So, the first girlfriend from my high school group of friends is getting married this year. Her name is Char. She is girly, blonde and classy. We’re all very excited.
Today, I was fortunate enough to accompany her on her wedding cake consultations. I figured it would be a good chance to not only help her with her own cake, but also get some ideas for the cupcakes I’m doing for my cousin’s wedding in September.
Since we went to 3 very different places, I felt I needed to do some sort of blog post on the entire ordeal. Partially as a mini cake shop review, but also as an insight in case anyone reading this is looking into any 3 of these places to get their own wedding cake done.
Stop #1 – Delish Custom Cakes & Sweets
I fell in love with this place as soon as we walked in. It smelled absolutely divine and there were so many cupcake flavors as well as the most colorful and delicious-looking icing choices. You could also see right into the bakery from the entrance, which I always like. And after clearing up a minor scheduling issue, we got to pick a number of cupcakes to try and were whisked into the back room (an undeveloped half of the shop that the owner told us was being turned into a café) to do the consultation.
As far as the cupcakes go, theirs were my favorite. All the cupcakes were moist, just dense enough and filled with flavor. We tried Vanilla w/ Vanilla Buttercream, Hazelnut w/ Hazelnut Buttercream, Apple Spice w/ Cinnamon Buttercream and Black Forest w/ Whipped Cream. Being a vanilla girl, the vanilla cupcake was definitely my favorite. We also both fell in love with the hazelnut – the icing was incredible – and the black forest was really good too (plus it was Char’s favorite). The apple spice was nice, but we decided it was too “autumn-y” for a summer wedding.
In terms of the service, the girl who helped us was really sweet and patient with us, as Char came very prepared though we ended up making a lot of changes and coming up with an entirely new idea in the process. She was also just very eager and excited to take on Char’s wedding cake vision (which is magnificent but challenging). All in all, it was a really good experience, and they were able to keep it all within Char’s budget. So that was a bonus.
Stop #2 – Cake Couture
The first thing that put me off of Cake Couture was that there were no cupcakes on display or even for immediate purchase (it also didn’t smell like a bakery). They did, however, have a nice selection of absolutely beautiful and unique wedding cakes on display, as well as a few cakes they were finishing up (one was shaped like a frog prince and it was absolutely adorable). There was also a big window where you could see into the bakery to see them at work.
It was a very professional atmosphere though, and the woman who helped us was a lot more serious and analytical than the one at Delish. She was knowledgeable and right to the point, which was nice, but I just didn’t get the same vibe from them. Not to mention the fact that the quote they gave us for the cake was more than double what Delish offered us, and we had to therefore make considerable alterations to keep it within budget.
I can’t really review the taste of the cakes there as we weren’t given any to try – apparently that is the next step with them after you’ve solidified a design. All in all, I got the impression that Cake Couture is more about the aesthetic of the cake. Don’t get me wrong, they do beautiful cakes and I have no doubt that they could give Char exactly what she wanted, however they were very pricey for what we wanted and I personally just didn’t get a good vibe from them.
Stop #2.5 – Fife n’ Dekel
I know this isn’t a cake place but I just wanted to mention that we stopped at Fife n’ Dekel for lunch…Char had never been and we were both craving something somewhat wholesome to balance out the cake so we went and had sandwiches. And there isn’t a better place in the city for that than Fife n’ Dekel. I absolutely love going there, partially because all their bread and ingredients are so fresh and delicious, but also because you can go in the height of the lunch hour rush on a Friday and still be out of there in a surprisingly short amount of time. It is a well-oiled machine. And so delicious. Plus – their strawberry-rhubarb pie is the best in the city. At least, in my opinion.
Stop #3 – Cakes by Trina
Our final stop was Cakes by Trina, which is actually run out of the owner Trina’s home. As soon as we got there, she brought us down to the commercial kitchen in her basement and I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven. Shelves upon shelves of cake pans, sprinkles, flour, vanilla…you name it. It was paradise.
I also immediately liked her as she offered us tea and coffee with our cake. We then went to try 4 of the flavors she had on hand; Vanilla, Chocolate, Raspberry and Lemon Poppyseed – all with a vanilla buttercream. The cakes were all very good, they definitely tasted like they were made from scratch, and I have to say that the Lemon Poppyseed was my favorite. I’m not even a huge fan of Lemon Poppyseed, but hers was just perfect and I couldn’t stop eating it.
I also got a really good vibe from her. She had a real love of baking and creating, “edible art” (as she calls it). She had a strong distaste for having fake Styrofoam tiers in cakes as she wants people to be able to eat what she creates. She was also very honest and knowledgeable about all things cake. She showed us a slideshow of numerous cakes she had done over the years (she said she’s made over a thousand cakes in her career) and the whole experience was just very personal. She also ended up helping Char meld her new cake vision with her original one into her perfect wedding cake, while keeping it within her budget. Kind of amazing.
I didn’t like her cake quite as much as Delish, but I really liked her. And I think she was my all-around favorite stop. Maybe because I want to be her...but that’s another story.
So yeah, 3 very different cake consultations and far too much free cake later…I think I have a much better handle on what’s out there in the wedding cake industry. And hopefully Char will have the cake of her dreams :)
Today, I was fortunate enough to accompany her on her wedding cake consultations. I figured it would be a good chance to not only help her with her own cake, but also get some ideas for the cupcakes I’m doing for my cousin’s wedding in September.
Since we went to 3 very different places, I felt I needed to do some sort of blog post on the entire ordeal. Partially as a mini cake shop review, but also as an insight in case anyone reading this is looking into any 3 of these places to get their own wedding cake done.
Stop #1 – Delish Custom Cakes & Sweets
I fell in love with this place as soon as we walked in. It smelled absolutely divine and there were so many cupcake flavors as well as the most colorful and delicious-looking icing choices. You could also see right into the bakery from the entrance, which I always like. And after clearing up a minor scheduling issue, we got to pick a number of cupcakes to try and were whisked into the back room (an undeveloped half of the shop that the owner told us was being turned into a café) to do the consultation.
As far as the cupcakes go, theirs were my favorite. All the cupcakes were moist, just dense enough and filled with flavor. We tried Vanilla w/ Vanilla Buttercream, Hazelnut w/ Hazelnut Buttercream, Apple Spice w/ Cinnamon Buttercream and Black Forest w/ Whipped Cream. Being a vanilla girl, the vanilla cupcake was definitely my favorite. We also both fell in love with the hazelnut – the icing was incredible – and the black forest was really good too (plus it was Char’s favorite). The apple spice was nice, but we decided it was too “autumn-y” for a summer wedding.
In terms of the service, the girl who helped us was really sweet and patient with us, as Char came very prepared though we ended up making a lot of changes and coming up with an entirely new idea in the process. She was also just very eager and excited to take on Char’s wedding cake vision (which is magnificent but challenging). All in all, it was a really good experience, and they were able to keep it all within Char’s budget. So that was a bonus.
Stop #2 – Cake Couture
The first thing that put me off of Cake Couture was that there were no cupcakes on display or even for immediate purchase (it also didn’t smell like a bakery). They did, however, have a nice selection of absolutely beautiful and unique wedding cakes on display, as well as a few cakes they were finishing up (one was shaped like a frog prince and it was absolutely adorable). There was also a big window where you could see into the bakery to see them at work.
It was a very professional atmosphere though, and the woman who helped us was a lot more serious and analytical than the one at Delish. She was knowledgeable and right to the point, which was nice, but I just didn’t get the same vibe from them. Not to mention the fact that the quote they gave us for the cake was more than double what Delish offered us, and we had to therefore make considerable alterations to keep it within budget.
I can’t really review the taste of the cakes there as we weren’t given any to try – apparently that is the next step with them after you’ve solidified a design. All in all, I got the impression that Cake Couture is more about the aesthetic of the cake. Don’t get me wrong, they do beautiful cakes and I have no doubt that they could give Char exactly what she wanted, however they were very pricey for what we wanted and I personally just didn’t get a good vibe from them.
Stop #2.5 – Fife n’ Dekel
I know this isn’t a cake place but I just wanted to mention that we stopped at Fife n’ Dekel for lunch…Char had never been and we were both craving something somewhat wholesome to balance out the cake so we went and had sandwiches. And there isn’t a better place in the city for that than Fife n’ Dekel. I absolutely love going there, partially because all their bread and ingredients are so fresh and delicious, but also because you can go in the height of the lunch hour rush on a Friday and still be out of there in a surprisingly short amount of time. It is a well-oiled machine. And so delicious. Plus – their strawberry-rhubarb pie is the best in the city. At least, in my opinion.
Stop #3 – Cakes by Trina
Our final stop was Cakes by Trina, which is actually run out of the owner Trina’s home. As soon as we got there, she brought us down to the commercial kitchen in her basement and I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven. Shelves upon shelves of cake pans, sprinkles, flour, vanilla…you name it. It was paradise.
I also immediately liked her as she offered us tea and coffee with our cake. We then went to try 4 of the flavors she had on hand; Vanilla, Chocolate, Raspberry and Lemon Poppyseed – all with a vanilla buttercream. The cakes were all very good, they definitely tasted like they were made from scratch, and I have to say that the Lemon Poppyseed was my favorite. I’m not even a huge fan of Lemon Poppyseed, but hers was just perfect and I couldn’t stop eating it.
I also got a really good vibe from her. She had a real love of baking and creating, “edible art” (as she calls it). She had a strong distaste for having fake Styrofoam tiers in cakes as she wants people to be able to eat what she creates. She was also very honest and knowledgeable about all things cake. She showed us a slideshow of numerous cakes she had done over the years (she said she’s made over a thousand cakes in her career) and the whole experience was just very personal. She also ended up helping Char meld her new cake vision with her original one into her perfect wedding cake, while keeping it within her budget. Kind of amazing.
I didn’t like her cake quite as much as Delish, but I really liked her. And I think she was my all-around favorite stop. Maybe because I want to be her...but that’s another story.
So yeah, 3 very different cake consultations and far too much free cake later…I think I have a much better handle on what’s out there in the wedding cake industry. And hopefully Char will have the cake of her dreams :)
(Char and I - back in our high school days before we even had thoughts of wedding cakes)
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