Royal Wedding Cake

Forgive us, things have been so busy at Dessert Works, we forgot to ask!

What did you think of the Royal Wedding Cake???

Wedding Cake Trends

According to The Knot, here are 7 trends in wedding cakes these days:

1. Wedding Cake Trend #1: Buttercream-frosted Cakes The cake shows you see on TV may tout fondant coverings, but Dessert Works has long been a supporter of a buttercream finish.  If the decorator is talented enough, which ours are, you can still achieve a nice smooth finish.
   
2. Wedding Cake Trend #2: Haute Chocolate Cakes
   We've done the ganache-covered chocolate cakes!  White may be traditional, but Chocolate's haute!
   
3. Wedding Cake Trend #3: Playful Lines
   We've certainly seen this trend, particularly in the use of banding.  We can colorize rolled chocolate to create this look, whether in uniform bands across all tiers, or playful geometric perpendicular lines!
   
4. Wedding Cake Trend #4: Dramatic Color
   Don't be afraid to incorporate bold colors into your wedding cake!   
5. Wedding Cake Trend #5: Cake TriosThe symmetry in 3s makes for lovely balance.  We've done mixes of cakes from 1/table, to 1/person (our mini-cakes were used as favors!), to a mix of sizes on one dramatic cakes display table.
6. Wedding Cake Trend #6: Global PatternsWe would welcome more heritage-inspired decor!  When weddings are truly personal, details like this are not lost on others.  The wedding is a celebration of the couple and their relationship, why not incorporate culture.  
   
7. Wedding Cake Trend #7: Sophisticated MonogramsHere's a fun way to take a symbol of tradition, the monogram, but spice it up -- whether with placement, or execution (how about a layered rolled chocolate plaque?), or color - Dessert Works can provide!

What look do you prefer?

What's the Story on Cake Toppers?

People often ask me: do people still use cake toppers?

YES, THEY DO!

Perhaps there was a time when cake toppers were much more mainstream (nowadays, where decorating has come such a long way, a top bouquet of either hand-made rolled-chocolate flowers or buttercream flowers is probably more common), but many folks still go with toppers.

We've seen them all:  traditional bride and groom figurines, lovebirds, custom clay-casts in the likeness of the couple, a pair of Black Labradors on the top... anything goes.  It's your cake!

So how does it work, if you want to use a topper?

1. You provide the topper.  You know your style best, find something that fits your relationship and the theme of your wedding.
2. The topper does not stay with Dessert Works.  Your cake would never travel on delivery with a topper (it's too precarious to risk) -- so your topper will be placed at the venue once the cake has arrived.
3. Dessert Works does need to know (a) the dimensions of your topper's base and (b) its general material.  You can email us measurements, send us a link to the topper picture online, etc.  If your topper is made of a heavier material (clay, ceramic, etc.) - we may dowel the top tier to ensure it is fully supported.
4. Should we decorate around your topper with a ring of flowers, or accent bunches of flowers?  Or, should the topper be the sole focal point?  We'll sort out all these questions in the process of designing your cake.

What do YOU think about toppers?  What the best cake topper you've seen?

What's the cost of the cake I saw on TV??

Cake pricing can be such a mystery, how are you supposed to know what to expect?  What is a realistic budget as you walk into the store to order a cake?

Part of the mystery is perpetuated by the TV shows you see on Food Network and TLC.  They're so much fun to watch the cakes being created and see the drama unfold in the kitchen... but aside from that, these shows omit some really significant parts of the process: namely the time and labor and material costs that go into creating these cakes, which ultimately translate into the prices of these works of art.  No wonder you don't know what to expect!

In the industry we're a bit more knowledgeable and aware about pricing that's out there.  To put things in perspective for you, here are some points of reference--at Carlo's Bakery (Buddy Valastro's Cake Boss) a consultation costs $100, which includes cake samples and refreshments. This $100 is then deducted from the cake order total once you order.

Cake Boss's pricing for wedding and specialty cakes, with basic buttercream, starts at $8.00 per person. For more complex cake designs (things you've seen featured on TV or in a magazine), cost is closer to $12.00 to $18.00 per person. Adding unique design requests and creative artwork to the cake order then increases the price from there.

 

Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes (Charm City Cakes) provides the following pricing: "Wedding and tiered cakes start at $7 a serving. We find that most of our clients choose designs that start at about $15 per serving. There is a 50 serving minimum on wedding and tiered cakes.  Minimum price for 3D [and] sculptural cakes $1,000."  Delivery is priced at $175/hr.

We want to share these things with you not to discourage, but to educate you about our industry!

Here's the good news!!:  Dessert Works' 3D and sculptural cakes start at $200 (cost for a smaller 3D figurine on a standard-sized cake is even less).   Our wedding cakes start at $4 or $4.50/serving.  We deliver cakes for $25/hr travel time, plus $0.50/mile (round trip). Pretty reasonable, no?  And these prices include the costs of producing our cakes fresh, made completely on-site, and with high quality ingredients.  We aim to produce cakes that taste as good as they look - the inside matters too!

Unique and specialty designs may be subject to individual pricing, but we're able to offer competitive pricing by offering "standard" designs and commonly requested themes at rates lower than completely custom cakes would be priced at.  Please call us (781-708-9088) to talk further!  We'd love to hear from you and talk about your specific cake ideas more!

Calling all 2011 Weddings!

The lazy days of summer might be in full effect, but at Dessert Works we're working hard as ever for you!  And we have a little gift to show our appreciation to our wonderful customers:

For any 2011 wedding: come in for an appointment in August,
book us at the consultation,
and we'll slash your delivery charge in half!*   

(*Up to a $50 value.) 

You can take that savings to the BANK!  Or on your honeymoon, the choice is yours :)

Call us today to schedule your tasting appointment:  we host tastings on Thursdays and Fridays from 2-5pm, Saturdays 11-5pm, and Sundays 11-1pm.

And the number to call: 781-708-9088 x208.

When to Book a Wedding Cake Vendor?

The Knot says 6-8 months.
WeddingWire says 6 months.
Brides.com says 6 months.
When is really enough time??


To be honest: it's hard to be overly precise, since different seasons and dates are busier than others.  Spring and Summer everyone's hoping for a blue sky day, winter weddings are enchanting, and in New England with our beautiful fall foliage, autumn weddings are in high demand.

At Dessert Works, our availability is based our capacity (how many other weddings do we have on the docket for your desired date?)  Remember: we make everything fresh, and everything is made on-site.  We would never freeze a wedding cake to increase our capacity.  This means two things:

1. You're lucky, because your cake will taste incredible! (It will literally have been made in the days leading up to your wedding).  But also:
2. We have limited capacity!  You may be surprised by this, but we're not super-human. :) There are only so many hours in a day.  Because we're making everything in the days leading up, it's possible that we can completely book up for a weekend. Once we've reached capacity (which itself depends on the number of cakes, size of cakes, and intricacy of decor on the cakes booked to date) -- we have to black out the weekend.

6 months is generally a safe enough time that you won't encounter black-out weekends, but we can never say for certain.

Remember you do NOT need to have a cake design finalized in order to book Dessert Works!  We can make changes to your design up until 2 weeks before the wedding.  Booking us really just means your date is locked, and you can sit back and relax knowing you'll have a beautiful, delicious, fresh cake waiting to wow your guests on wedding day.

Do you have a friend with a wedding coming up?  Are they cutting it close to the wedding date?  Call the bakery at 781-708-9088 to schedule your tasting appointment!  Nothing like something sweet to take the edge of planning.

How do you cut a round cake??

We're so glad you asked!  We get this question all the time.  Smaller cakes (like a 6" round) are easier to handle, as you can just cut sections from the center (as you would cut a pie or a pizza).

But what to do with a larger cake?  You can't cut directly from the center, otherwise you'll have quite long and thin slices, which really aren't conducive for serving.  Instead: start with a concentric circle.  Depending on how long you'd like each serving of cake to be, come in with your knife from the outer edge about 3" or so, and cut a circle this distance from the outer edge (effectively creating a "ring" of the outer edge).  Then, cut ~1" wide slices all the way around your ring. 

 

If your center circle is small enough, feel free to go back to the standard "wedge" cut from the center to finish serving up the cake.  If your center circle is still too large, go ahead and create another concentric circle, again cut slices from the outer ring, and keep working your way until you make it to the center of the cake.

Try this technique at your next birthday, anniversary party, shower, or mitzvah -- you'll look like a true professional!

The Fake Cake Myth

It is a popular misconception with wedding cakes, that having a fake cake made of styrofoam (also known as a dummy cake) and *sheet cakes to feed your guests will save you money. (*As a side note, here at Dessert Works we call the concept most people are referring to as a sheet cake a back-up cake. Most people think of a sheet cake as a rectangular cake with frosting. Our back-up cakes are most often round, and are the same 3 layers of cake, 2 layers of mousse filling and authentic buttercream frosting that our tiered cakes are make of. They simply aren't decorated or put on display. They are behind-the-scenes so that you have enough cake to feed all of your guests, but no one sees them.) Today for Sundays with the Chef we're addressing the misconception of the dummy wedding cake with a big healthy dose of reality!

Is a plain, undecorated back-up cake less expensive than a tiered cake? Yes, it probably is. However, what most people do not factor in is the fact that the majority of the cost of a tiered cake is in the time spent decorating, the materials used to decorate, and the skill and experience of the person doing the decorating.

So let's imagine you have 200 guests coming to your wedding. You want a 5 tier, extravagant dummy cake plus enough cake to feed all 200 of your guests. Would that dummy cake alone be less expensive than the same cake made of real cake? Yes (but still not as much less as you might think). But now add in the back-up cakes. If you think about your total cost in terms of the time spent baking the back-up cakes, materials and ingredients (both for the edible and inedible cakes), and decorating of the dummy cake, it will end up costing you more money to have this dummy cake created in addition to the real cake to feed your guests, than it would have been to just create the wedding cake out of actual cake!

Makes sense right? More time + more materials = more cost!

If you're really on a tight budget, and can't afford that extravagant 5 tier cake that you've been dreaming of, that doesn't mean you're out of options. Instead of thinking fake cake plus back-up cakes (more materials + more time = more cost), think smaller tiered cake and back-up cakes! If you have a 3 tier cake to feed 100 people created in a smaller scale version of that 5 tier cake you're dreaming of and back-up cakes to feed your remaining 100 guests, THEN you're saving money! Think about it compared to our first scenario... There's no extra materials like styrofoam, in fact you're using less to actually decorate the cake that will be on display because it's smaller. You also need fewer back-up cakes because you've used real cake for the cake that will be on display. VIOLA!

Now, this certainly works with a scenario of 200 guests. But keep in mind that the fewer guests you have, the less money you will save by taking this route. If you have 120 guests, the difference between a 3 tier cake for 100 with a back-up cake for 20 and a tiered cake for the all 120 guests in minimal, if anything.

So there you have it - the dummy cake myth - BUSTED!

The Tech Savy Bride

Today's bride uses the internet quite a bit in her planning, from just looking for ideas, to checking out vendor websites and even contacting potential vendors. While it may seem quicker and more convenient to send an email from work than to make a phone call, it can also take more time in the long run! Today, we have some quick tips for streamlining communication with potential wedding vendors!

Tip #1 - Be Specific!
Whether you're requesting information or trying to schedule an appointment, give all the important information and be specific! Be sure to include your first and last name, phone number, wedding date, venue, and the approximate number of guests you think you'll be expecting. Trying to schedule an appointment? Include what days and times tend to work best for you. Looking for information? Tell the vendor specifically what you'd like information about (cakes, cupcakes, pricing, flavors etc.) This will save you a lot of back and forth in your email communications.

Tip #2 - Check Your Junk Mail!
If this is a vendor you have not communicated with via email before, always check your junk mail! Your junk mail filter may see their response to you as junk when you are waiting on that information. And once you do have their email address, add them to your safe senders list so that you don't have to worry about their emails going to junk mail in the future!

Tip #3 - Don't expect that you can do everything through email!
Granted, there is a lot you can do through email and it can be a great place to start! But often a quick chat on the phone and meeting in person are also very important. Certain details can be communicated through facial expressions and body language even. These wedding professionals have met with many brides and may be able to pick up on questions you didn't think to ask or potential issues that may concern you by hearing your voice or sitting down with you at an appointment.

Tip #4 - Always include your wedding date!
So you've booked a vendor and are just emailing with a quick question. They have your name from your email, but make sure to include your wedding date as well! Many wedding vendors organize their brides by wedding date, and this simply allows them to find your information and respond to your question quicker! (Mailing a check for payment? Be sure to include your wedding date on the check as well!)

We hope these quick email tips are helpful and that you have successful and efficient email communication with vendors in the future!

Proposals

Welcome back to Sundays with the Chef!

Did you know that 15% of all marriage proposals occur in the month of December? The holidays can be such a magical time that many people must feel like it's the perfect time to ask their significant other to marry them.

Here at Dessert Works, we are definitely seeing the effects of all those December proposals! Many happy couples are calling and booking tastings for their wedding cakes! In fact, Saturday and Sunday appointments for the next few weeks are completely booked solid!

If you are interested in booking a tasting and design consultation for your wedding cake, be sure to give us a call as soon as possible to schedule an appointment. Appointments are already booking into the end of February!

Wedding Cake Tastings and Design Consultations!

The holidays are generally a very popular time for couples to get engaged! With this in mind, we thought we'd use today's Weddings Wednesday post to share some helpful information with all of the newly engaged couples!

So first, CONGRATULATIONS! This is probably one of the most exciting times in your life! One of our most frequently asked questions is, "When should I come in for my tasting and design consultation?" This varies from couple to couple. Some couples come in a year or more in advance, and some come in a few months before their wedding. We think a good guideline to follow is to make your consultation appointment after you have selected your location, colors, theme and flowers.

So, what's next? When you have a good idea of what you want those important aspects of your wedding to be, start looking at cakes on our website, online and in magazines. Print or tear out a few pictures of cakes that you like and hold on to them. It will be helpful for you to bring those with you, along with your color swatches, to your consultation appointment. There are so many possibilities in terms of you wedding cake design, that it can often feel like an overwhelming task without some general idea of what you like and don't like.

Then what? Look at your calendar and come up with a few days and times that work for you and your fiance, and then give us a call. We'll look at our calendar and try to schedule your complimentary tasting and design consultation at the most convenient time for you.

Once we've scheduled your appointment, we're going to ask you what cake flavors you'd like to try at your tasting. You can view the menu on our website and have your choices picked ahead of time, or we'll email you the list and you can get back to us. Generally, we'll let you try 2-3 flavors ABSOLUTELY FREE! Please try to get your flavor choices back to us as soon as possible. The wedding department staff needs to let the kitchen staff know your choices so that they can make sure those flavors are available for your tasting.

What should I expect when I show up for my tasting? When you get to the retail store, let one of the staff know that you are here for a tasting. They will notify the wedding department and someone will come up to greet you and show you to our Bridal Suite!

Once you've make yourself comfortable, we'll ask you to fill out a little bit of information about your wedding while we get your tasting slices for you. We'll explain each of the flavors you selected (in case you forgot!), and give you a few minutes to taste and discuss which flavor you prefer. When we join you again, we'll look at the pictures you brought with you, give you some time to look through our portfolios, and eventually design your wedding cake!

We'll price the cake out for you, explain all the details, and answer any questions you may have. If you know you definitely want Dessert Works to create your wedding cake for you, you can put down a $100 deposit to secure your wedding date with us before you leave. If you want to think about it a little more, we'll give you all the information you need to take with you.

It's as simple as that!

A few other bits of information that may be helpful:

• Most appointments are held on Saturday or Sunday, but if a week day works better for you, we can certainly do that as well. The only day of the week that we are closed is Monday.

• Appointments generally last 30 minutes to an hour.

• On the weekends, appointments are scheduled back to back, on the hour, so it is important for you to get here on time, so that your appointment does not spill over into someone else's.
  
  
• If you need to reschedule, please try to give us at least 24 hours notice. We understand that things can pop up unexpectedly, but please just let us know!
  
  
• You can certainly bring your fiance, mom or maid of honor with you, but try not to bring more than 2-3 extra people. The bridal suite isn't necessarily small, but it gets cozy around the table with many more people than that.
  

If you have any other questions or if you would like to schedule your complimentary tasting and design consultation, please call or email us!

781-769-1133 ext. 208
cake.dessertworks@hotmail.com