Today Bride Blogger Kerry shares her delicious quest for the perfect cake…
Dessert is very important to us. (That might contribute to why my fiancé and I are currently on a rigorous exercise program.) But nonetheless, wedding cake was high on our priority list. And, I am a big believer in creating a priority list with your fiancé to decide what aspects of your wedding you most want to focus on…and spend the most money.
There were several attributes we were looking for in a cake vendor. We wanted a cake designer who was a whiz with buttercream (we’re not big on fondant), and had a per-guest cost of around $5. I inquired about having a different flavor on each tier — we wanted to mix things up and offer guests a choice. And each tier had to involve chocolate, but each in a unique and delicious way! So after reading a ton of online reviews of area cake bakers, I scheduled us for a handful of tastings.
Cake tasting is probably the most fun you can have on a cold December weeknight after a long day at work. And our tastings went from one extreme to the other. At one, we sat at a woman’s kitchen table tasting tiny bites of cake while her dogs ran circles around us. At another, we were seated at the “wedding table” in the café of a fancy bakery and served huge slices of cake as families looked on, most likely in awe of our gluttony.
Finally, we had a tasting with Fluffy Thoughts at the home/studio of the owner, Lara Stuckey. My fiancé, maid of honor, and I sat there in cake heaven, enjoying every single bite. Lara had prepared what looked like tiny loaves of each cake flavor and a full palate of fillings, buttercreams, ganaches, and fresh fruit. She recommended various combinations of each to try. I experimented with chocolate chip cake dipped in coconut buttercream, raspberry curd, and dark chocolate ganache, and it was fantastic.
What sealed the deal was that rather than attempting to freeze the top cake tier for your first anniversary, Fluffy Thoughts prepares a brand new cake identical to your top tier for each couple one year later…for free! Since then, we put down our deposit with Fluffy Thoughts and cannot wait to finally taste our dream cake. However, we are keeping the flavors a mystery for now!
That was my favorite part of planning my wedding. Even after I booked our baker I still scheduled cake tastings just to eat free cake!
The way you and Chris have described the various types of cake made my mouth water! I just know that your cake is going to be incredible, from everything you’ve told me….can’t wait to try it!
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! Thats what its all about, missy. Oh, what fun you two have had tasting cakes!
This is a great posting, Kerry. I did love going to all the tastings. Fluffy thoughts really seemed like the best of the bunch. Although the giant slices we got from that cafe/bakery was awesome. Perhaps we should go back to them just for fun and say that we needed some more cake to make our final decision. ;)
Ohh, being the choc-a-holic that I am — I am very invious of your sweet experience. I can’t wait to taste your selection!
Hey ! Although your dad and I thoroughly enjoyed the wedding flowers
session, we really would have enjoyed the cake tasteing too. If you two feel you need a second opinion Greg and I are alway available for CAKE…. We always have a bite of dark choc. everyday (for medicinal reasons,of course). We know everybody will think your wedding cake is fantistic…