Cakes, Cupcakes and Macarons
This episode is HILARIOUS. For real, I say that about all the episodes but put 4 women in a room together, dim the lights because you can't all fit on the video anyways, and insert a few salted caramel and green tea macarons, what do you get? Rolling laughter with intermittent moments of wedding knowledge nuggets.
You really need to listen, but for those of you looking for a recap... here 'tis.
WHEN SHOULD I ORDER MY WEDDING CAKE?
According to wedding websites, you should be contacting your baker about your cake 4-5 months in advance for your wedding. However, a great bakery may be in high demand in the month that you wed, making it imperative to inquire sooner. If you’ve got your eye on a particular bakery, it can’t hurt to ask them what their availability is like in during your wedding month. You will want to find this out at least 6 months in advance if your wedding is in a busy month, like May or June.
You can get away with a little less time if your wedding is in a less busy month, of course this is dependent on the wedding season in your location. If you are getting married in Minnesota, weddings November through April will be safe to order a wedding cake 4-5 months in advance, save the holiday schedule. Otherwise be kind, book your vendors early (and have peace of mind).
HOW DOES THIS WORK?
Pop into your favorite bakery and the first thing you’ll want to do is schedule a tasting, but if you're feeling impatient, order off the menu. During the tasting you can give out important information, like the guest count, venue location and any food allergies. You can also talk about the style of your cake, how many tiers, layers and the frosting design. Your baker will tell you important things like cost, the process and deposit requirements.
Bring in Pinterest pins or other images to help communicate what you want your final product to look like.
Your cake will be priced per slice, not per tier, hurrah! That means it is dependent on how many people you want to feed, but it also depends on the type of decorations you want on the outside.
On the day of your wedding, the cake will get dropped off earlier in the day. You can save on delivery fees (for small one tiered cakes) by opting to have someone pick up, but I don’t really recommend this option. A cake decorator will set up your cake, so make sure the table it gets set on has linen on it, before they arrive. If you opt for a multi-tiered cake they will also assemble your delicious masterpiece and they may also place cake flowers on at this time.
Your baker arrives like 1-2 hours before guest arrival, the perfect time for a cake to hang out at your reception. Believe it or not, you want your cake to sit out at room temperature, but room temperature shouldn’t be 80 degrees. Something to think about if you are getting married at a barn venue or a backyard, your cake should be protected!
The cake below is the one we mention in the episode, the one where my bride picked it up herself and the venue stored and sliced. How nice.
photos by Kristina Lorraine Photography
THE TRUTH ABOUT RED VELVET
It's a chemical reaction between chocolate and buttercream or whatever Jenn actually said. Back in the day red velvet looked more like chocolate cake with a red tint. BUT nowadays they (as in baker people) add dye because we (as in cake eating people) like it. Red velvet cake is actually a vanilla based cake with cocoa powder added to it.
So Josey likes it tons more than regular chocolate cake because instead of being so chocolatey it's just a hint of chocolate. I'm not a fan of chocolate, I know it's weird, I was born this way... chocolate.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
It's a good idea to head into your consult with images of the things that you want to draw inspiration from - your dress, your wedding colors or unique textures you want to incorporate. This is your wedding, so... what do you want?
Inspiration doesn't have to be a picture of a cake from Pinterest, though that does help, but rather, inspiration can be architect you like, the lace on your dress or the print on your skinny tie. Instead of asking for an exact replica of the cake you pinned, ask for elements from the stuff you like. The consultation is key for narrowing down the design of your cake, so don't skip this part of planning.
photo by Ashley Elwill Photography
MY TIPS
Think about where your cake will be stored before it gets served. If you have an outdoor wedding, ensure that your cake is being stored in a cooler location. It is easier to cut cake that isn't melted or straight out of the fridge. That's definitely a major benefit of having your wedding reception with expert caterers present, they can cut and serve you cake for you. Sorry Aunt Shirley, guess your cake-serving-church-days won't be necessary.
I love when my clients cut their cake immediately following their grand march. All of your guests will be able to see you do it and then servers can cut the cake during, or immediately following, dinner service and you can get dessert lickety split, instead of at 10P. Yay for having dessert after dinner.
One more thing, have linens placed on your cake table BEFORE the cake arrives and if you have a fake cake (you gotta listen to this episode pal) have the bottom tier be the real cake because real cake is HEAVIER than styrofoam. #physics
WEDDING ADVICE FROM AMY’S CUPCAKE SHOPPE
It’s YOUR wedding, not your guests’ wedding, not your mom’s wedding, yours. It is okay to do what you want to do, to ignore traditions that don’t feel right and to not always listen to what your mom wants.
Plan accordingly when it comes to your cake. It is not the quantity of what you’re getting for your cake. Instead, it is the quality of what they are putting out.