Hydrangeas

We created a wedding cake recently that came out even prettier than we imagined it would be, so we thought it was the perfect choice for this week's Weddings Wednesday cake.

As you can see, it was a small, 3 tier cake, but the combination of our champagne dot design and the rolled chocolate hydrangea type flowers made it look so pretty and sweet. (Pun intended!)

Easy like Sunday morning...

For Sundays with the Chef this morning, we're going to share a little about Chef/Owner Kristen Repa's day last Sunday. We were hired to create a Lionel Richie cake for a wedding where the bride and groom were huge Lionel Richie fans. They requested that the cake look like the clay bust of Lionel's head from his music video, "Hello." (Skip to 4:40 to see the bust in the video if you don't want to watch the whole thing.)

With any three dimensional cake, there are structural issues to be concerned with. Kristen took the appropriate precautions and made the head out of a denser cake and put the appropriate dowels inside for stability.

Here, you can see the cake in progress. Kristen has stacked the cakes, carved them in the rough shape of his face and started to cover it in buttercream frosting.

Kristen then covered him in chocolate buttercream, to make him look like he was made out of clay, and to start to form some of the details.

Finally, she added the hair and he was complete!


The cake was ready to be delivered, so it was loaded into the delivery van and off Kristen went to personally deliver the cake. While she was driving, a biker cut out in front of her and she had to slam on the brakes! She heard a thud and pulled over, fearing the worst. Lionel had been decapitated!

Luckily, she had brought some extra chocolate buttercream and some supplies with her. She stopped at a hardware store for some extra wooden dowels, and when she got to the venue, she was able to put him back together in time.

We are closed on Mondays, but just 2 days after the wedding, on Tuesday, we had someone come into the retail store and say, "I was at the Lionel Richie cake wedding, and that cake was absolutely amazing!"

So last Sunday was not "easy like Sunday morning," but despite the stress and the unexpected, we still delivered an amazing creation that impressed the bride & groom, and guests alike!

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil!

Today's featured cake is simply spectacular! See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil...

...but there's certainly nothing evil about all the beautiful details on this creative, artistic and delicious cake!

Petite Pink Flowers

We love the vertical pleating and tiny pink flowers on today's featured wedding cake!

However, this photo also allows us the opportunity to introduce you to our Honeymoon Cakes!

With any wedding cake we create that is 3 tiers or larger, we provide a complimentary Honeymoon Cake. This tiny replica of whatever your wedding cake looks like is our alternative to the old tradition of saving the top tier for your first anniversary. The Honeymoon Cake comes in a clear, acrylic box that you can stick right in your freezer and save for your first anniversary! You can even eat it on your wedding night or when you come back from your honeymoon if you can't wait that long!

Though you get a complimentary Honeymoon Cake with your wedding cake, you can also order individual Honeymoon Cakes for purchase, designed to your specifications, as wedding or shower favors!

The photos above are just a few examples of Honeymoon Cake designs that we have created here at Dessert Works. Contact us today to order your Honeymoon Cakes as favors, or to set up a complimentary tasting and design consultation, to have your wedding cake created by the Dessert Works cake artists!

Fall Menu

The weather is cooling down, and pretty soon the leaves will be changing colors. Fall is upon us! Which means that our fall flavors will soon be available! What can you expect? Well, below is a list of some of our scrumptious fall offerings:

Maple Pumpkin Mousse Cake - Our moist, tender pumpkin cake is layered with maple mousse, and finished with vanilla buttercream and our autumnal leaf design.

Walnut Orange Torte - Our walnut cake is layered with an orange accented white chocolate mousse filling, and finished with vanilla buttercream & dark chocolate ganache.

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake - Back by popular demand!! This creamy pumpkin cheesecake has a ginger molasses crust, and is finished with a white chocolate cream topping and fresh whipped cream.

Gingerbread Roulard - A light, delicious gingerbread cake is filled with white chocolate mousse and rolled to create the roulard.

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tart - Pecans and caramel in a shortbread crust, finished with chocolate mousse and chocolate dipped pecans.

Tart St. Helene - Almond frangipane baked with sliced pears in a shortbread crust, and lightly accented with a chocolate drizzle.

Rustic Apple Tart - A deep dish tart, brimming generously with fresh locally grown apples, topped with brown sugar oatmeal streusel crumble.

Pear & Cranberry Gallette - A free-form tart filled with crimson cranberries & pears, mellowed with a sweetened cream filling and baked inside a flaky crust.

Call or stop by the store today to place your order for these delicious fall flavors while you can!

Cigar Box

Here at Dessert Works, we love creating wedding cakes! But our delicious and stunning cakes are not just for the bride! We also create many different custom groom's cakes.

Is your husband-to-be a cigar buff? Well then this groom's cake would be a perfect surprise for him on your wedding day!

This cigar box cake was created using a combination of cake and rolled chocolate work.

If you are interested in having Dessert Works create a custom groom's cake for your husband-to-be, please call or email us today!

Pink & Brown

Pink and brown have become very popular colors recently, so today we are sharing an artistic pink and brown creation for Weddings Wednesday!

This stunning wedding cake features our hand-made rolled chocolate roses, pink and brown mini cupped rolled chocolate flowers, unraveling rolled chocolate ribbon ends, overlapping rolled chocolate bands in pink and brown, and hand-piped design work.

Non-traditional

Not everyone wants a traditional, white wedding cake. So today we're sharing one of our more alternative wedding creations!

This three tier wedding cake was frosted in a light sage green buttercream frosting instead of the typical white buttercream. Our Florentine Ivy design was hand piped in a dark sage green buttercream and the cake was decorated with fresh tropical flowers and our hand-made, signature chocolate butterflies!

Whether you're a traditional bride or a little more daring, the cake artists at Dessert Works can create your dream wedding cake!

Tasty Tuesday - Cheesecakes!

Thank you for joining us for another edition of Tasty Tuesday! We hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend! We all know how hard it is to go back to work after the long holiday weekend, but, unfortunately, it is now over. As a treat to yourself for getting in your car and getting to work on time this morning, you should stop into our retail store and treat yourself to one of our individual sized cheesecakes!

Our smooth, creamy cheesecakes sit atop a graham cracker crust, and are topped with an old-fashioned strawberry topping and a fresh strawberry. Pick up one of these delicious treats today, and we promise you won't regret it!

Kristen Repa: About Our Head Chef

For today's edition of Sundays with the Chef, we're going share a little more about Desert Works' Head Chef, Kristen Repa!

Kristen began her career in the industry over 15 years ago. She has worked as Executive Pastry Chef for The Catered Affair, as an apprentice chef at The Ritz Carlton Boston, and as a cake decorator for Konditor Meister. She also trained at Gerstner, the world renowned pastry shop in Vienna, Austria.

Kristen has owned Dessert Works Bakery, with her husband Leonardo Savona, since June of 2001. Dessert Works began as a small shop in Medfield, Massachusetts and quickly outgrew its space due to Kristen's reputation for outstanding desserts and beautifully artistic designs. In 2004, Dessert Works was relocated to a larger facility in Norwood, Massachusetts to meet demand.

Kristen's specialty is her creativity and artistry, making Dessert Works unique to any other pastry shop in the area. Walk into our shop and you will see the beauty Kristen and her staff bring to dessert. Taste one of our cakes and you will understand why we have customers all across New England!

Lobster

Summer is winding down and the kids are heading back to school. No one likes summer to come to an end, so today's Featured Friday is going to celebrate summer! And nothing says summer in New England like...

...LOBSTER!

The lobster itself is made out of cake, with rolled chocolate details and seaweed, and white chocolate seashells. This cake was custom made as a birthday cake, but would be perfect for any summer party!

Signature Butterfly Cake

Today is Weddings Wednesday once again, and today we're sharing our Signature Butterfly Cake with all of you!

This stunning, original cake has a rolled chocolate cover, pastel rolled chocolate roses, buttercream ivy design work and chocolate butterflies. Our rolled chocolate roses and chocolate butterflies are all handmade, right here in our facility.

Cannolis

It's Tasty Tuesday again, and this week's tasty treats are cannolis!

Crisp cannoli shells are lined with chocolate, filled with our delicious canolli cream, and drizzled with a little bit of chocolate on top. Stop by our retail store today to try out these delicious little treats that are unlike any other cannoli you have ever tasted!