Layers of Love: The Icing on the Day
Dessert Experts
Northern Michigan’s dessert professionals include:
• Chef Julie Adams, Julienne Tomatoes, Petoskey, www.juliennetomatoes.com
•
Tom’s Mom’s Cookies, Harbor Springs, www.tomsmomscookies.com
•
Dutch Oven Shop, Alanson, www.dutchoven.com
•
Amazing Cakes, Gretel Steckler, www.gretelcake.blogspot.com
•
Bella e Dolce, cakes and pastries, www.bellaedolce.com
Dressed in icing and
individual in flair and flavor, the cake is always another guest of
honor at a wedding. Whether it is a white-frosting vanilla tower or a
simple chocolate circle, finding the right cake can be the centerpiece
on a day gone amazingly right.
For Kim Sperl, the owner and
pastry chef of Bella e Dolce in Cheboygan, the perfect cake would be a
chocolate cake with two layers of peanut butter buttercream, one layer
of chocolate ganache and topped with a chocolate glaze.
But she
can help you find your perfect combination, too, with a blend of
culinary preferences and visual presentation. Here are a few ideas to
think about when choosing your dream dessert:
Flavor Over Flair
It might be the economy or an urge to get back to basics,
but either way, cake designs are trending toward simple and delicious.
Nearing
the end of her summer wedding season, Sperl, who has been making cakes
since 1997, says that whimsical wedding cakes are on the decline in
favor of a bigger focus on the interior of the cake.
Flavors like
banana cream with chocolate buttercream and vanilla cream cheese; Irish
cream cake with Irish cream and mocha buttercream; yellow cake with
passion fruit cream and raspberry buttercream; and orange cake with
caramel buttercream and orange-ginger cream cheese are some of the
flavors of the 250 cakes Sperl’s company produces between May to August.
Further,
many couples are choosing to indulge in decadence for the groom’s cake,
too. Originally a Southern tradition, the groom’s cake is often a
darker chocolate or liqueur cake that offsets the flavor of the main
“bride’s” cake.
“We’ve been seeing a record number of groom’s
cakes” with interesting motifs, Sperl said, such as a unique one she
recently baked that was an “Up North” themed birch-tree cake.
Divide and Conquer
Like the idea of having his-and-her cakes,
another trend that is on the rise is presenting multiple smaller cakes,
rather than a single mammoth tower of sweetness.
Some couples
choose to do lavish cupcake versions of wedding cakes for individual
servings, while others use the cake as a décor for the reception dinner.
With
a small cake for each table, guests have their own cake to enjoy and
have a way to be involved with the ceremony directly. Sperl said the
trend has been quite popular. “It makes a lovely and edible
centerpiece,” Sperl said.
Complimentary components
While many brides already have an idea about what their ideal cake
will look like, Sperl suggests holding off on cake decisions until after
meeting with the florist and planners.
“I like to start
designing from the elements of the wedding,” she said. “It’s nice if the
bride has met with the florist, has her dress and is focused on a
color. From that we can pull it all together with the cake.”
After
visiting the necessary organizers, be sure to test-drive the cake. Most
pastry chefs allow brides and grooms to taste various frostings, cakes
and other ingredients when deciding. Be sure to ask for recommendations
and ask to see the baker’s portfolio of past wedding cakes to take note
of their strong points.
And remember, your taste buds make should
make the final decision.
Up North Bride Home » Fall 2009 Wedding Guide » Layers of Love