Valentine's Day Menu!!

It's February and it's that time again: when red and pink go well together, when chocolate is ALWAYS a good thing, and when expressing your love is natural, expected, and welcome! In light of this season of love, what better way to celebrate it than with Dessert Works' fabulous array of seasonal treats?  From Red Velvet to Cheesecake, Apple tarts to Chocolate, nothing says "I Love You" like something sweet!

Valentine's Day Cake for Two! (Chocolate Raspberry shown)

Valentine’s Cake for Two     $13.50

Back by popular demand - the cake that put Dessert Works on the map!  A generous single layer of our rich chocolate cake covered with chocolate ganache & topped with a heart-shaped layer of your choice, either:  chocolate mousse covered in Milk Chocolate OR raspberry mousse covered in White chocolate. Each heart-shaped dessert is decorated with a buttercream flower, & any one of an assortment of “sweetheart” sayings such as: “Be Mine”, “Kiss Me”, or “I Love You”.

Tiny Temptations

©       Heart Shaped Shortbread Cookies    $2.50 each

                             -- colorfully hand-decorated  

©       Mini Red Velvet Lollipops       $1.85 each

       -- this classic cake flavor is scarlet in color, & filled with our rich cream  cheese frosting then dipped in chocolate ganache to make it irresistible! 

©       Mini cheesecake Lollipops $2.25 each        

                      -- our  irresistible vanilla cheesecake dipped in chocolate ganache                                                    

            ©       Mini Pastries  $1.50 each

       -- popular varieties available, like fresh cannoli made to order, milky way tarts, opera

torts, éclair & fruit tarts 

©       Full-size cupcakes          $2.25 each

                        --- available in your choice of Vanilla or Chocolate cake and topped with

                  mini heart shaped confetti and your choice of Vanilla or Chocolate Buttercream              

©       Red Velvet Cupcakes        $2.50  each

                                 -- This classic cake flavor is scarlet in color, accented with just enough chocolate

                   to make it irresistible, and topped with our delicious melt-in-your mouth vanilla buttercream frosting

©       Red Velvet Individual Dessert          $4.25 each    

                          -- This heart shaped, scarlet tinted, moist cake is layered with cream cheese                                                        frosting and sits atop a thin chocolate cookie. Glazed in chocolate ganache

©       Champagne & Raspberry Individual Dessert   (see description below)          $4.00 each

©       Chocolate Raspberry Blush Individual Dessert (see Chocolate Raspberry Roulade description)     $3.75 each 

©       Apple Heart Tart Individual Dessert   (see description below)         $3.75 each

©       Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Please pre-order.                     $1.75 each

                    Fresh and juicy strawberries  dipped in Callebault chocolate & drizzled with white chocolate.           

                       (Strawberries are not long stemmed.  )

Cakes   

 6” serves 4 – 8    $25,  8”serves 8 – 12    $34,   10” serves 15 – 20    $48

             ©        Champagne & Raspberry Torte – light vanilla chiffon cake layered with fresh raspberries & champagne mousse.  Finished in our vanilla meringue buttercream, with raspberry mirror glaze & festive white chocolate adornments.

Also Available

©        Apple Heart Tart–  8”  only - $15

A flaky-buttery pie filled with hand-peeled, sweet apples and finished with a heart motif top crust.  Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 8-10.

©        Chocolate Raspberry Roulade–  16” size  only - $18

Our moist chocolate cake filled with creamy dark chocolate mousse, and rolled to form a log.  Finished with Raspberry mousse, fresh raspberries, and a dusting of sweet cocoa powder. Serves 8-16.

Red Velvet Heart Individual Dessert

Champagne and Raspberry Individual Dessert

How detailed will my cake be?

"When I order a custom cake, how exact a copy of (blank) is it going to be?"  What a great question!  We've been hearing that a lot lately as we move into the Custom Cake season - what are realistic expectations for a cake to look like?  The answer depends largely on the material we're trying to copy as well as the level of detail requested.  Are you looking for an edible shoe or a cake that looks like a shoe? But rather than just tell you the answer, let me show you with cake!

Let's start off with a great example: an Adidas Shoe we made over a year ago.  Because the shoe is meant to sit flat on the floor (as opposed to lifting up at the toe like running shoes) it was easier to replicate the shape.  The leather fabric lent itself well to copying in chocolate, too.  Add a few details and some faux stitching, and voila - an Edible Shoe!  The finished product looked perfect - you almost can't tell which is the shoe and which is the cake!

The real thing - thanks Google!

Adidas Shoe cake

Let's take on animals for our next example.  Ah, animals - you and your detailed fur, feathers, and fins! And let's not forget the coloring.  While I'm sure it's helpful in the wild for camoflauge, it's not so helpful in the bakery.  But never fear, the Dessert Works Decorators are here!  With a little time and a paintbrush, even something like this large-mouth bass can be copied.  Close inspection of the cake shows that it's not perfect - it's definitely closer to a cake than a fish.  But from a distance, even a fishing novice would know what lay on the table!

Large-Mouth Bass image via Google

The Big Bass Cake - someone throw him back in the water!

And now, sigh, the most troubling and trying of materials to reproduce: Wood.  You'd be surprised how many cake requests feature it: Roulette wheels, pianos, bowling alleys, and even cigar boxes! Every type of wood is different, but they all feature very detailed lines and colors.  This is very difficult to reproduce in chocolate, but not impossible.  Take a look at this cigar box.  The cake isn't as perfect a copy as that Adidas shoe above, but it definitely screams cigar box.  We'd classify this as "a cake to look like a cigar box" as opposed to an "edible cigar box."

Wooden Cigar Box Image courtesy of Google

The Dessert Works wooden Cigar Box

Hopefully this has helped to illuminate the bright world of cake decorating a bit.  Remember - with time, good materials, and Dessert Works, NO cake is too crazy or too custom to make!

More Bake for your Buck!

Happy 2012 everyone!  As the new year begins it seems like everyone's planning a special event for these cold winter months.  Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mitzvahs, or even weddings are on the brain lately.  Today we thought we'd feature a technique that we use here at the bakery to help reduce the cost of a custom cake while still "wowing" the crowd!

Wizard of Oz Scene featuring a flat Edible Image

Meet Mr. Edible Image.  Using our new edible image printer, we can take any image (digital or physical) and transfer it onto your cake for a one-of-a-kind look.  Add a little chocolate and we take your image and make it POP! for a little 3-D effect.  At a fraction of the cost of doing a rolled Chocolate sculpture, this is one way to create a fantastic cake without breaking the bank or your budget!

Custom tiered Wizard of Oz scene featuring 3-D edible images (rainbow, emerald city, and Dorothy & friends)

Back view of the three propped Edible Images

The finished product!

Happy New Year with Tea & Champagne!

Sigh.  In this last week of the Official Holiday Season, it's time to relax and recuperate before 2012.  In that spirit, we'd like to feature a few cakes to put you at ease as well as introduce our Winter Seasonal Cake Flavor!

What better way to relax than with Tea?  Whether it's Black Tea or Herbal, a steaming pot of tea is a must-have on wintry nights -- unless it's made of chocolate and cake, then it's a must-have ANY day of the year!  Here are two teapot cakes we've made in the past for your enjoyment.  Wait, do I hear the kettle whistling?

Beautiful flower-filled teapot on Pink Tablecloth

Handmade 3-D rolled Chocolate Teapot and Doily

And finally, I'd like to welcome back our Winter Seasonal Cake Flavor: Champagne Raspberry!  Our Vanilla Chiffon cake filled with a delicious champagne mousse and fresh raspberries.  Available to order in any size, or to pick-up in our store in 6", 8", or 10".  Please call for availability and pricing, and have a Happy New Year!

Shown: 6" and 8" sizes

Ready-to-Decorate Gingerbread Houses

First: A little inspiration....

The Dessert Works 2010 Gingerbread Village

Dessert Works Gingerbread Church

What could be better than a house made with icing, to best fit your holiday mood and your pricing?

But often this task which seems like it's easy, becomes such a chore - makes you feel queasy!

With visions of peppermints and gumdrops galore you rushed out the house and quick to the store.  

But alas when your house-building time it became, the walls all fell flat and looked a bit lame!  

Depressed and annoyed, your fist raised up high, "There must be an easier way!" you did cry.

Well friends and dear patrons, this season I'll share- Dessert Works makes it easy. Away woe and care!

Our Ready-to-Decorate Gingerbread Dwellings, come all set to go - no construction, no fellings.

There's 4 types of candy to start your creation, along with some icing - a standing ovation!

So come by today for this holiday treat. Available small or large - your needs it will meet!

Large Gingerbread House (NOTE candy selection may change)

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

The temperature's dropping outside making the whole world feel like our walk-in freezer - Winter is finally here!  Although we haven't seen any serious snow yet, here's hopin'!  Perhaps these wintry Wedding Cakes will inspire the weather!

 Snowflake Wedding Cake - intricate, delicate, and perfect for a winter wedding!

 Penguins!  What better way to celebrate your wedding than with penguins!?

 Handmade Snowmen toppers!

It's Holiday Menu Time!

With fall fading into a russet-colored memory and the jingle of bells all around, December has arrived and the Holidays are here!  Can't you taste it?  Chocolate, peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, rum, cream....  All the delights of the Season are upon us..

What better way to celebrate this Season with Dessert Works' Christmas Menu!

 

Dark Chocolate Buche Noel

A traditional holiday favorite “Yule Log”. Classic chocolate mousse cake rolled & decorated with chocolate buttercream, meringue mushrooms, candy holly berries & leaves. Dusted in sugar snow. 2 sizes available:

Lrg (serves 16-20) $39.50 OR Sm (serves 8-10) $ 22.00 which is finished in Ganache instead of buttercream, & decorated with a chocolate buttercream pinecone

Tiramisu 16”x4” “log”
serves 8-10 $25
Vanilla genoise cake brushed with espresso & rum and filled with sweetened mascarpone cream. Decorated with chocolate shavings & fresh whipped cream.

Mum’s English Trifle cake
6” serves 4-6 $22 8” serves 8-10 $30
Kids & adults alike will enjoy this festive and fruity dessert. A spin on my Mum’s traditional recipe. Light sponge cake layered with seedless raspberry preserves line the outside of a cake that is layered with peaches, strawberries and pears barely set in berry jello, topped with vanilla custard, fresh whipped cream & chocolate shavings…yum!
Gingerbread Roulade
16” ( one size only) serves 8 -16 $20
This delicious, tender gingerbread cake is filled with light & fluffy cream cheese filling, then rolled to create the roulade. Garnished with fresh whipped cream and confectioner’s sugar.
German Gingerbread Christmas Log
16” ( one size only) serves 8 -16 $25
Our delicious gingerbread roulade cake, filled with light & fluffy cream cheese filling , then rolled into a log and glazed in dark chocolate ganache .
Decorated with buttercream “holly berry” motif

Apple Strudel

12” serves 6-10 $21
Fresh golden delicious apples with plump golden raisins baked in flaky puff pastry.

Eggnog Cheesecake
6” serves 4-8 $21 8” serves 8-12 $30 10” serves 16- 20 $38
Vanilla cheesecake accented with rum, cinnamon &nutmeg, with a graham cracker crust. Decorated with a fresh whipped cream, & buttercream “holly berry” design

Rustic Apple Tart
9” (one size only serves up to 16) $18.50
A deep-dish tart brimming generously with fresh locally grown apples topped with brown sugar oatmeal streusel crumble.

Pear & Cranberry Galette
 9” (one size only serves up to 16) $18.50
A free-form tart filled with crimson cranberries & pears mellowed with a sweetened cream filling and baked inside a flaky crust.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
9” only, serves 12-16 $30
Dense chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache & decorated with white chocolate adornments.

Holiday cookie Platter
Our delicious holiday cookies are the perfect festive gift for a holiday party. Buttery and full of flavor, these beauties disappear quickly! Prices vary by variety, we can make various sized trays, and assortments.( ± $10/ lb)


Gingerbread houses
Ready to decorate, includes all the candy you need plus icing !
“Small” measures 6”x6 x6” $19
“Large” measures 9”x11”x7” $40……PLEASE ORDER EARLY, ONCE WE’RE SOLD OUT, WE”RE OUT!!!

Gingerbread men
Decorate your own gingerbread men set includes 6 large cookies plus icing $9.50

Snow men cupcakes
Your choice of vanilla or chocolate cake topped in Vanilla Buttercream with a happy snowman topper $2.50 each

Also Available: fresh fruit tarts, key lime tarts, Blueberry, Maple Pecan & Chocolate Cream pies , Strawberry or Blueberry topped Cheesecake, ….. and much more!

See our website for complete menus http://www.dessertworks.net/

Shown: Seasonal Design for any cake flavor!