Feature Article |
Cake Walk
The sugar-covered star of your reception gets a new look
By Jenna Bergen
- Photo by Trevor Dixon
The drama. The elegance. The "How can that possibly be made out of sugar?" moment you’ve been envisioning for each of your guests. It’s the wedding cake. These days, the range of cake presentations is limitless, and if our local bakers were to give you one piece of advice it would be: Dream big. Go ahead and imagine. Whatever cake you see in your mind’s eye — short and square, tall and regal, a whimsical tree of cupcakes, whatever you want — can almost always be done.
THE SHAPE OF THINGS
The elegant, round-tiered wedding cake will always be in vogue, but brides have other options when it comes to the shape of their cake. “In the last six months, everybody wants a square cake,” says Ann Bartholomay, owner of Annie B’s Confections in Newtown.
Kara Doyle, cake designer for Miel Patisserie in Cherry Hill and Center City, thinks it’s a great choice for brides who want something different, but still want the feel of a traditional cake. “Square tiers have a minimalist, more modern feel,” she says.
And if you go square, don’t feel it has to be stiff. “They’re angling [the square tiers] so that they’re off-center,” says Peri Abramsky, pastry chef of Night Kitchen Bakery in Chestnut Hill and Doylestown It’s a technique that adds just a little extra interest to the stacked confection.
Or, if you want to be a little more daring, go with an octagon. “The shape itself is different,” says Doyle. “So go with a smaller pattern for the decoration so it’s not overwhelming.”
And if your dream cake falls outside the boundaries of circles and squares, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with your baker. “Tell me what’s in your mind and we can do it,” says Michel Gras, owner and pastry chef at La Patisserie in Cape May, who’s done everything from sandcastle cakes to cakes that seem to float amid a sea of sugar bubbles.
CENTER STAGE
More and more brides are using their wedding to make a statement about themselves. “One way to do this is with centerpiece cakes,” says Bartholomay, who loves the idea of miniature wedding cakes taking the place of flowers on the reception tables. She’s made cakes in the form of everything from blue Tiffany & Co. boxes complete with decadent bows of white fondant to woven baskets overflowing with glazed fruit. “We’ve done them all the same, we’ve done them all different — it’s really an intriguing idea. It makes the room gorgeous.”
Or, they can tell a story: Nina Asadoorian, owner of Truli Confectionary Arts in Philadelphia, remembers a couple that had each cake themed with a part of their history: The start of their relationship in college (translated into confection by sweet love notes and edible pictures of the two of them), their weekly ritual of antiquing (the icing was a patina antique finish dotted with antique ornaments) and their engagement (complete with a sugar-made version of her ring and the poem he read to her on one knee), all made elegant with extra flowers and added height from pedestals.
And of course, Bartholomay makes sure that the bride and groom’s table has its own special, and slightly larger, version — most centerpiece cakes are only two little tiers.
THE SHAPE OF THINGS
The elegant, round-tiered wedding cake will always be in vogue, but brides have other options when it comes to the shape of their cake. “In the last six months, everybody wants a square cake,” says Ann Bartholomay, owner of Annie B’s Confections in Newtown.
Kara Doyle, cake designer for Miel Patisserie in Cherry Hill and Center City, thinks it’s a great choice for brides who want something different, but still want the feel of a traditional cake. “Square tiers have a minimalist, more modern feel,” she says.
And if you go square, don’t feel it has to be stiff. “They’re angling [the square tiers] so that they’re off-center,” says Peri Abramsky, pastry chef of Night Kitchen Bakery in Chestnut Hill and Doylestown It’s a technique that adds just a little extra interest to the stacked confection.
Or, if you want to be a little more daring, go with an octagon. “The shape itself is different,” says Doyle. “So go with a smaller pattern for the decoration so it’s not overwhelming.”
And if your dream cake falls outside the boundaries of circles and squares, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with your baker. “Tell me what’s in your mind and we can do it,” says Michel Gras, owner and pastry chef at La Patisserie in Cape May, who’s done everything from sandcastle cakes to cakes that seem to float amid a sea of sugar bubbles.
CENTER STAGE
More and more brides are using their wedding to make a statement about themselves. “One way to do this is with centerpiece cakes,” says Bartholomay, who loves the idea of miniature wedding cakes taking the place of flowers on the reception tables. She’s made cakes in the form of everything from blue Tiffany & Co. boxes complete with decadent bows of white fondant to woven baskets overflowing with glazed fruit. “We’ve done them all the same, we’ve done them all different — it’s really an intriguing idea. It makes the room gorgeous.”
Or, they can tell a story: Nina Asadoorian, owner of Truli Confectionary Arts in Philadelphia, remembers a couple that had each cake themed with a part of their history: The start of their relationship in college (translated into confection by sweet love notes and edible pictures of the two of them), their weekly ritual of antiquing (the icing was a patina antique finish dotted with antique ornaments) and their engagement (complete with a sugar-made version of her ring and the poem he read to her on one knee), all made elegant with extra flowers and added height from pedestals.
And of course, Bartholomay makes sure that the bride and groom’s table has its own special, and slightly larger, version — most centerpiece cakes are only two little tiers.
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