Fondant, sugarpaste, marzipan, ganache, buttercream, frosting, sugar syrup….. Are you lost in a sea of sugar and not sure where to start? I have put together some information which will (hopefully!) take some of the mystery out of choosing a cake designer for your big day.
When comparing apples with apples (or in this case, cakes with cakes), it is important to understand the process of designing and creating a bespoke wedding cake. So let’s start at the start…
The Design
When obtaining quotes for your wedding cake, make sure you do a little bit of homework first by gathering together some ‘inspiration’ in the form of pictures, invitations, flowers pictures, fabric swatches, reception decorations, etc. All of these things will help your cake designer create a special and truly memorable masterpiece for your big day.
If you find a picture of a cake you absolutely LOVE, be prepared for your chosen decorator to tell you that they will happily use the design as inspiration, but will not produce an exact replica. Like all things creative, cake designers and decorators have their own style and also know their capabilities and limitations. But don’t let this deter you. Make sure you take the time to discuss your exact requirements and be open to their ideas and some ‘tweaking’ of your chosen cake. After all, your cake is a reflection of you as a couple. Do you really want the exact same cake as another bride? The other issue is one of ‘copyright’. Whilst cake designs are generally not ‘copyrighted’ as such, morals and ethics exist in our industry too! If you do insist on an exact replica of someone else’s creation, most professional cake designers and decorators will attempt to contact the original owner and ask permission to use their design. When approached, few of them will refuse and most will be flattered. But just in case, try to be open to that ‘tweaking’ I mentioned earlier…
The Price
Ok, so let’s move on. Your have chosen your design. There is a bit of flexibility there. Now it’s time to sharpen the pencil and work out a price. You don’t need a degree in accountancy to know that the bigger the cake, the greater the cost. BUT, regardless of the number of cake serves (guests), the more tiers you have, the greater the cost due to the time spent covering, assembling and finishing the individual tiers. Still with me? For instance, you could have a two tier cake to feed 50 guests or a three tier cake to feed 50 guests. Generally speaking (there are a lot of other factors to consider also), the two tier cake should cost a little less. Similarly, whilst good quality ingredients will marginally increase the price of your cake, it is generally the size and the hours required to decorate your cake which will determine the overall cost of your masterpiece. Something to note here is that the use of fresh or silk flowers can keep decorating costs down, because even though you are still paying to have flowers adorn your cake, you aren’t paying for the hours and hours of painstaking labour to make them from sugar! Also don’t forget to factor in delivery costs for your cake as these can sometimes be a bit over the top!
In addition, the shape of your cake may also affect pricing. Square and round cakes are the most popular, but heart, oval, hexagonal, flower and paisley shaped cakes are also out there! If your decorator needs to buy (or hire) tins, it can become quite expensive, so expect that this will be reflected in the pricing. When you are considering whether to use the cake as dessert or simply coffee slices (smaller slices which are served with coffee at the end of the night or placed in bags for guests to take home), compare the ‘per capita’ cost of the additional cake to the cost of the dessert offered by your function centre. Providing your guests with a coffee slice can halve the size of your cake (which also means less of those exquisite and expensive handmade flowers!). Oh, and a little tip – a square cake will provide more serves than a round cake. So….. The moral to this story is that if you are tightening the purse strings, a large square cake with the fewest tiers possible, served as coffee portions should be the most economical…
However, let’s jump back a step. If you follow this methodology and have 100 guests at your wedding, technically, you could have just one 12” cake to serve as coffee portions to your guests. Now I don’t know about you, but personally, I think a giant slab cake is going to look a lot like a supermarket birthday cake. And potentially something that should be seen only on Cake Wrecks (If you don’t know what I am talking about – Google ‘Cake Wrecks’). So, once again, this is where you need to consider style over function. Maybe you would be better off going with a two tier creation after all?
Ok, so money is really tight. You could also talk to your decorator about having a much smaller cake on display and then using a ‘kitchen cake’ (a plain, undecorated cake which is kept in the kitchen and served in the same way as your ‘real’ cake). If you want to take things a step further, you could also discuss having a dummy cake (made from Styrofoam, but decorated as per usual) for display at the reception and embrace the idea of a kitchen cake to be served to guests, or perhaps even have ‘dummy’ tiers in between the real tiers of your cake to make it appear bigger and more extravagant (this is especially good if you are having a small reception, but want the impact of a big and beautiful designer cake).
The Cake
So, now that your head is spinning, let’s talk about the actual cake. You have decided on a design (remember –flexibility) and discussed pricing. But even if you are on a budget (and let’s face it, most of us are!), please don’t choose your cake designer/decorator based on the cheapest quote. You should be entitled to taste the cake you plan on ordering, because after all, what you see may not necessarily be what you get. What I mean by this is that there are excellent decorators out there who can make a cake look divine but it doesn’t taste as good as it looks. Like decorating, being able to bake a yummy cake is a skill and a talent that not everyone is blessed to have. So please don’t be shy about asking for a taste test. Some cake designers/decorators will charge a fee for a wedding consultation which will usually include samples and may also be credited toward your cake if you proceed with the order. Others may charge you for each flavour sample (eg: $5 per flavour). Some may just provide a small sample of cake for nothing as a gesture of goodwill. At the end of the day, it is up to the individual as to how they conduct their business. But be wary of those that don’t offer any of the above (and remember, just because they offer, it doesn’t mean you have to accept. Often it’s just knowing they are confident enough for you to ‘try before you buy’ that is important).
If you have chosen a good cake designer/decorator and discussed the above with them, by now you should know that there are many hours of love, patience and perseverance in producing a cake. It is not something that can be ‘whipped up’ with a day’s notice. Often, just the baking side of it can take the better part of a day (and much, much longer if you are ordering a fruit cake which needs to be stored to develop its flavours!). But then there is covering, assembling and decorating as I have previously mentioned. As I have also discussed previously, each designer/decorator has their own style and this is also reflected in the composition of the cake, not just the design.
A quick note then on the composition of cakes…. Most wedding cakes are covered in fondant (or sugarpaste) and traditionally, marzipan (almond paste) is/was used under the fondant on a fruit cake. Nowadays, unless the top tier of a cake is being reserved for the first wedding anniversary or the christening of the first child, cakes are more often than not either chocolate mudcake, or a derivative. As such, rather than marzipan, there is usually a layer of chocolate ganache or buttercream underneath the fondant which helps to shape and even out the surface of the cake, filling in any little holes or indentations creating during the baking process. Increasingly (as we embrace the ‘vintage’ style), many cakes are also being covered in fluffy buttercream icing which is either applied with a palette knife and smoothed, or piped (eg: in a ruffle pattern). Other components, such as torting (layering) cakes and the use of artificial (vs natural) flavourings are also up for negotiation with your chosen designer/decorator, so be sure to do a little bit of research prior to obtaining quotes and never be afraid to ask too many questions – No matter how trivial they may seem!
Questions for your designer/decorator
Once you have gathered together your ‘inspiration’, arm yourself with the following list of questions for your cake decorator. (It is not an exhaustive list – You may like to add to it!)
- Is their kitchen registered with their local council? After all, you want to be confident your cake is being prepared in hygienic, food safe premises before you go any further!
- Do you have a portfolio of cakes we can look at?
- How far in advance do you bake your cakes? (Most cakes will take a minimum of 3 days, but if it is getting close to a week, you may like to reconsider. With the exception of fruit cake of course!)
- What cake flavours do you recommend? Which flavours are your most popular? Can I try samples?
- What ingredients do you use? Eg: type of chocolate
- What size cake should we have for the number of guests? (Remember, if you are doing a comparison between different cake designers/decorators, it is important you are comparing the same size cakes! If they are offering different size cakes based on your guest numbers, perhaps you could ask them what size they base the serving on)
- Do you make your own decorations? (Look back at question number 1. If they don’t make their own decorations, how can you be confident they won’t ‘contaminate’ your cake?)
- For fresh flowers….Do you prepare your own floral arrangements or do you liaise with my florist? (If you want to use fresh flowers, be sure to ask if they are pesticide free as you don’t want your cake covered in nasty chemicals!).
- Do you charge extra for delivery? Do you charge an additional set up fee? (If you are having a cupcake tower, be sure to ask about the cost of hiring a cake stand and also any deposit or bond that is required)
- What are your terms of trade with regard to deposits, progress payments and the final payment?
The final word…
I hope this has given you some food for thought. At the end of the day, please don’t settle on a cake designer/decorator just because they are “cheaper”, but rather gather several quotes and do a SWOT analysis if you have to! Like everything else concerning your wedding, you need to be confident with your choice of cake decorator and know that they are not only friendly, but also approachable.
This is YOUR main event that will be remembered by you and your nearest and dearest for many years to come – so choose wisely!
Until next time…
Life is sweet…
xoxo
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