i am so excited for this weekend! my friend tema is coming to north dakota with her string quartet, ethel. she is the first of my new york friends to see me in my new digs, and i am basically going to try to bribe her to stay by way of mini cakes. (if that doesn't work, eggboy and i are prepared to ask her to be the godmama to our chickies.)

i can't wait to show tema how cool fargo is! and maybe she'll report back to my other new york friends that yes i am surviving in north dakota, and yes i wear plaid in public.

on a related note, speaking of my new york friends: may i take this moment to express my gratitude to the internet for helping me stay in touch with them? i'm glad we don't live in a world where tema is coming to town on a horse and buggy and she could arrive today (when the cakes are fresh) or she could arrive next week (when the cakes are eaten) and the only word that rob or maria would get from me would be in two months when they run into tema at the general store and she is like molly's ox died of scurvy, but she's fine otherwise.

like, i am just so glad that i can stalk donny's fried chicken adventures on instagram.

and give rob style advice through skype.

it makes me a happy molly.

ok, on to these cakes!

the layers are green tea, red velvet, and chocolate, the frosting is a basic buttercream, and they're decorated with marzipan and soooo mannnnny jimmmmmies. they're the children of a few different sources of inspiration:

a pistachio, chocolate, and beet root cake from ms. b's cakery in hong kong

dolly and oatmeal's mini birthday cakes

these rosemary lemon mousse cakes from engrained

and then i recycled the designs from my resolution cake and my sister's wedding cake.

(they were so much fun to make. i loved that i didn't have to decide on just one design. i could do them allllll!)

rainbow mini cakes

makes 12

1. make a full batch of this green tea cake, and half batches of this red velvet cake and this chocolate cake. bake them in a 9 inch x 12 inch sheet pan or a casserole dish lined with parchment. let cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then freeze overnight.

2. make a double batch of this vanilla buttercream.

3. cut out 2 1/2 inch circles of the cakes and stack em up with buttercream between the layers. decorate how you wish and enjoy with a friend from out of town!

-yeh!