up the cooling process on the right.  Just make sure your bag of ice doesn't leak at all as the ice melts.

Lemon Cakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Butter and line three 6" pans with parchment paper. I usually cut a circle for the bottom, then strips to line around the edges.

In a bowl, whisk together:
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon

Add and whisk until smooth:
1/2 cup milk (lactose-free or dairy-free works great)
1/4 cup oil (I like avocado oil, but any light oil will work)
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 drops lemon essential oil (I like the DoTerra lemon oil for baking)

Divide batter between the three pans.  Bake at 350 F for about 14-16 minutes, until cakes are set in the middle.   Carefully remove from pans, removing parchment paper, too.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Lemon cakes, cooling.

Frosting: (this is the same as my favorite marshmallow frosting recipe)
In a mixer, beat together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes):
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup marshmallow fluff
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste


Assembling Cake: 
Once cooled, layer your cake with jam.  Then, spread a thin "crumb/jam" coating of frosting over the entire cake - this fills any holes and smooths out the sides.  Place the coated cake in the refrigerator to chill.

Layered with jam - you can see it was a bit runny, but it didn't make the cake soggy at all, so worked just fine! 

No problem if there are little bits of jam that end up sticking through, though it is best to try to get them covered up. After chilling and adding more frosting, this was completely hidden.

Divide the remaining frosting into four bowls.  Color the frosting, as desired.  I used a mixture of purple and pink coloring, adding amounts bit by bit using toothpicks, until I ended up with the colors I wanted.  (I left one as white, and the others shades of purple).  Place each color into a small, freezer ziploc (or icing bags).   Trim the corner off each to pipe.

Four bags of frosting in freezer Ziplocs - I find the freezer Ziplocs to be tough enough to squeeze without breaking while piping.  I've had issues with other styles.

Starting at the base of your cake, pipe 2-3 circles around the entire cake.  Use the back of a spoon to spread the frosting, flattening it a bit.  Pipe 2-3 circles of your next color.  Again, use the back of a spoon to spread the frosting.  Repeat with the final colors, until your cake is a beautiful gradient of color going up the cake to a pale top.  You'll end up with something that looks uniquely your own, but the gradual coloring changes make it so pretty.

You don't have to leave any frosting white -- you could make four colors, just make them complimentary, varying shades.  

I prefer this cake at room temperature, so the frosting stays soft, but you can always keep it in the refrigerator, removing it about 45 minutes - 1 hour before serving.   Enjoy!

Yummy, simple layers of lemon and strawberry! 

Gluten Free Mini Lemon Strawberry Cake Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

White Chocolate Vanilla Cake, White Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry Filling & Strawberry Coulis Sauce

This is a rich, delicious cake that was a huge success with my entire family.  The white chocolate in the cake batter and the ganache topping adds a richness to this cake that I find perfectly pairs with the strawberry filling and coulis sauce.  While the cake is made of several different parts, all are easy to whip together.  The cake can be made in advance and left in the refrigerator for a day or two before serving.  Delicious! Enjoy!

A delicious piece of white chocolate vanilla cake, filled with strawberry frosting, topped with a white chocolate ganache and served with homemade strawberry coulis sauce.  Decadent?  Yes! 

I somehow managed to only have really huge strawberries the day I made this, but they still looked cute on the top.  It was the beauty upon serving, however, that really added the wow factor. 

White Chocolate Vanilla Cake, White Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry Filling & Strawberry Coulis Sauce
Makes one large cake, serves 8-12 generously

White Chocolate Vanilla Cake: 
Butter and line two round 8" or 9" pans with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350 F.

Melt together - you can melt in 30-60 second increments in a microwave at 50% power:
4 oz high quality white chocolate
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

Beat in a mixer until light and frothy (I find it takes at least 5 minutes):
6 eggs
1 cup sugar

Mix into eggs and sugar mixture:
chocolate/butter mixture from above
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Divide batter between prepared baking pans.  Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, until set in center.

Cakes separated in pans prior to baking.

Let cool 5 minutes before carefully removing from pans to complete cooling on wire racks.

Strawberry Coulis:
Wash strawberries from a 2 pint container, saving a few to decorate the top, if desired.
In a medium pot, combine:
strawberries, cleaned and diced
4-6 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice

Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Puree with a stick blender, then return to heat and cook a few more minutes.  Strain coulis sauce with a sieve to remove seeds.  Refrigerate sauce until ready to serve.

Strawberry Frosting:
In a mixer, beat together several minutes until fluffy and smooth:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp milk
3 Tbsp high quality strawberry jam
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup marshmallow fluff

Use the strawberry frosting to fill the cake and spread around edges, for a more even look.  If you're wanting things really neatly done, you can refrigerate the cake at this point until the frosting is harder, and smooth it more evenly.

Strawberry frosting filled White Chocolate Cake, ready for ganache topping! 

White Chocolate Ganache: 
Over medium heat, bring to a boil in a small saucepan or frying pan:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream (whipping cream)
1 Tbsp butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste

Remove from heat and add, stirring until melted and smooth:
6 1/2 oz high quality white chocolate

Place in a bowl to cool.  You can pour over the cake when it's mostly cooled, or once fully cooled this ganache can be whipped in a mixer and then spread on the cake, which I find works best for me.

Word of warning, working with warm ganache can be tricky.  Too warm and it will just spread, but ooze down around the cake.  I find it far easier to work with cooled ganache, whip it and top the cake.  It also gives a lighter appearance to the final cake.  

I'm drooling just thinking how tasty this cake was to eat. Yum! 

Wonderfully Decadent White Wedding Cake

This 4-tiered wedding cake I made for the most gorgeous Cape Cod wedding of my sister-in-law and her husband last summer was gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free, and yet one of the most delicious, moist cakes ever!  As it's entering that time of year when weddings are plentiful, it seemed appropriate to post the recipe!!! The 2nd and 4th tier were made of a rich lemon sponge with strawberry frosting, and the 1st and 3rd tiers were made of a vanilla sponge with chocolate frosting.  Each tier was made up of four layers of cake, making it absolutely beautiful when sliced.  To decorate the cake, soy-free, gluten-free and nut-free sparkling sugar crystals were used around the top edges of each tier and fresh mint and fresh roses were added to create the cascading flower effect on the cake.  It smelled divine!
    Lemon shortbread cookies with key lime curd, mint chocolate chip cookies, mini cinnamon rolls and party-sized mint chocolate brownies recipes were also made and served at the wedding.  Pictures are included below!  Enjoy!!!

The cake, after being topped with fresh roses and fresh mint as decoration.  The entire cake smelled amazing from nearby - a blend of rose, mint and sugar.  

A wonderful picture of the wedding cake at dusk, taken by my husbands cousin, J. Beebe.

On the left: A lovely slice of lemon sponge with strawberry.  On the right: Vanilla sponge with chocolate.  A light layer of vanilla marshmallow fluff frosting coated the outside of all layers to bring it all together. 

The cake received rave reviews from everyone at the wedding!  I lost count of the number of people who came up and told me they rarely ate the cake at a wedding, but once they tasted this one, they ate the entire piece!  They couldn't believe it was possible to make such a cake, and be allergy-friendly, too!  Of course, you don't have to make all four tiers at home, but the recipe below would be equally perfect if you need to whip up a special cake for a birthday or another special occasion.  *For allergy-safety, I scrubbed the kitchen top to bottom several times before any cooking began, and used all my own pans, mixer, bowls, utensils, to avoid chance of contamination since I was using a kitchen other than my own.*

Wonderfully Decadent White Wedding Cake
Serves 100-120

Wedding cake layers:
I made 14", 11", 9" (was supposed to be 8"), and 5" cakes.  For each layer, you want to butter the bottom and sides (up to 2") of each cake pan. Next, line the bottom of the pan with a cut-out piece of parchment paper.  Using 2" strips of parchment paper, line around the outside edges of the cake pan.   Mix together the desired cake recipe and fill each cake pan with 1" of batter, smoothing around to fill the pan.   Bake in an oven at 350 F for 12-25 minutes, depending on the size of your cake.  If you make layers taller, you'll need a longer bake time.  I shake the cakes gently to make sure the centers are fully cooked.

You'll have to use your judgment in whisking together and baking layers.   I always mixed things together in smaller batches, to avoid any mistakes.  When filling pans, I would use one batch of cake batter to fill a 14" pan and part of an 8" pan.  I would use another batch to fill one 11" pan and two 5" pans.   If you're just making a single cake, you can use one batch to fill two 9" pans, then make another batch to fill another two 9" pans for a 4 layer cake.   Smaller cakes bake ~12-15 minutes, larger cakes bake ~23-25 minutes.  I aim for a pale brown cake.  You can see some cake layers cooling right side up and others upside-down (just depended on how I was able to get it out of the pan and how many cooling racks I had available to flip things over).   

Vanilla cake base recipe: 
Mix together with a whisk in a large bowl until smooth:
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil 
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
6 large eggs

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 F until lightly browned and spongy.  For a 1" thick 9" cake pan, bake 15-18 minutes.  Recommended guidelines for bake times are mentioned above.  After baking, let cakes cool a few minutes in the pan before removing from pan to a cooling rack.  Remove parchment paper from cake and let cakes cool completely before frosting.

Lemon cake base recipe:
Mix together with a whisk in a large bowl until smooth:
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp fresh orange zest (I like to use organic oranges and scrub them well)
2 tsp lemon zest (I like to use organic lemons and scrub them well)
9-18 drops lemon essential oil (I love the Doterra oils best for cooking)
6 large eggs

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 F until lightly browned and spongy. For a 1" thick 9" cake pan, bake 15-18 minutes.  Recommended guidelines for bake times are mentioned above.  After baking, let cakes cool a few minutes in the pan before removing from pan to a cooling rack.  Remove parchment paper from cake and let cakes cool completely before frosting.

Let cakes fully cool, then fill/frost with either chocolate marshmallow frosting (for vanilla sponge) or strawberry frosting (for lemon sponge).

Chocolate marshmallow frosting: 
Beat in a mixer until fluffy and smooth:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 - 2 cup marshmallow fluff

Strawberry frosting:
Beat in a mixer until fluffy and smooth:
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp milk
6 Tbsp high quality jam (with strawberry bits in it)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups marshmallow fluff

Place bottom cake layer in the middle of a cardboard serving platter.  I like to put a dollop of frosting in the center of a layer and carefully spread to the outer edges.  Carefully place the next layer on top of the frosting.  Repeat with each layer, until you have your 4 layers stacked neatly on top of each other.  For my large 14" cake, one batch of strawberry frosting only filled 1 1/2 layers, as you can see here.

The 14" lemon sponge being filled with strawberry frosting.  It took 2 1/2 batches of strawberry frosting to fill this huge tier.   

I prefer to not over-fill cakes, and instead aim for a thinner filling of frosting.  Once you've filled and stacked the layers, then spread the frosting around the outside edges of the cake until it's smoothed, adding a little extra where needed to get a smooth look.  Be generous around the outside edges of the cake now, so you don't have to use as much to frosting the outside of your cakes later.

The 11" vanilla sponge being filled with chocolate marshmallow frosting, ready to chill. 

The 9" lemon sponge filled with strawberry frosting, and ready to have the outside smoothed out.

Once cakes have been filled and outer edges smoothed, place them in a refrigerator to chill for 30-60 minutes, as shown in this picture:

If you are making these in advance (a few weeks is fine for a bigger wedding cake), once the cakes have chilled a bit, you can place them in the freezer just until the outer edges are hardened.  Then, you can wrap each cake in several layers of plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is firm to the surfaces of the cake.  Then, wrap the entire cake in aluminum foil, and finally wrap it all completely in plastic wrap one more time.  This will help eliminate any condensation build-up when you're defrosting the cakes.

Cakes in the freezer to chill before being wrapped in plastic wrap, foil, and another layer of plastic wrap.  They were then frozen for several days leading up to the wedding. 

If you have chilled cake(s) in the refrigerator, you can make frosting below and frost them straight from the refrigerator.  If you have frozen the cake tiers, then on the morning of the wedding, remove cakes from freezer and place on counter 2 hours.  Wipe off condensation with paper towel every 30 minutes.  After two hours, remove the outer layer of plastic wrap and the aluminum foil, leaving the inner layers of plastic wrap firmly attached to the surface.  Let the cakes fully thaw (another 1-3 hours, depending on the width of your cake.), continuing to wipe off any condensation build-up. 

Final Decorating!!!
Prepare frosting of your choice OR use my favorite vanilla marshmallow frosting recipe, below.  Begin by frosting the outer sides of the cakes with a thin layer of frosting first, in case of any crumbs, and then add extra frosting and smooth the tops and sides of the remainder of the cake.   Don't worry about piping around the bottom edges of the cake until it is arranged/set up.

Vanilla Marshmallow Frosting for Frosting/Decorating White Wedding Cake:

Beat thoroughly until light and fluffy:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup marshmallow fluff
1 tsp vanilla extract

I made 6-7 batches of vanilla marshmallow frosting for this 4-tiered wedding cake.  You don't need to bother cleaning the mixing bowl between batches.  Just beat until fluffy, and put frosting into a large metal bowl, keeping it covered with plastic wrap while you beat the next batch.  It goes pretty quickly this way.

5" tier, sprinkled around the edges with decorative sugar (make sure to check if you have a soy allergy, I only found one brand was safe to use)

9" tier was covered and just used a simple decorative edged scraper to finish.

11" tier was coated and similarly finished to the 5" tier.

White dowels were cut and inserted into the cake to hold up each layer. (Personally, I'd recommend just buying the pre-cut dowels and hoping for the best height-wise. Cutting even dowels is quite tricky.).  Once the cakes were carefully set in place, the bottoms of each tier were decorated with additional piped vanilla marshmallow frosting.  The only tier not getting this extra bit of piping was the 9", because the board was meant for an 8" cake and so didn't leave enough room on the edges for the piping.  It worked out perfectly once roses/mint were added, and no one noticed. 

Freshly trimmed roses and trimmed pieces from fresh peppermint plants were used to decorate the cake.  Using food-friendly fresh flowers and mint work perfectly because the pieces could be stuck directly into the frosting/cake, until firmly attached.  The mint was trimmed earlier in the day and kept fresh in water.  I'd dry the edges before inserting into the cake.  The roses were cut off the rose bushes a few hours before placing on the cake.   The flowers were placed atop the cake during cocktail hour (aka, as last minute as possible).  It looked fabulous all evening!

Mint sprigs were stuck directly into the cake in a cascading manner.  Then, roses were placed throughout, creating a garland-style effect.  Sprigs and roses were just stuck in, using stems to hold them in place. The benefit of using food-safe, fresh, edible decorations.  And, my dress for the wedding matched the cake! 

The final cake with cascades of fresh mint and roses! It stayed in an air conditioned location as long as possible, then was moved outside shortly before guests were going to enter the eating areas.

The lemon-strawberry/vanilla-chocolate cake ready to be admired - then eaten!  The table was decorated with candles and sea glass.  There was a glass for the bride's bouquet set nearby.  We lucked out with matching roses in the bouquet and on the cake! 

Extra Desserts: 
Alongside the wedding cake, we also served additional gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free desserts!  They were happily devoured as everyone danced the night away in celebration.

My daughter (6) and son (11) each helped whip up these desserts - we made a double-batch of each:

1. lemon shortbread cookies with key lime curd piped on top (made with fresh lemons and key lime juice)
     --The key lime curd was made the evening before the wedding, then piped on in the morning.  The topped cookies were kept on platters in the refrigerator until serving.

2. mint chocolate chip cookies (made with soy-free, nut-free chocolate chips)
      --These were made in advance and frozen.  They were plated the day of the wedding, and kept on the counter covered with plastic wrap until being served. 

3. mini cinnamon rolls (drizzled with frosting on the day of the wedding)
     --These were made in advance and frozen.  They were plated and allowed to thaw an hour before frosting the morning of the wedding, then kept loosely covered until .  

4. party-sized mint chocolate brownies (served in triangle shapes)
     --These were made in advanced, cooled, sliced, and then frozen in flat layers.  They were plated the morning of the wedding and kept covered in the refrigerator until serving.  (One of my all-time favorite brownies)

A few trays of cooling mini cinnamon rolls and lemon shortbread cookies.  Can you believe a six year old helped with these?  She was an expert cookie scooper.

My son, happy he could help with some of the cooking for the big wedding - we made mint chocolate chip cookies, mini cinnamon rolls, and party-sized mint chocolate brownies. A happy morning! 

Cooling mini cinnamon rolls, mint chocolate chip cookies, and a tray of mint chocolate brownies. Yum!

A final picture of the wildly successful cake - just for fun.