My cousin's getting married!

White almond sour cream (WASC) cake. Do a quick Internet search on it, and you'll quickly discover that it's a very popular choice for wedding cakes. Is it the pristine white interior, the firm yet light texture, or the classic almond flavor that's captured the hearts of people throughout the country? Or is it the fact that it's practically no-fail since it relies on a commercial cake mix as its base? The world may never know.  Past experience with this formula (I used the chocolate variation for the wedding cake I made last year for K. and J.) caused me to turn to it yet again for my cousin's bridal shower this weekend.

The term "bridal shower" for me conjures up images of dainty, genteel ladies eating dainty little desserts (think petits fours), so cupcakes seemed more appropriate for the occasion than a full-blown cake. I was informed that the wedding colors were brown, pink, and olive green and that it would be New Orleans-themed (i.e., fleur de lis everywhere) so I did my best to incorporate those into the cupcakes. Here they are in pink:

and green: That's not exactly olive green but I figured a minty green would more appealing as an icing color. 

I was also asked to make a larger cake that would serve as the centerpiece for the dessert table and would be a "family only" cake that we'd tear into after the guests have come and gone. Following the theme, I covered the cake in white chocolate fleur de lis and cream cheese icing. What's inside, you ask? Red velvet, of course! And yes, that's a couch...all this was completed at the eleventh hour and I was already 30 minutes late in leaving the house for delivery!