This amazing cake was created for one of our favorite clients to celebrate her birthday. The overall effect of the cake is magnificent, but upon further inspection you find many little added details and hidden touches that personalized this cake especially for the birthday girl.
The top of the cake had a perfume bottle peaking out of the top of a fabric bag made with fondant. The fabric bag had a design that looked like that of a “couture” sari and had a drawstring with a bow to close it around the portion of the perfume bottle that was sticking out.
The middle tier of the cake had confection flowers along the top of the tier surrounding the bottom of the drawstring perfume bag. The sides of the middle tier had hearts pressed out of fondant to give a textural three dimensional look. This entire middle tier was then draped with a confection sugar veil lace that allowed you to see through the lace veil to the fondant heart design underneath.
The sugar veil lace effect from the middle tier puddled onto the top of the bottom tier. Where the lace veil puddled, we added coral and sea shells that look like they are made out of sea glass, peeking out. Also peeking out from under the sugar veil was a little crab, a favorite detail of the birthday girl. The sides of the bottom tier were quilted fondant to give the cake a plush yet luxurious look that is reminiscent of Marie Antoinette. In between the crisscrossing of the quilting was embellished with gold and silver beads that added a touch of the unexpected to the overall design.
The party décor was designed by Renee Landry of Renee Landry Style (www.reneelandrystyle.com) to match the style of the client. Renee was able to create a party atmosphere that accented the client’s personality perfectly. Our cake further accentuated the creative designs of Renee that made the night one that the birthday girl will never forget.
- Love is sweet -
Almost on a daily basis, I am asked a question about fondant icing. It seems that with the new cake shows on television increasing in popularity, the popularity of fondant icing is increasing as well. So, what is fondant, really? Wikipedia defines it as an icing that “includes gelatin and food grade glycerin. It can also be made using powdered sugar and melted marshmallows. Rolled fondant is rolled out like a pie crust and used to cover the cake. this gives the cake a smooth appearance.”
To better describe fondant and if it is right for your cake or not, I have listed some pros and cons of fondant from a bride’s perspective:
Pros
- There are many different types of designs that can be created with fondant that a typical buttercream could never do. More often than not, the cakes shown on television are done with fondant icing. If you are interested in something that has a three dimensional shape, a groom’s cake in the shape of a fish for example, it would have to have fondant icing.
- Fondant icing can be embossed, meaning that it can have textures pressed into the icing. This can create many extravagant designs such as quilting patterns. Fondant can also be cut into shapes which can create the type of cakes that can be seen with damask patterns, for example.
- If you are looking for your cake to have that highly polished, extra smooth finish, then you are most likely looking for a cake with fondant icing.
All of that sounds wonderful. So why wouldn’t you want to use fondant?
Cons
- The biggest concern that people have with fondant is the texture. It has a thicker, slightly chewy texture that buttercream doesn’t.
- Another drawback of fondant icing is the cost. It is more expensive than a typical buttercream icing.
Many times, I am asked what icing type I prefer, fondant or buttercream. My answer? It depends. For some cake designs, it just has to be fondant and there is no choice about it. Other times, the cost of fondant is not justified. In the end, I say, why not both? The fondant is actually “glued” to the cake with buttercream icing so you get the fondant on the outside and the buttercream underneath. The best of both worlds!
"Flowing Bride" cake made with fondant icing.
Congratulations Amanda and Rich!
The cake crafted for Amanda and Rich’s June 2010 wedding at the Whalehead Club in Corolla was absolutely stunning. The whole design of the cake was white on white with intricate details in the fondant icing. Each tier had a different design which complied into one cohesively elegant and beautiful cake.
The bottom tier of the cake had a quilted design that resembled stitching in a crisscrossing pattern. The next two tiers have classic designs that are reminiscent of French cake designs. The tier second from the top has an elegant trio dot design that accentuates the single all dot design on the top tier. The final tier of the cake has a very simplistic yet chic monogram plaque that gives the cake a personalized touch. Lastly, the fresh flowers add a touch of feminine color that enhances the white on white design of the cake.
The delectable flavors that were chosen for the cake included our signature Key Lime Bliss, our ever popular almond with seedless red raspberry filling and a red velvet anniversary cake topper. With these delicious cake flavors, the inside of the cake was just as divine as the outside!
Image courtesy of Mary Basnight Photography
Great Cakes! has been chosen by The Knot magazine for “2010 Pick Best of Weddings” for being the Outer Banks of North Carolina’s premier cake designer. This award is such an honor because it is the brides themselves that were so pleased with the cakes that we designed for them that they voted for us after their wedding day and ultimately were responsible for bestowing this award upon us!
Great Cakes! is proud to say that we have brought home this award year after year from 2008, 2009 and now in 2010. With our continued efforts at a superb level of service, innovative designs, and absolutely delicious tasting cakes, we will strive to take this prestigious award again in 2011.
Hello All!
Great Cakes! of the Outer Banks was featured in The Knot Magazine in their special on the Outer Banks. Joni and Bill were married on June 26th 2009 in Kill Devil Hills, NC and chose Great Cakes! to make their wedding cake for their special day!
The cake we created for Joni and Bill was a two tier red velvet cake with fondant icing over a thick layer of buttercream. Both Joni and Bill loved the buttercream so much that they wanted it double thick underneath the layer of white fondant with brown polka dots. This whimsical cake was as much fun to make as it as to look at. The way that the hot pink peonies set off the white and brown is just so eye catching and a perfect match to the rest of the wedding day décor.
Enjoy the article below and many thanks to Julie Dreelin’s Beach Productions photography for capturing a tasty image of our polka dot creation!
Hello Brides, Grooms, MOBs, FOBs, Outer Banks Wedding Planners, Event Coordinators and all others that have stopped by our blog page to find out more about the gang here at Great Cakes! of the Outer Banks.
Wedding season 2010 is here and in full swing! We have working away on some of our best cakes ever. Just thought we would share some of what our clients have had to say so far this season:
“Cake was beautiful and delicious. Thanks for doing it on short notice as well.” – Barbra K.
“I just wanted to say, thank you for everything you did with the cake. The Key Lime Bliss was even better than we remember the sample being!!! And the design was perfect for our outer banks wedding. I can’t wait to taste it again!!” – Christine and Jonas C.
“From start to finish ordering this cake was simple and easy. I emailed the contact info on the website and got a quote within a day. When I changed my mind, wanted to add and subtract, change it, etc. they were easy going and happy to assist in any way possible” – Marcie M.
“The Key Lime Bliss cake was great. Just enough key lime flavor to not be overwhelming, and perfect cake to icing ratio. Everyone raved about it! It was a wonderful light moist dessert perfect for a hot day in Outer Banks! I see why it is so special and unique.” – Marcie M.
Love is Sweet –
Marsha
