We got the keys December 1st and have been hard at work getting ready to open our doors. Here are some photos of our progress so far…

If you are purchasing a wedding cake my best advice is to pay the extra cost to have your cake delivered. Especially for taller cakes transportation can be the most nerve-racking element in cake design, so let a professional take the responsibility! Included in the cost of delivery is set up at your venue and also having the baker on hand to fix anything that may have happened during transit. If you take this on yourself you can’t guarantee that your baker will be able to make a trip out to your venue should anything happen and the cost for emergency repairs could be more then the delivery was to begin with. Picking up your own wedding cake and the stresses that go along with it are the last thing your need on your special day.

For special occasion cakes I highly recommend paying for delivery on cakes that are 3 tiers and higher as they are more likely to slide, tilt or fall during transit. No matter the cake make sure to place it on a flat surface. This might be your passenger side floor, your trunk or the back of your mini van or suv. Placing your cake on a seat causes it to sit on a slant which could cause it to tip over if you hit a bump or excellerate too quickly. Typically your cake will be on a board which is large in diameter then the cake itself. Therefore, if your cake is in a box (no matter of the height) if it slides during transit then the board will hit the side box and the cake itself should not get damaged.

Storing a custom cake -

For all fondant covered cakes you can safely store them in a home style fridge but should never put them in a restaurant/commercial fridge/cooler or a camping style cooler. The reason being is that commercial fridges and coolers lack air circulation and are humid and the fondant will melt and slide off of your cake. Fondant covered cakes can safely sit out for a number of hours before being eaten and I recommend this, as eating a room temperature cake tastes much better then a cold one. Make sure to keep your cake out of direct sun light and extreme heat and humidity as this can cause the butter cream to spoil and the cake to sag. On humid days you may notice that your fondant cake becomes shiny. This is because, just like a cold glass of water on a hot summer day, it is sweating. This shine will go away once your cake is no longer cold. Just avoid touching the cake while it is shiny as it will be sticky and you will leave finger prints on it. Putting your cake back in the fridge will dry out the fondant again and get rid of the shine.

There is a big difference between a baker working from their home, a small bakery and a mass production bakery.

A home baker has little over head to worry about but is also not regulated by the local health department. They are also not able to do larger cakes or even as many at one time that a bakery can handle. Small bakeries have the overhead but do not mass produce nor freeze pre-baked cakes so each cake is truly baked and custom made for you. Larger bakeries have many staff and have the capability of whipping together a multitude of cakes but usually are from a standard, easily reproduced design.

Once a cake is baked it then must be masked, or covered with buttercream to give a flawless finish onto which the fondant can adhere. To colour the fondant alone can take 1-2 hours for larger cakes and if you have requested a custom colour to match a fabric swatch, ribbon or invitation there is also the time spent working out the right combination to match your colour.

The design itself can take some time to work out and get just right and there may be stencils or moulds that have to be made to create certain patterns, logos or designs. A work of art doesn’t just happen, it takes time to lay out.

There are so many tools that a cake designer requires such as cutters, crimpers, rolling pins, air brushers, smoothers, gel and powder food colours, paint brushes, moulds, imprinters, leaf and flower veiners…and the list goes on. It’s not hard for one to spend many thousands of dollars accumulating tools of the trade!

In addition to the exterior of the cake there is the internal structure to think about. If your cake is 2 tier+ then there is an internal support system of cake boards and dowels to hold each tier up. Other elements too may require structural support with wires or dowels.

In the end you do get what you pay for and there are numerous hours spent on the design/concept, baking, fondant and decorating of each cake.