Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Tasting Appt

Today, I'd like to discuss one of the most beloved and fun parts of the wedding planning process, The Tasting Appointment.

Here at Indy Cakes, our tasting appts typically last an hour. During this hour, we have you sample up to three cake and three filling flavors. Our fillings are in their own separate cups so that you can mix and match your filling and cake flavors to see which combination you like the best. We also provide you with samples of our delicious Marshmallow Fondant so that you can see for yourself what fondant tastes like.

Also during this hour, we also discuss your wedding and how you would like the cake to fit into your reception. With the cake being THE centerpiece of the reception, it is important that it fit with the decor as well as your personality. Most of our cake designs are not simply chosen out of a book, although some brides fall do in love with certain designs and we are happy to work with that. Most of our designs are the result of finding one or several components of different cakes that you love and then we combine them into a unique design that will fit for you!

We also take a few moments to review the contract with you and we allow you to take home the contract to review at your leisure. This is especially helpful if there are parents or others involved in the decision making process that couldn't make it to the appt.

We typically schedule our tasting appts for Sundays as it can be difficult for us to give you our undivided attention during the week. On Sunday we close the shop and ONLY host our tasting appointments so you aren't having to wait while we answer the phone or take care of a client picking up a cake order. We also call you the week of your appointment to confirm with you and remind you of your appt time.

We do ask that if you make an appt with us, and something changes in your plans, such as needing to reschedule or even cancel the appt in the event that you have made other cake arrangements, please call us and let us know. We usually have a wait list for appt times and can always fill an empty appointment time. If we have brides who do not show up for their appt, this is a loss to everyone. We understand that sometimes other arrangements have been made, people get sick, or even that plans may have been put on hold, but please take a moment to keep us in the loop. We would hate to get to a point where we have to start charging for tasting appts because we have too many brides no-call/no-show.

Most of our brides leave their tasting appts with a pretty good picture of what their cake will look like, others need some more time to research. If this is the case, we typically finish the design details via phone or email. You are also welcome to stop by during normal business hours to finalize the design.

I hope that this has been a look into our tasting appt and we look forward to helping you plan your wedding cake!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Who wants to see some cake pics??!!

I knew you did! Here are just a few of the cakes that our clients asked us to create last week.
This Alice in Wonderland themed cake was the finishing touch for a fabulous bridal shower. Be sure to take note of Alice heading into the bottom tier!
This next cake has been our most popular design so far. This 3 tier version was for an intimate wedding. The couple also chose to treat their guests to Cake Bite wedding favors.
This next cake was designed for a pair twin boys who have defied the odds to become a hot-rodding pair of boys who use their wheelchairs to charm the ladies. With one of the boys sporting a mohawk, we thought that some flames would be fitting for the birthday celebration that marked a new chapter in their lives.



Saturday, March 5, 2011

Fondant 101

Ok class, turn to page 207 in your fondant books. Today, we are going to discuss the pros and cons of fondant as well as clear up some fondant-related myths.

Myth #1: You can't eat fondant.
Actually, fondant is meant to be eaten. While many people will peel off fondant or leave it on their plate, it is quite edible.
Myth #2: Fondant tastes bad.
Yes, there is fondant that tastes bad, which is why we make our own here at Indy Cakes. Our marshmallow fondant has a light delicious flavor that surprises almost everyone who tries it.

Myth #3: Custom bakeries only do fondant cakes.
Most of the cakes we do here at Indy Cakes are frosted in buttercream but then fondant is used for accent pieces, such as dots or stripes. On this cake, the white and light brown is buttercream but the animal print is made from fondant. Also, the giraffe, tree and sign are made from fondant.



We find fondant to be an essential part of the decorating process. We don't necessarily have to cover the entire cake in fondant, but we usually use a little on almost every cake we make. We find that kids especially like our fondant and can't seem to get enough.
In conclusion, there is no need to fear fondant, it can be a tasty way to add some extra WOW to your next cake.