Wedding Cake Planning

The date is set…

Congratulations on your engagement! Planning a wedding is so exciting and now it is time to pick a cake artist! I have successfully navigated several wedding cakes. The key is to be prepared! (That was a pep talk for me) 😉 For you the bride, groom, wedding planner, mother of the bride, mother of the groom or amazing friend who is in charge of this portion of the wedding, I promise to be over the top amazing at what I do. That is my job and I am very good at making your vision a reality! My hope this post will give you a little bit of guidance and answer some questions you may have while looking for your dessert vendor or cake artist.

Wedding donuts

First things first

Every bride stocks her idea arsenal with Bride magazines, Pintrest boards and scribbled lists of ideas. Now it is time to think about the dessert! So many things can influence the design of the cake or your dessert table. Is a cake what you want? Are you thinking about a dessert table, a pie table, or a doughnut wall? Once you have decided what you want, don’t forget to talk about the details with your florist. It is helpful to let the florist know what to expect when it comes to the dessert table. Incorporate the decorations from your table centerpieces and flowers on your dessert table help to tie everything together beautifully.

A beautiful and delicious lattice topped wedding day rustic pie.

Theme and colors…

When is your wedding? Summer, Fall, Winter or Spring? Indoors or Out?  I picked those first because the time of year including heat and humidity are factors that determine where your cake can be displayed to keep it from melting! Decorations on and around the cake can reflect the season. What is your wedding theme? Vintage? Rustic? Beach? Woods? Classic? Modern? Your cake should reflect your theme! What are your colors? Traditional wedding cakes are white. It is very possible to reflect your theme in a white cake. Bring pictures of your wedding dress to your cake artist. Your wedding dress can be an amazing help when designing the perfect wedding cake.

Semi Naked wedding cakes with fresh flowers

Edible decorations…

Did you know that a wedding cake can shimmer? So many edible options will set your cake apart from the rest. Pearls, lace, gems, glitter, shimmer, feathers and so many more edibles resembling decorations on your dress can all be put on a cake. The only thing limiting your vision may be the size of your budget.

Wedding pies

Budget…

Yes, it is a reality that most of us have to follow a budget for things like this. I am also very good about helping you stay on your cake budget. The bigger the budget the more BLING, and pizzazz we can build into the cake. Have you seen the cake hanging like a chandler in the center of the hall?!? As beautiful and amazing as some of the cakes in magazine spreads and online are, sometimes the simple cakes, truly are the most breathtaking.

Vegan semi-naked wedding cake with fresh flowers.

The details…

Let’s keep this simple because I know you have a lot of planning and many more vendors to discuss every last detail with. My Requirements are simple.

#1. I do private cake tastings for weddings. I charge $50 for a box of 12 cupcakes (3 flavors).  I also do private dessert tastings for those who want a dessert table, cookie bar, bunt cake or a non-cake alternative for the wedding day. Cost is determined by dessert type ordered. I do not charge a lot of money for wedding cakes. I can do this because I have low overhead and I do not build in extra costs like your tasting.

#2. Please schedule your cake tasting as soon as possible. You can contact me through the contact form here on the website, or through any of my social media platforms.

#3. A $100 nonrefundable deposit is required to reserve your spot on my calendar and so that I can start purchasing supplies. Should you cancel, I will refund all money paid except the tasting cost and $100 deposit.

#4. Final payment is due 14 days before the event. I do not bake unless I haverecieved full payment.

Burlap, pearls, and lace cake.
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Buttercream vs. Fondant

What do You want on your cake?

German Chocolate Cake with Caramel Pecan and Coconut Filling and Chocolate buttercream frosting.

With so many options of what you can put on a cake or cupcakes, what does it all come down to; is your priority taste? Good choice, mine would be taste. Here at Angela’s Bakery, taste is our first priority. Well and looks is also our priority so a lot of thought and research goes into every product. It starts with the ingredients! The best quality ingredients are top priority. Whether it’s buttercream frosting, royal icing, glaze, ganache or fondant, we strive to make it delicious. I have made a few decisions that are best for my business based on a few simple rules. I wanted to provide a high quality product made from scratch with the best quality ingredients. Everything must taste good! So far, I feel it’s a success. (And after aafew more years of baking for the public I am happy to say I have many references from happy customers who love my cakes and frostings! So is truly is a success).

Did you know you have options? There’s the buttercream. How about a poured fondant? Maybe a cake covered in ganache? Another option might be a Naked Cake! How to decide? 

Fondant: an edible sugar paste that gives a smooth, clean finished look on cakes and

A sculpted Bulbasour Cake using Fondant.

cupcakes. Webster calls it a soft creamy preparation of sugar, water and flavorings that is used as a basis for Candy’s and icings. It can be shaped and molded to different textures and designs. The cake is covered in buttercream frosting, ganache, or even a thin jam and then a fondant that has been rolled out thin and placed over the cake. The flavor and texture remind me of those orange circus peanut candies we ate as kids. It’s used to mold and shape characters on cakes. I like to use it to make cupcake edible toppers or for accents on a buttercream frosted cake. It can be flavored different flavors to inhance and really go along well with your cake and filling flavors! The texture is a bit more well chewy for lack of a better word. Fondant has a velvet looking finish but so does buttercream frosting if done right. I love that it can be moulded into shapes and given textures. You can do things with fondant that you can not do with frosting. Sadly I see so many people peel it off of there cake before eating so I chose to use fondant that tastes good at least by my standards.

Ganache: Webster defines it as a sweet creamy chocolate used as filling or frosting. Ganache has a smooth almost creamy texture.  I make a whiskey Ganache filling for our Irish Car Bomb cupcakes that is delicious. I also use Ganache to drizzle over a berry topped cake. The use of the best quality chocolates improves the flavor.

Angela’s Bakery Ganache: Melted chocolate mixed with cream! What could be wrong about this combination! Defiantly a choice for cakes and cupcakes here!

Buttercream Frosting: Webster says it is a soft mixture filling of butter and sugar that is used as frosting or filling of cakes. This is my frosting of choice. I add flavoring and extracts to compliment the cakes and cupcakes I make.

Angela’s Bakery Buttercream Frosting: I know a trick to get this to look as smooth as fondant! The chocolate is my favorite but then so is the Irish cream, margarita, peanut butter, peach, raspberry pucker, lemon, vanilla bean, cheesecake, dark chocolate, … yep I have a few flavors to pick from and could just keep listing but I don’t want to bore you! Can you see why the party starts here? At Angela’s Bakery?

Finally every cake artist has a preference of the medium that will best achieve the look requested by the customer. My best advice is to always refer to the professional when picking the flavor profiles, and finishes that will make your cake a success! DO NOT be the bride that orders navy blue buttercream frosting! Your  guests will have blue teeth!! Choose your cake artist with care. You can easily find a friend who can make the cake for nothing as a favor or run to the local Costco or Wal-Mart for cheep cake or  you can pay a professional for the perfection you seek! Making a delicious work of art is fun for me! The best part is knowing I make people happy!

Was this really a Buttercream vs Fondant artical? Not really. They both have there place in the cake design world. Give them both a try! Better yet, refer to your cake artist. Ask for a sample to taste to see if you like it! Order some cupcakes before you make that big order to see if you like the bakers work! You could stick with the cheep cakes but why would you when you can for a few bucks more have an indulgence that should go along with every party and celebration! The winner here is truly the customer. Enjoy! ❤️

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