Friday, July 31, 2009

The search for cake continues

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If a cake is delicious, I can handle if it's ugly. And if a cake is beautiful, I can handle if it's bland. And I can handle ugly and bland both a little better if it is cheap. So if you show me a portfolio full of sloppy fondant designs, feed me samples that taste stale, and quote me a price $100 higher than your consultant did three months ago, well, then, the search for cake continues.

Yes, D and I went to our first cake tasting this morning—apparently, the first of at least two! I was really disappointed: even the flavor that I already loved once was bland this time, the white chiffon cake we sampled was incredibly dense instead of light and fluffy, and the rum cake tasted like vomit (well, maybe not that bad, but I would never serve it to anyone). So once that was established, there was no need to discuss the baker's artistry (or lack thereof). Fondant cakes should not be sloppy... but "attention to detail" is probably not a phrase frequently applied to the decorator. They were basically a hot mess.

We got a price quote anyway (just in case they were significantly cheaper than other bakers we will visit in the near future), and were told that to feed 125 people cake would be $600, plus a $60 delivery fee. I don't know how much delivery fees usually run, but I'll accept it as industry standard, even if it seems on the high side to me. But since I was told a few months ago that a cake that size would run $475-500 by someone who works at this same bakery, that was pretty much the end of the visit.

We did get some great ideas about what we want our cake to look like, though (other than just "not like crap"). We are planning on three tiers, with the top and bottom tiers covered in cream-colored fondant with brown stripes, and the middle tier in chocolate fondant with gold or cream-colored henna designs. Something like a combination of all of these cakes:

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The colors might change, but it's nice to have a basic idea to go into the next cake consultation with.

1 comment:

  1. your cake inspirations sound fabulous! too bad the first tasting didn't go so well. we had an experience like that too! we couldn't really think of a nice way to say "thanks but no thanks" - the bakery had nothing going for it!

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