Cupcakes: Cherub kissed vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, golden white chocolate wafer chips, gold tinted meringue kisses and chocolate covered pretzel arrows.

Mini Cakes: Cherub kissed mini cake for two. Vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, gold tinted meringue kisses, a chocolate covered pretzel arrow topped off with a golden white chocolate wafer chip.

Happy Valentine’s Day

xoxo

The theme of this dessert table was purple pom poms, so I used varying shades of purple, and styled the desserts to mimic the shape of pom poms. The table was set up on an ornately framed mirror topped with elegant silver vessels and cake stands. On the table I included lemon coconut cake truffles, white chocolate filled meringue puffs, vanilla bean marshmallows, cotton candy and raspberry infused lemon/vanilla cupcakes. The cake was covered in white fondant and then decorated with hand-crafted ruffled pom poms made out of sugar.

Photography by: Melanie Rebane Photography

The best part about the event (aside from all the great people we met) was that we got to stay at the party and watch the cake get eaten and enjoyed (a rarity in the cake business).

Oh…and look who we caught admiring the cake – Blake McGraph

Here are some close ups of the cake courtesy of one of my favourite photographers in Ottawa, Melanie Rebane of M Photography.

Here is the clip from the Ottawa Citizen as well as some photos Courtesy of John Major Photography.

It’s been a busy month in and out of the kitchen so I apologise once again for taking a little longer to post what we have been up to. Apologies aside, I would like to start this slew of blog posts with Wed By Hand – Ottawa’s alternative wedding show for couples looking to add a bit of handmade, eco-friendly, and fair trade flair to their wedding.

I attended Wed By Hand back in February as an instructor rather than an exhibitor. I taught a class on how to make simple cake decorations including bows, ruffles, pearls and whimsical flowers. (Instructional blog post to follow). I also offered tips on choosing your wedding cake, and how to work with your baker to design a cake that reflects your personal style. (Click HERE for some of those tips)

Thank you to all the brides, grooms, and everyone else who came out to our seminar, I had a great time teaching you all how to make decorations for your cakes and cupcakes.

Thanks to Krista Leben for putting on a great event and to AMBphoto for taking some great photos.

You can also see some more photos of the event HERE on the SNAP Ottawa website.

Your cake should feed about sixty (60) percent of your guests if you are serving other desserts at your wedding, and about ninety (90) percent of your guests if you are only serving cake.

Simple doesn’t always mean cheaper

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the design. A three tiered, white cake with sugar flowers cascading top to bottom may look simple, but hours and hours of work go into creating those flowers. If you are having your cake professionally made, and budget is your main concern, talk to your cake designer about working within a set budget. There are lots of things a cake designer can do to cut cost and still get you the look you want. You might
also be surprised by what does fit within your budget. If you plan on making your cake
yourself, think about making the details in advance. If kept safe and dry, sugar flowers
and gumpaste details can last for months, even years.

Consider your venue when designing your cake

An oversized cake in an intimate setting, or a small, underdressed cake in a grand venue can look out of place and not so great in photos. The key to designing a cake to compliment
your event is to take the size, decor and seating plan into consideration. Your cake should
be an obvious focal point, but should not be so big or dramatic that it overpowers you
and your bride/groom. The cake should stand out from the details in your decor and should be positioned to stand out without obstructing any views. Think about varying table heights when positioning your cake. If you are looking for a bigger cake but don’t want to feed hundreds upon hundreds, fake tiers can be often be added to create the desired look.

Look elsewhere for inspiration

It is possible to create almost anything with sugar so there is no need to be limited by what you have seen. If you are having your cake custom made, challenge your cake designer to design a cake that truly reflects your personal style. Maybe you want to incorporate a lace pattern from your dress, a personal monogram, or your grandmothers brooch. Take as many ideas, photos, fabric samples etc. as you can to your consultation as it will help the design process.

The mood of your event is important too

Consider the mood of your event when designing your cake too. If your goal is to set a romantic tone, softer colours will probably help reflect that vision better than matching the vibrant red roses in your decor. If you’re planning a more colorful reception then maybe that three tiered white cake you saw in a magazine isn’t the best fit either. Whether you’re designing your cake yourself or having it made by a professional, think about the feeling you’re trying to achieve and try to incorporate that into your design.

A special thanks to Melanie from M Photography for these amazing photos.

Here are some photos of our booth…

Five wedding cakes, 2 celebration cakes and 3 edible flowers. Everything you see on the cakes with the exception of the feathers is edible.

This vintage style 6 tier cake with an edible bird and bird cage was inspired by one of the bridal gowns at Luxe Bridal Boutique.

Some of the details on the 6 tier vintage wedding cake include edible lace, feathers, pearls and flowers.

This golden bust is edible too … even the golden flower and silver brooch.

This red masquerade cake was a favourite among many at the show. Each black diamond on the bottom tier was composed of over fifty little dragees that were painstakingly stuck on by hand one by one. The mask on top of the cake can also be eaten – or kept for years to come.

- Sophie

This is one of my favourite carved cakes to date. When the girls at Luxe Bridal Boutique in Ottawa gave me artistic license to create a cake for their launch party I couldn’t have been more excited. Rather than create a tiered wedding cake for the event, I took inspiration from the Luxe Bridal Boutique interior as well as one of their dresses to design this custom celebration cake.