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Macaroons: the new cupcake?

February 15th, 2010

I got married in 2008 and arranged for a friend of mine to make a tower of cupcakes for our wedding rather than a traditional wedding cake.  I’ve just started seeing a new trend emerging – the Macaroon.  While I haven’t personally seen these at weddings yet, I have seen them at a couple of baby and bridal showers.

Macaroon Tower

For those who are wondering what the heck a Macaroon is, it’s a French specialty, typically made with almond flour, sugar, and eggs.  The outside is crunchy and the inside is meringue like, and usually two macaroons are joined together with a ganache filling.  Intimate Weddings shares more about this emerging Macaroon trend!

For those thinking about making macaroons, it is possible, though I’m told they’re pretty tricky! My friend Talida shares about her macaroon making experiences on her blog and even had to take a class to learn to make them! So, if you are planning on DIYing most of your wedding, you might need to find a professional to do your Macaroons!

Will you be doing a non-traditional cake for your wedding?

by auschick | posted in Cake | 4 Comments »

cupcake anyone?

November 22nd, 2009

Cupcakes have become more and more popular as a wedding cake option. I really love beautiful and innovative designs of cupcake stands I’ve seen lately.  One of my absolute favorites from the New York Metropolitan area is Pink Cake Box. Here are some of my favorite ones:

made by Pink Cake Box

made by Pink Cake Box

The beautiful top tier cake allows for the newly weds to observe the tradition of saving the top tier, freezing it, and then eating it at their one year anniversary.

made by pink cake box

made by pink cake box

This one is a bit more simple, but oh so elegant. Also the great thing is that the bride won’t have to choose one or two flavors, she can have it all with a cupcake cake!

made by pink cake box

With a cupcake cake, it is usually a more affordable option than a whole multi-tiered wedding cake.  As a budget saving alternative, ask a friend or relative to make and decorate the cupcakes as a wedding gift.  With these little delights so popular lately, you’ll be surprised how many people you know are pros at it.  There are endless color schemes possibilities and floral decorations. I love the  florals and butterfly on the top tier of this cake.

big-cake1037

Isn’t this just the sweetest cake? He he. The topper is just adorable and I love the sprinkle of roses amongst the tiers.

Did you have or are you thinking about a cupcake cake for your wedding? Tell me about your ideas!

by Mel | posted in Cake, Design Ideas | 3 Comments »

Fake Cakes

November 18th, 2009
Source: www.ultimatefakecakes.com

Source: www.ultimatefakecakes.com

I was browsing this week through the website www.lemondrop.com and came across an article about a couple who ended up getting a fake wedding cake for their reception. Although they were expecting a real cake and were not too happy about getting one made out of foam, it got me thinking about the practicality of having an artificial cake.  I know you’d miss out on smashing cake into the groom’s face, but I think having a fake cake is actually a great cost-cutting idea and would be great for outdoor weddings. Personally, I’m not a big fan of cake (gasp!), so having an elaborate multi-tiered cake would be on the lower end of my wedding must-haves. If a wedding cake is not on the top of your priority list, having a fake one could be an alternative to consider.

Source: www.ultimatefakecakes.com

Source: www.ultimatefakecakes.com

 Having an artificial cake at your wedding however, doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be any cake at all. One option with having a fake cake is using sheet cakes at the reception for serving your guests. According to the Bridal Association of America, a sheet cake will run around $1.50 a slice where as a mid-tier cake could run up to $6 a slice.

If you still want to be able to slice into your cake at your wedding reception, another cost-cutting alternative is having one layer of real cake and the others made of foam.  This layer along with sheet cakes could be served to your guests.  I know a lot of brides who have done this and it worked out really well.

Another possible option is renting a cake. Yes, you can actually rent a wedding cake! The cakes look like the real thing and can be rented for the fraction of the cost for a real cake. Although the websites I looked at had a lot to choose from, you are limited in the styles, colors, and personalization of the rental cakes. An artificial cake isn’t for everyone, but it’s a great option to save some money and not have to worry about the cake holding up on the big day!
Are you thinking of using an artificial or partially artificial cake at your wedding?
 

by Caitlin | posted in Budget, Cake | 2 Comments »

My wedding cake topper

November 15th, 2009

Since Nat did a post on wedding cake toppers this week, I thought I’d post about mine. I too really wanted to make my own wedding cake topper. At first I had a really hard time deciding what to make, how to make it, and what to make it out of.  I build little models of buildings with museum board, I don’t know how to make cake toppers. So i did some research and came up with all the cake toppers Nat had in her post. Amongst those, I liked the wooden vintage clothes pins the most. It blew me away that people would pay $100+ for a cake topper like that.   I thought I can make that! So I did!

Gary_Melissa-361

Wooden Clothespin Cake Topper

I bought some vintage clothes pins from Etsy. I cut up a old black shirt I no longer wanted for the material for the groom.  As for the bride’s gown, I got that off the card from my MOH for my bridal shower. It fit like a glove, as if it was meant to be.  I drew in the hair and facial features with pencil first, then colored it in with a red and black marker. The whole project cost less than $5.

So at the end of Nat’s post, she asked what will you do with your topper after the wedding? I just wanted to share with you all what happened to my toppers.  The caterer had elaborately wrapped up the top tier of the cake with my toppers so that it was ready to freeze. So it now sits in our freezer and will not be seen until our 1st year anniversary.

Did you make your own topper? Or planning to make it?

by Mel | posted in Cake | 2 Comments »

I Heart You Cake

Chocolate Magnolia Cake from Savoy Truffle and Cake I Heart U Cake from Savoy Truffle and Cake

It seems like these past few days, BFC has a lot to say about cakes.  I’ll take this opportunity to add my bit.

GT and I are so blessed to have such talented friends.  Recently my friend and former neighbor, Ruth Shin from Savoy Truffle and Cake, has offered to make our Groom’s cake.  She is extremely talented and completely self-taught.  Her cakes are made right from her Brooklyn home.

Gilded Chrysanthemum Cake

Gilded Chrysanthemum Cake

Her most recently goals are to work with artists or designers to create some inspirational cakes.

I Heart U Cake from Savoy Truffle and Cake

I Heart U Cake from Savoy Truffle and Cake

Check out her website to see more amazing cakes!

by Mel | posted in Design Ideas, General Planning | 2 Comments »

Three Great Wedding Cakes

July 10th, 2009

I recently coordinated Jen and Dan’s wedding at Oxon Hill, Maryland.  Since I was so involved in the wedding, there’s a lot to share! So I thought I’d start by giving you a teaser preview with cake! Their cake was by Sally Kwok, one of Jen’s friends and founder of Cake Bee.

Jens wedding theme was pink and green. Clicking on the picture will take you to Sallys post with info on how she constructed the cake.

Jen's wedding theme was pink and green. Clicking on the picture will take you to Sally's blog post with info on how she constructed the cake. (Photo by Cake Bee)

Dan and Jen are both very passionate about board games. I met Dan a few years before I met Jen and whenever we were anywhere with him, he’d always pull out a hockey bag full of board games from the trunk of his car and we’d all play something!  Jen surprised Dan by getting a groom’s cake made with his favorite game in mind.

So here we have it: Rubix Cube Grooms Cake!

So here we have it: Rubix Cube Groom's Cake! (Photo by CakeBee)

The following week Sally did the cake for some other friends of mine (also friends of Jen and Dan), Emily and Frank.  While I didn’t attend the wedding, I still wanted to share this amazing cake with you!

I love the polka dots! Photo by LauraKayPhoto.com

I love the polka dots! Photo by LauraKayPhoto.com. The cake topper was designed in the UK by FeltMeUpDesigns.blogspot.com.

Did a friend do your cake, or IS a friend doing your cake? I’d love to hear about it and see pictures!

Stay tuned for more pictures from Dan and Jen’s wedding next week!

by auschick | posted in Cake, Design Ideas, Reception | 5 Comments »

CAKE!

June 26th, 2009

Those who know me understand that I’m obsessed with certain foods, like french fries.  The general category of “dessert” runs a very close second to those delicious fried potatoes, and I’m especially enamored with cakes.  I’ve been known to eat them for breakfast.  And lunch.  And dinner.

Because cakes are so imporant in my life, I wanted to share some great and not so great wedding cake creations that I’ve come across.  First, the most delicious (and nutritious?) cakes I’ve ever tasted have come from a local bakery, the Alexandria Pastry Shop.  A sample of their work:

Courtesy Alexandria Pastry Shop

Courtesy Alexandria Pastry Shop

Now, for the ugly.  The following images should remind you brides-to-be about the importance of clear communication with your baker.  Unless you tell them what you’re envisioning, sketch it on paper and agree on the image, your cake runs the risk of a) being a huge disappointment and b) appearing on awesome blog, like Cake Wrecks (following images courtesy of Cake Wrecks).

Yep, that's a fish tank in a cake.

Yep, that's a fish tank in a cake.

This cake is so wrong, on so many levels. (hee hee)

This cake is so wrong, on so many levels. (hee hee)

A cake-person, 5 feet tall

A cake-person, 5 feet tall

What it all comes down to is whether or not your cake tastes good, and whether or not you love it.  If you want a likeness of you created in flour, sugar and butter, only to be eaten by family and friends, by all means – proceed!

What kinds of cakes have you come across in your wedding attending and planning experience?  Share your stories!  Delicious, disgusting or plain ugly, we want to know.

by Anna G | posted in Cake, General Planning, Miscellaneous, Reception, Vendors | 6 Comments »