Mom and dad, you pick the cake!

What a great way to usher in the month of April.  The first true spring cake and it was picked by the bride's parents.  Mom and dad, you pick the cake - these are the very words Mrs. Robinson said her daughter told her.    

These are not often the words you will hear from a bride.  I've had brides tell me that they are only getting cake for the reception because they have to have one; they don't really eat cake.  (They don't really have to have a cake but I'll talk about that another time.)   In this case, the bride eats cake but it wasn't the most important aspect to her and she trusted her parents with the entire process.  That takes a lot of trust and I could tell when speaking with Mr. and Mrs. Robinson that theirs was a family that was close and that they would design the perfect cake.

They brought in two very different but specific images to help make their choice and chose a simple selection of white, chocolate and lemon cake.  We talked, laughed, discussed and really enjoyed the mutual company.  In the end, they chose all white cake and frosting but also wanted chocolate cake and we did those in sheet cakes to be served as requested.  They chose a simple but lovely design and we tweaked it just a bit to make it stand out.  They provided me a color swatch to match the banding and in the end we had a lovely four tier confection.

This cake was also a thrill for me as it allowed me to work with two of my favorite vendors who both recommended me to this lovely family.  Flowers by Gary provided our bride, Chanita, with her flowers and Pine Lake Pavillion was the venue.  A huge thank you to both!

Sarah and Andrew, an October wedding

Sarah and Andrew, an October wedding

I'm a short person.  I reach about 5'2" on a good day.  When Sarah and Andrew arrive for their tasting the first two things I notice are, 1) they are both about 5'11" and 2) they look relaxed and comfortable; both smiling!
As we began our consultation I asked them to talk about themselves for a moment so that I could get a feel for their personalities, see if I could get a real sense of where they were going with their wedding celebrations.  We talked about everything from school to solar panels to how to survive the zombie apocalypse!  Oh, yeah, I love these guys.

What I found was that Sarah and Andrew were very down to earth folks, fitting since Sarah is going to be studying horticulture and Andrew works with solar panels, and that they aren't afraid to do their wedding exactly as they want.  This means no big party, no bending to what everyone says they have to have, no creating a memory that isn't in keeping with their lifestyle.

Our finished cake will be simple, delicious and homey.  I can't wait to update this with a follow up story and photos!

What do you do besides cake?

At first I didn't understand this question.  Then I realized that what they really wanted to know was:
Do you also do catering?  Do you make cheese cakes?  Do you do breads?  Do you make muffins?  Do you make pies? The list goes on so you get the idea.

How I would like to answer this: no, sometimes, only for my family, yes, yes and only for me right now, et cetera. 

In all fairness it is an interesting question.  It is a query into my baking and dessert making skills.  I do make bread and such for my family but not for sale.   I do make muffins for both dessert and breakfast.
Cheesecakes have proven to be a bit more problematic but something that gives me a goal.  When you can make a great cheesecake then you've really figured it out.  I cater only in the respect that I deliver to a venue.  I can set up the table and I can artfully arrange the scene but that is as far as my catering skills go.  I do like to make pies but only for my family right now.  I would love to do a pie buffet for a truly ambitious person.  Pie is really fun and I love pie! 

I suppose that it's another facet into the personality of the baker.  If you say, "I'm a baker," most will presume that is all things baked.  I can understand that.  But someday I'd like someone to ask me, "What do you do besides cake?" and actually mean with the rest of my day!