At almost exactly this time next week I will be getting ready to walk down the aisle and marry my darling fiancé. No longer will he be my fiancé because from that day onward he will be my husband and I will be his wife.
All but the finishing touches have been completed on our plans for our big day. But when I say big day it's perhaps somewhat misleading, because while it will still be a big day in our hearts, it will in fact be a very small gathering that will be celebrating our wedding. Apart from my husband to be and I, and his two sons, there will be 9 guests in total, which when it's come up in conversation has come as a surprise to most people.
And apart from the fact my best friend can't attend because she's sailing the high seas along the coast of France, I wouldn't change a thing.
My only hope is that we don't have any rain on the day, as we'll be getting married by the beach in Noosa, which is fitting considering we got engaged on a beach in Fiji 15 months ago. Hopefully this time though there will be no losing the ring!
So tell me, did you cry through your ceremony? And did it rain on your big day?
Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 ml of buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 235 g of dark brown sugar
- 175 g of golden syrup
- 100 g butter melted
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cardamon
- 450 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 pomegranates seeds and juice removed and reserved
- 165 g of caster sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius (325 Fahrenheit) and grease and line a 24cm spring form cake tin.
- Combine the buttermilk, eggs, brown sugar, golden syrup and butter in a large jug and whisk to combine.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger and cardamon into a large bowl and add the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine and pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 1 hour or until cooked and a cake tester comes out cleanly.
- While the cake is baking combine the pomegranate juice and caster sugar in a jug and whisk until the caster sugar is dissolved. Pour over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven and leave to cool completely in the cake tin.
- Top with pomegranate seeds to serve.
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook says
An early Congratulations to you Jen and your new husband! 🙂 To be honest, and this is true of our friends who "have been there before" too we are all for small weddings so I am not at all surprised at your small guest list. Have a fantastic day, I'll pray for sunshine.
Emily (Adeline & Lumiere) says
Lovely cake and best of luck on your 'big' day! Lots of love!
Amanda says
I wish you every happiness and loads of luck for next week. I'm sure the day will be wonderful.And don't those pomegranate seeds look like little gems - beautiful!
Jennifer says
Thanks Amanda 😀
Mel B (Honey You Baked) says
Congrarulations for the big day coming up - like you said, it is big no matter how many people, because it's that big outward commitment and joining of lives. I love weddings!I managed to not to cry during our ceremony (only just though, the best man kept crying LOL I had to stop looking at him!) but then I walked outside and those few moments together outside of the little church it just all hit me, we had finally done it after months (years even) of planning, and I cried then! It rained (and snowed) on the day of our wedding, but rain and clouds make for awesome lighting and photos, and we have lots of photos with umbrellas and freezing bridesmaids wearing (equally cold) partners' jackets'...
JJ @84thad3rd says
Congrats in advance and have a lovely, loving day! Just a brief tear or two here - but RJ bless him almost lost it when I started down the isle - after that we were both just grinning ear to ear 🙂
Gail Andrejic says
Hello Jennifer Both my husband and I cried during our ceremony but no-one would have noticed because it was running so hard on the church roof!! Fortunately it stopped before we left and for our photos and it definitely didn't ruin the day. If you have a chance, a quick question with this recipe. If you don't have access to pomegranate would substitute would you suggest?Good luck with the Wedding and make sure you take it all in and enjoy the day.
Jennifer says
Hi Gail,How lucky that it stopped raining for your photos! And thanks for your wedding wishes :DIf you can't get hold of pomegranate you can try pomegranate juice available from the supermarket, other wise you could try replacing the pomegranates with raspberries.
Choc Chip Uru says
Best of luck with the big day my friend :DAnd your cake looks incredible!CheersChoc Chip Uru
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Gorgeous cake!We had a few guests (15 to be precise) and it was OUR big day nonetheless. It didn't rain and I am sure you'll have a wonderful wedding 🙂
Jennifer says
Thanks Kiran 😀 I'm sure your wedding was a beautiful one. Ours is only a few days away now and I can't wait. 😀
lizzie - strayed from the table says
No tears during the ceremony, just before. It was pretty exciting. I was blessed with the weather it was gale force winds for 4 days prior to the wedding and freezing cold. Then on the day it could not of been better. Best wishes for the big day!
Rosa says
A wonderful cake! Perfect with a cup of tea.Cheers,Rosa
Trisha says
That looks so bright and wonderful and oh so yummy!
Emma Galloway says
All the best for your big day Jennifer! In answer to your questions, yes I totally did cry the whole way through our wedding ceremony 🙂 but thankfully the rain held off.
Anne says
I hope your wedding day is everything you want it to be. Recently, my son's wedding was very small - just 12 guests - and it was absolutely beautiful. We went to Cradle Mountain in north west Tasmania and the whole weekend could not have been better!The cake looks sensational - do you know i have NEVER eaten a pomegranate, let alone used one in cooking? Must become more adventurous!
Jennifer says
Hi Anne,Thanks for sharing the story of your sons wedding. I'm a former Tasmanian, so I know how beautiful Cradle Mountain is. What a beautiful setting for a wedding. As for the cake, I really love pomegranate, but I think it's an acquired taste as my husband to be hates them. I think it's down to the seeds. Anyway, I hope you'll have a chance to try your first pomegranate soon 😀
Liren says
My oh my, one week to go! I am so excited for you as you enter this new chapter in your life together. Big or small, weddings are such special times! Funny that ask about crying...I barely shed a tear at my own wedding but was a faucet at my sister's. I'm not sure what the difference was, or maybe I'm just more emotional now :)A beach side wedding sounds gorgeous...I hope you will share photos! XoP.s. This cake looks divine...the syrup!!
Jennifer says
Thanks Liren 😀 I think I've come to accept the fact I'm going to cry through our ceremony. I wouldn't be me if I didn't 😀
thelittleloaf says
Eeek! So so excited for you 🙂 And hoping you'll post some photos from the big (small) day! This cake looks gorgeous too.
Helena says
Yes, it rained a solid week before my wedding, and I also got married outdoors, at the Botanical Gardens in Palos Verdes, Calif, fortunately the sun came out that morning and I was married at 5pm so it was dry by then, but the people who got married that morning had to go out with brooms and brush the water off the patio roof, so glad I listened to my mom and did not have a morning wedding, but all our shoes did get ruined taking photos. A wonderful day, and I know yours will be for you too, Congratulations
Jennifer says
Thanks for sharing your story Helena. Sounds like you had a wonderful day. 😀
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I hope your wedding is a lovely celebration! This cake is just beautiful - what a stunning way to showcase the jewel-like pomegranates!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
Weddings are fantastic! I hope you have a perfect day and a wonderful day of sharing with your family and friends. We'd been together for 8 years when we (I) decided he should ask me to marry him when we were on top of the Eiffel Tower. He laughed and said, "yeah right." We had a fantastic party. We're older than dirt so neither of us cried. :)I'll think really good thoughts for a gorgeous, warm day.I am dying to try this cake. I love pomegrate. Maybe I just like to whack them with a wooden spoon but the whole process from making to eating is fun.
Joanne T Ferguson says
G'day and would LOVE making this cake and other pomegranate recipes too!I thought they were not in season in Oz. Is there somewhere one can buy them online or dried ones that can re-hydrated for baking too? Thank you!
Jennifer says
Hi Joanne,You're right, pomegranate season runs from March through to June, however I picked up some pomegranates from my local grocer a couple of weeks ago as they had some in stock. I have seen them around in a few places so not sure whether they are imported or late season as they weren't marked.If you can't get hold of pomegranates I'd use buy some pomegranate juice and just skip using the seeds as decoration.I hope that helps 😀
Joanne T Ferguson says
G'day and big thanks for your prompt reply! I was SOOOOOOOO hoping would be easy to get out of season and now am wondering when they are in season, can I de seed the pomegranate seeds and freeze them or will continue to search to see if can find dehydrated ones that I can hydrate as the seeds really do finish the delicious cake off too! Thank you!
Jennifer says
Hi Joanne,I did a quick search on Google and it appears you can freeze pomegranate seeds however they will become a little soggy when thawed. You can see how you go with thawing them. And you're right, they really do finish the cake. Another thing you could do in lieu of the seeds is to take some pomegranate syrup and mix it with sugar and cook it until it forms a toffee and then spread on a baking sheet to cool and shatter when cold. That might be another way to decorate it 😀 Anyway, I hope those suggestions help.
[email protected] says
Congrats again :)) I know you will be so beautiful!! Keep us updated!
Jennifer says
Aww thanks Anh 😀
K-bobo @ Gormandize with A-dizzle & K-bobo says
This looks delicious Jennifer! I've never used pomegranate in baking before, will have to give it a try! How exciting for you to have your wedding so soon! I hope everything goes wonderfully and you have a fantastic day! I hope you'll share a photo or two with us 🙂
Jennifer says
I'd never used pomegranate in baking until now either. I'm certainly looking forward to again though 😀 And thanks for your wedding wishes. I hope to share a photo or two.
Daisy@Nevertoosweet says
AMAZING cake 🙂 I've never cooked with promegrante hehe ~ Don't stress!!! It'll be fine!! Trust me 🙂 it's not gonna rain and it's gonna be the best day of your life!!! 🙂 So so so excited for you ~
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
Few days till your bid day! How exciting! I hope it will be a wonderful day. To answer your question, yes, it did rain on my wedding day The cake sounds delicious Jennifer
Aunt Clara says
Congratulations, and a long life of love, prosperity, and dreams come true. Your husband is a lucky guy.
Simone says
I've done so many weddings as a photographer, rainy ones and sunny ones and they were all equally happy so I guess in the end rain or shine it will have been a fun day I am sure... I realize that you're already married since this is an older post so hope you had a dream day! Love this cake and I've been wondering on how to incorporate pomegranate into a cake so thanks for the inspiration!