A Sushi Wedding Cake

Jef and Jin Yoon like sushi--a lot. We missed their wedding, but I promised them we'd have a festive reception for them in Boston when they got back from their honeymoon. Jef requested sushi, which was neither a surprise nor a problem. I wanted to do something different, though, and a little more obviously wedding-y. Hence, the wedding sushi cake.

Ingredients:

• 6 c raw short-grain rice, steamed, cooled, but not prepared with vinegar as for sushi (refrigerating the vinegared rice causes the texture to change and become undesirable)
• 1 1/4 pounds sushi-grade salmon, cut into long nigiri-style slices
• 1 pound sushi-grade yellowtail, 3/4 of it cut into long nigiri-style slices, the rest chopped and set aside
• 1 lb sushi-grade tuna, 3/4 of it cut into long nigiri-style slices, the rest chopped and set aside
• 3/4 c tobiko
• 1/2 c wasabi tobiko
• 1 c ikura
• 1 block tamago, cut into stars, hearts, and crescents with canape cutters, scraps saved and minced
• 1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and minced
• 1 tbsp Korean hot pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp high-quality canola-oil mayo
• 1/2 seedless cucumber, partially peeled in decorative stripes, then sliced thinly into quarter- and semi-circles
• 2 c loosely packed mache leaves
• pickled ginger, drained and pressed into rosebud shapes
• 5 scallions, green parts only, finely chopped
• 1 c cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp inamona (kukui nut)
• 3 ripe avocadoes, all but one half mashed; reserved half thinly sliced the long way
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt

Equipment:

• one 12-inch, one 9-inch, and one 6-inch cake pan, standard wedding-cake sizes, lined with plastic wrap, with lengths of plastic wrap extending over the sides
• one 9-inch and one 6-inch round of heavy cardboard, covered in foil
• one 3-inch round ring mold
• one 14-inch or larger completely flat plate, preferably sturdy and not fragile
• heavy cans, jars, or other items to use as weights
• refrigerator space
• bride and groom cake toppers of your choice

Directions for 12-inch Tier:

• Form the tier from the bottom up, arranging cucumbers, tamago pieces, and edamame carefully on the plastic wrap in the pan in an attractive pattern.
• Lay the salmon slices on top, being careful not to disturb the first layer, like spokes of a wheel. Let the salmon come slightly up the sides of the pan.
• Mix 1/2 of the rice with the tobiko and press 1/2 of the resulting mixture into the pan, careful not to disarrange the salmon.
• Mix shrimp with hot pepper powder and next three ingredients. Lay spicy shrimp mixture on rice.
• Press remaining 1/2 of tobiko rice on shrimp.
• Fold plastic wrap over securely. Weight pan and chill for 4-8 hours.

Directions for 9-inch Tier:

• Form the tier from the bottom up, arranging cucumbers, tamago pieces, and edamame carefully on the plastic wrap in the pan in an attractive pattern.
• Lay the tuna slices on top, being careful not to disturb the first layer, like spokes of a wheel. Let the tuna come slightly up the sides of the pan.
• Mix 2/3 of the remaining rice with the wasabi tobiko and press 1/2 of the resulting mixture into the pan, careful not to disarrange the tuna.
• Mix mashed avocadoes with next two ingredients. Mix in 1/2 of the cilantro. Lay avocado mixture on rice.
• Press remaining 1/2 of wasabi tobiko rice on avocado.
• Fold plastic wrap over securely. Weight pan and chill for 4-8 hours.

Directions for 6-inch Tier:

• Form the tier from the bottom up, arranging cucumbers, tamago pieces, and edamame carefully on the plastic wrap in the pan in an attractive pattern.
• Lay the hamachi (yellowtail) slices on top, being careful not to disturb the first layer, like spokes of a wheel. Let the yellowtail come slightly up the sides of the pan.
• Mix 1/2 of the rice with the minced tamago scraps and press 1/2 of the resulting mixture into the pan, careful not to disarrange the yellowtail.
• Mix chopped yellowtail with chopped scallions. Lay negi-hama mixture on rice.
• Press remaining 1/2 of tamago rice on negi-hama mixture.
• Fold plastic wrap over securely. Weight pan and chill for 4-8 hours.

Directions for 3-inch Tier:

• Mix chopped tuna with remaining 1/2 of cilantro and next five ingredients. Pack into ring mold on a small plate and chill 4-8 hours.

Directions for Assembly:

• Flip 12-inch tier out onto big platter.
• Flip 9-inch and 6-inch tiers out onto foil-covered rounds.
• Center 9-inch tier, cardboard round and all, on 12-inch tier, then center 6-inch tier on top of that.
• Push poke mixture (in ring mold) out onto center of 6-inch tier.
• Garnish with mache lettuce leaves, edamame, tamago shapes, rosebud gari, avocado slices, and cucumber slices. Pour ikura over in a few cascades from top down. Top with cake toppers. Serve with wasabi, soy sauce, and a citrus-wasabi sauce on the side.

Bonus: An Ice Cream Wedding Cake

After a sushi wedding cake dinner, an ice cream wedding cake dessert seemed only natural (especially given the love of frozen sweet treats among the bride and groom and wedding guests).

The bottom tier was a coconut brownie topped with coconut ice cream; the middle tier was green tea ice cream and coconut ice cream with a vanilla cake filling; and the top tier was raspberry and mango sorbets with fresh raspberries swirled together. All the ice cream was goat's milk ice cream. I topped the cake with the top of a pineapple and garnished it with halved fresh mochi filled with marshmallows and fruit jelly, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, strawberries, raspberries, chopped mango, and chopped pineapple. Served with hot fudge on the side, after a meal, it could probably feed 12-20 people.

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Created: 6/3/07. Last Modified: 6/3/07.