13. What is fondant? Everyone says it's terrible!
Fondant is the super smooth rolled icing you see on all the cakes in magazines. It is rolled out and draped over the tiers, them smoothed, polished, trimmed and detailed. We love working with fondant, but only recommend it if the design calls for it. Many fondant designs can be translated into buttercream nicely, but there are times when only fondant will do.
While there are definitely some crappy fondants out there, we feel that ours is very good. It is imported from Switzerland, and has a very neutral, sort of marshmallow taste. I believe the adverse reaction most people have to fondant has more to do with the texture than the taste. It is like cutting into a soft tootsie roll, and it is much more difficult to cut a thin slice and plate it cleanly. It's not the creamy buttercream people are expecting, so they react badly. Poor fondant.
14. Why is a fondant finished cake so much more expensive?
The fondant we use is fairly expensive, but we think it's worth it for the flavor. It takes a lot of skill and experience to work with fondant and make it look right. It takes much longer to finish a cake in fondant than buttercream. It is also temperature sensitive.
While we can finish a buttercream cake and refrigerate it overnight, fondant cannot be refrigerated after it has been put on the cake, so they have to be finished on the day of delivery. This makes for some tricky scheduling, and often we have to take fewer orders to accommodate them.
15. My wedding reception is going to be outside. People have told me that fondant holds up better in the heat. Is this true?
Not necessarily. It is true that fondant does not melt in direct sunlight like buttercream does. But as I explained above, the cake cannot be refrigerated overnight before delivery, so it arrives to the reception at room temperature, and only gets warmer from there. On the other hand, a buttercream finished cake arrives thoroughly chilled, and as long as it is under a tent, and away from direct sunlight, the buttercream cake will hold up nicely for hours, getting to room temperature in time for serving. That is not to say you can't have a fondant cake at an outdoor wedding, we just have to deliver as close to the time of guest arrival as possible, so the cake does not spend too much time in the heat.
16. I want my cake to look like fondant, but I don't want fondant.
This is certainly possible. We can mimic a fondant look by slightly rounding the top edges of the tiers of a buttercream finished cake. We generally do not mix fondant and Buttercream. Complex fondant components cannot be applied to a buttercream finished cake.
17. Can I have a different flavor on each tier?
Of course this is no problem, however, we recommend a maximum of two flavors for your cake. A wedding cake is usually cut and served from the top down. Since you can only plate and serve one tier at a time, it becomes confusing for the servers and your guests when you have different flavors in each tier. If you're sold on more than two flavors, you might want to consider a satellite tier design...single cakes on a satellite stand that can be cut and served simultaneously.
18. Do you make dairy free (sugar free, wheat free) cakes?
We have always lived by these mottos: "All butter, All the time", "If you're gonna splurge, do it right" and "Everything in Moderation". We understand some people have dietary restrictions and food allergies, and we sympathize greatly. In the past, we have experimented with dairy free and sugar free recipes, but it seems baking is the one area of cooking where substitutions consistently create a less than satisfactory product. We are very sorry, and hope to be able to offer some sugar free and wheat free items in the future, but at this time, we just make the good (bad) stuff.
19. Do you freeze your cakes?
Nope. With the exception of carrot cake layers (which freeze brilliantly), we NEVER freeze our layers. Our cakes are baked fresh daily and our buttercreams are made fresh weekly. The creation of a wedding cake is a several day process. Cakes are baked as close to the day of delivery as possible.
20. Do you stay and cut the cake? How do you cut the cake?
Your caterer is responsible for the cutting of the cake. They will often charge a per serving cutting/plating fee or a flat fee for this service. If you are having a friend cut the cake, we will provide a cutting diagram on request so they can get the proper number of servings out of your cake.
21. How do you deliver the cakes?
Most of our stacked cakes are delivered fully assembled. For many years, I held the cakes in my lap, gimbling with my thighs, while someone else drove to the site. Then one day, after a near disaster, I began to rethink this method. I enlisted my father to build an insulated box to deliver the cakes in. He's been tweaking the design for years and it gets better every time. Now they travel safely and in serious style in a pink insulated aluminum framed box. I don't know how I lived without these FABULOUS BOXES. Thanks Frank!!
22. Do you ship your cakes?
No, for now, we are not able to ship our cakes.
23. I want one of your delicious cakes, but a custom cake is not in my budget. Are there any other options?
If you just want a simple, elegant, delicious cake, and are not concerned with a custom design, choose a cake from our Standard Specialty Cakes menu (up to 100 servings). We have three stock designs for these simplified wedding cakes. They are made with the same quality and care as our custom cakes, but do not require a consultation or special attention to detailing, so they cost a bit less.
They are available in several sizes feeding anywhere from 20-100 servings. For example, a two tiered cake serving 16-28 starts at $75.00, and a three tiered cake to feed 60-90 starts at $290.00. These cakes can be boxed for pick-up or delivered for the regular delivery fee of $50.00 locally.
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