Some brides want to have their perfect cake.... and eat it too

As seen in SouthtownStar - August 7, 2007
By Donna Vickroy, Staff Writer

Bride-to-be Holly Connors is not big on cake.

That's why she brought her two matrons of honor along during a cake consultation at Creative Cakes in Tinley Park.

"I love cake," said attendant Jamie Okon, of New Lenox. She and Connors were best friends at Andrew High School years ago. "My wedding cake was great," she said.

Connors' cousin and godmother Kelly Rivera, of Lockport, said, "My cake was the most important part of my wedding. Granted it was 15 years ago, but my cake was huge. It had fountains and it had a room to itself at my reception."

Before she entered the shop, the only thing Connors, who now lives in Chicago, knew she wanted for her October wedding was a chocolate color.

"My bridesmaids are wearing chocolate brown and I want the cake to match," she said.

Matching a wedding cake's icing -- whether it's buttercream, fondant or ganache -- to a bridesmaid's dress is a pretty typical request these days, said Beth Fahey, co-owner with her sister, Becky Palermo, of Creative Cakes.

When it comes to cake, Fahey said, prospective brides are more educated today, thanks to Food Network shows such as "Ace of Cakes."

"People are just more into food in general," she said. "They seem to understand that cake is an art form. For people who care, it's a big deal."

For the most part, the market Creative Cakes serves tends to prefer simple, yet elegant designs, Fahey said.

"Some people ask for those big Mad Hatter-style cakes but they take hours to make," she said. And the price reflects that.

Once people realize the expense of an "Ace of Cakes" design, most opt for something simpler, she said.

"Less tends to be more," Fahey said. "And we can thank Martha (Stewart) for the current trend of simple elegance."

That's not to say there isn't a demand for more elaborate works.

Southwest Side wedding cake baker Luis Rosado said he's fielding requests for brighter colors, tropical themes and more options when it comes to flavors.

It's not unusual for him to incorporate jewelry or fresh flowers into a design.

"There's this Spanish floral pattern that's really popular right now," he said. "We're seeing people ask for upholstery or china patterns on their cakes," he said.

Rosado, whose web site is sugardaddybakery.com, said he's also matched cake patterns to bridal gown patterns.

Both Fahey and Rosado agree: Gone are the elaborate white pillars and fountains that many mothers-of-the-bride had at their receptions.

In their place are simple straight, or turned, stacks decorated with fondant ribbon or swirls or even votive candles and jewelry.

"Brooches are really big now," Fahey said. "So are rhinestones."

Many of today's brides devote lots of time to cake flavors and fillings. Rosado said it's not unusual for people to ask that each tier of a three-tier cake be a different flavor.

At Creative Cakes, white cake with strawberry mousse filling is still the most popular, Fahey said, but many brides are opting for mango, lime and pineapple fillings, especially if they have a tropical theme to their big day.

"Destination weddings are  very popular today," she said. A lot of couples get married in some far-off place and then have a reception here at home later. They tend to choose cakes that reflect the site of their wedding.

Other trends in this area include requests for the smooth textured fondant, which can be dyed to perfectly match a bridesmaid gown. And many brides are ordering mini cakes instead of floral arrangements for table centerpieces.

"About half the brides who come here know what they want -- they've seen it in magazines or on TV. The other half are looking for guidance," Fahey said.

That guidance comes in the form of a one-hour consultation, during which clients are shown shape, flavor and decorating options. Prices reflect the amount of work that goes into a finished product.

Simply put, simple cakes cost less, typically in the $3 to $4.50 a slice range. Intricate designs that may include odd shapes, marbling or fondant sea shells can cost as much as $6.25 a slice, which Fahey added is the price that many North Side cake shops start at.

Connors and her helpers sampled white, chocolate and chiffon cake, as well as three kinds of mousse fillings.

Even though she doesn't personally have a sweet tooth, Connors said she appreciates that her guests do.

She also asked to sample banana and carrot cake, as well as the raspberry, hazelnut and Irish cream fillings.

"This is hard. They're all good, but I don't want it to be too rich," she said, opting in the end for the banana cake and Irish cream filling.

For the chocolate color, Connors could choose from ganache, a soft American style icing that costs $1 more per slice; fondant, a stiff European style icing that adds $1.75 per slice because it is more labor intensive; and Italian meringue buttercream, a little crisper than traditional buttercream that comes at no extra cost but does not yield a true chocolate color.

Connors chose the ganache.

Then Fahey showed her how to order for quantity. Because cakes must be ordered before a final count for the reception is known, Fahey recommends brides subtract at least 20 percent from the total number of guests invited before selecting a style of cake.

Connors is inviting 340 people; she chose a cake that feeds 215. Should she need more slices by the time the reception rolls around, a sheet cake will be added to the order.

In addition to the cost per serving, Connors had to add delivery charges -- her reception is at Pazzo's restaurant downtown.

But she brought her own cake topper, which Fahey said the shop is happy to work with.

She also informed Connors that the shop will provide her with a fresh tier for the couple's first anniversary.

Another thing that's out, when it comes to wedding cakes, is freezing the top tier for a year so that it can be eaten on the couple's anniversary.

"That's a good thing," Jamie Okon said. "Because we saved ours and it was terrible."