The cake diva seems more like a cake wizard to me. She can make anything into a cake. These ideas are perfect for creating a groom's cake that reflect your guy's unique interests. Does your guy like cars? How about a car cake? Does he like sports? Get a stadium cake. Books, dogs, buildings, musical instruments...you can have it as a cake. I have always been awed by people who can make cakes in all kinds of fantastic shapes. It's pure magic to look at and to eat (if you can bring yourself to cut them). The cake diva works out of Jackson, Mississippi and if you're interested in any of these creations, or an anything-else cake, visit her website.
Smitten Kitchen is one of the most popular food blogs out there and it's easy to see why. Deb finds the most delectable recipes and her photography is simply exquisite. If you've never visited her site, you're really missing out on some of the prettiest food on the internet!When we saw that Smitten Kitchen is tackling that most intimidating of culinary feats - baking a wedding cake - we just had to tell our readers. Ever wanted to know what really goes into making your cake? Now's your chance to learn! She's chronicling the process in a series of posts called "Project Wedding Cake" and she already has two posts under her belt. We will following her experience and can't wait to see the final result - we're sure it'll be spectacular!
Project Wedding Cake: An introduction
Project Wedding Cake: Mango curd
April Reed is obsessed with cakes - wedding cakes, to be exact - and that makes us very happy! April Reed Cake Design creates some of the most beautiful and elegant wedding cakes we've ever seen (and believe us, we see a lot of cakes): Chic and modern on the outside, sinfully rich on the inside, these cakes are made to please both your eyes and your tastebuds!Every cake is custom made and begins with a consultation with April herself. Most designs start at $1000, but there is an $800 minimum order. If you're in the NYC area and are as in love with her work as we are, it's best if you contact her as soon as possible - she books up quickly!
Take a look at some of her work for inspiration, and be sure to check out her site for more information.
Your beach wedding cake can be as traditional or funky as you want but, frankly, having a beach wedding is a great excuse to have a whimsical, fun cake that reflects the breezy informality of the day.Frosted sugar sand, white chocolate seashells, sugary, edible driftwood, sea grass, palm trees and, even, painted tropical fish. Designs range from elaborate sandcastles to fabulous underwater scenes. The only limit is your imagination.
The best icing for a beach wedding cake is fondant, as it will keep its shape in warm temperatures. Buttercream may be tastier but could soften a lot, and even melt. Whatever icing you choose, keep the cake in a shady spot and if there isn't any shade then create some with a pretty umbrella or canopy.
Also keep in mind that a cake displayed outdoors might attract insects and, if its breezy, could become covered in sand. If you're concerned about that happening then perhaps keep the cake covered in clear cellophane until its time to cut it. (Make sure to discuss the options with your baker.)
We've picked out a selection of fabulous sandcastle and seashell wedding cakes to inspire you. Click on the images below to view.
One of our favourite cake designers is Erica O' Brien. Based in Long Beach, California since 2005, Erica perfectly combines the two most important elements of a to-die-for cake: aesthetics and taste. There's something about these cakes that make us want to ogle them for a long, long time, before rapturously gobbling them down. (With flavors like lavender-scented chocolate with white chocolate chai mousse, can you blame us?)
Erica uses the best ingredients in her baking, such as Plugra butter and Callebaut chocolate, a good indication of commitment to quality. With flavors and fillings ranging form the traditional to unexpected combinations, and those stunningly beautiful designs, these cakes are all-round winners.
If, like most brides, you're on a budget for your wedding, it will help to understand how cakes are priced, because the kind of cake you choose can dramatically affect its cost. Overall, the more work involved in making the cake, the higher the price. Let's start with the cake itself. The easiest kind of cake to make and work with is a kind of a sponge cake. It comes in a few basic flavors (think vanilla, chocolate, carrot...) and is the most inexpensive. On the other end of the spectrum is cheesecake. More goes into making this decadent delight, so up goes the price. Add-ins like nuts and fruits will also drive prices upward. Moving to the top of the cake, frostings also vary in price, ease of decorating, and taste, with your basic buttercream being the most taste for the money. Finally, the shape of your cake will also impact price. A three-tier cake is considered the standard wedding cake. Add more layers and you up the difficulty and the cost. Also, choosing a shape other than the basic round requires a special cake pan and will raise costs accordingly. Talk honestly with the cake designer about options within your budget. If you like the look of a particular cake, perhaps you can get something similar for less by changing the shape or kind of cake. With a few compromises, you can have a gorgeous cake and eat it, too.
... and then some! May was Cake Month at DIY Bride, and whether you're planning to make your own cake or not, there's a lot of interesting information. Want to be an informed bride when you check out the vendors as you choose your cake? Pick up some tips and ideas to take with you. The more you know, the more you'll be better able to get what you want. And if you do plan on making your own cake, you simply must go check it out!There's everything from terrific videos on how to decorate a cake, to tips on which tools to use, information on cake styles and fashions, facts about the groom's cake, tips on where to find information. If you want to be a cake-savvy bride, check out last month's posts at DIY Bride. You're sure to learn something useful!
Remember when wedding cakes were all the same: mostly white or off-white with lots of frosting, maybe some flowers, ornate, but just boring? How times have changed. Today you can get custom cakes from many bakeries. And the crazier, the better. These cakes defy gravity. And white? Sure. But how about red, bright blue, dark brown or nuclear green? Why not.When we saw the cakes by Pink Cake Box in Denville, New Jersey, we just had to stop and stare. They are amazing. Beautiful. And from the descriptions, they come in just about any flavor you can think of. Owner Anne Heap is a graduate of the prestigious French Culinary Institute. She creates a custom design to make each cake personalized. And when we say custom, we really mean it. Beach themes, Asian themes, fall, winter. She can cover it. Even a Corpse Bride theme (and it's beautiful). Or Scrabble®.
You're in luck if you happen to be in the New Jersey, New York, Connecticut or eastern Pennsylvania areas because they can deliver to you. Peruse the gallery to check out Anne's amazing work, and then go visit her site!
Chapeau de Gateau creates some of the most exquisite cake toppers in the wedding industry. Each topper is handmade from fine Japanese Mokuba ribbon and is packaged like the miniature work of art that it is. They can customize each piece to match the mood or theme of your wedding: From sweet pastels to glamorous metallics, we're impressed with the sheer variety of what they can do. In addition, they can work with you to coordinate your topper with centerpieces, table accessories, favors and any other decorative elements that can be enhanced with ribbons.
Take a look at a cake topped with a Chapeau de Gateau - isn't it smashing? Click through our gallery for more inspiration:
Why top your gorgeous (and delicious!) cake with mass-produced plastic figurines when you can decorate it with gorgeous marzipan sculptures?(Talk about having your cake and eating it too!)
Marzipan is a delicious and versatile creative medium - skilled artists can create anything out of the traditional sicilian delicacy, and wedding cake toppers are no exception.
From whimsical characters to traditional fruits fit to top the most sophisticated of cakes, you can have anything you want made to order for a custom cake topper that your guests will truly enjoy.
When sculptor/baker Mike McCarey decided to name his cake biz Mike's Amazing Cakes, he was setting a high standard for himself. After all, with a name like that, you'd better stand out above your competition, or potential customers will only be disappointed when you fail to blow their minds.
We see tons of beautiful cakes, so of course we were skeptical about the name when someone directed us to Mike's Amazing Cakes, but Mike did not let us down. These cakes really are masterpieces! He urges people to view his gallery as examples of what he can do but not as a catalog -- let your imagination go wild, pick whatever you want in a cake, and he'll make it for you.
In that case, we want something fat free, sugar free, and dairy free that smells like chocolate and tastes like heaven.... He's a fantastic artist, but we're not sure if he's a miracle worker. He also does really cool grooms' cakes, and we're sure he'd whip something up for a bridal shower, too.
Once you've picked out your cake, it's time to accessorize it. Most cake toppers are small plastic figurines made to look like the bride and groom. These figures are normal and expected, but does anyone really notice them? Would anyone notice if they weren't on the cake?We've found some cake toppers that will make an impression. Wedding Mountain has hundreds to choose from, including themes and humorous toppers. Most of their toppers come in various interchangeable ethnicities, so you can find a figurine that looks like you.
Check out the gallery below for dancing toppers, athletes, horny couples, and several variations on the reluctant groom.
We've seen a number of requests in various brides forums for any images and ideas for green and white wedding cakes and have put together a gallery of some of the prettiest green cakes around.It's easy to see why this colour is quite popular at the moment. Green and white is so fresh and clean and a perfect choice for a late Spring or Summer wedding. The cakes we've seen range from quite simple and almost unadorned to fairly intricate, but all of them have something refreshingly lovely about them. Shades of green range from bright apple to soft sage with flowers and leaf patterns featuring strongly, but there are also a few gorgeous lacework and fabric designs as well.
If green is your colour, check out the gallery for loads of inspiration. Also, visit The Knot for more green-theme ideas. They have some fabulous images to browse through and help you get creative.
We've noticed in a lot of wedding forums that fondant is a hot topic. It's great for making beautiful cakes, but a lot of people hate it and want to know about alternatives. So what the heck is it, anyway?Fondant is the smooth, flawless-looking icing on most professional wedding cakes. Unlike buttercream icing, fondant is easily sculpted and useful in particularly fancy cake designs. But why do so many people hate it? Well, it can be hard and unnatural looking, and lots of people just aren't fond of the taste.
If you're not sure about fondant, ask the person making your cake about alternatives and what they can do with regular icing. Fondant can really dress up a wedding cake, but it's certainly not a must-have.
This cake topper/coin bank from the muchofamuchness Etsy shop is too funny not to share: It shows a bride and groom resplendent in their wedding finery and reverses to show what they look like after a few years. As you can see in the gallery, it's not exactly pretty. We think that the fact that it doubles as a coin bank is just precious.What a great cake topper for a wedding - or a 50th anniversary party!
Unfortunately this vintage item has sold (sorry!) but it just goes to show you that it pays to look outside of the traditional sources - you never know where you'll find a treasure like this.
Via Just My Cup of Tea
What's in a name?
Dress of the day: Anastasia by Maggie Sottero
Unusual wedding cakes from Dragons and Daffodils
