As a plus size bride, I certainly like my sweets.  So naturally I am happy to go to a bakery to test a few cakes out. This weekend my fiancé and I will be cake tasting together. I haven’t thought too much about it till now, I mean what all do you have to think about other than enjoy the taste of the cake right? Wrong. There is defiantly some preparation that goes into cake tasting for your wedding. In my case we have already picked out a bakery, through a recommendation. If this is isn’t your case and you want know the best way to go about choosing your cake/baker read further. The best advice I got about choosing a wedding cake was broken into these six steps.

1. First talk to a few of your friends who have recently gotten married and see what they have to say about their baker and if they would recommend their services to you. After you have been recommended a baker or found one through your own research narrow them down to the top three choices. Call and make an appointment with each baker and request to taste any cake flavors that you are particularly interested in. Gather pictures, and drawings of wedding cakes that you are interested in. Know the wedding cake budget and number of guests that will be invited.
2. It is important to have had a snack or meal before you do cake tasting as being very hungry can sway your opinion of cakes. Start tasting the lighter fluffier cakes first and move on to heavier and richer cakes last. The pastry chef often has a recommended order in which to taste the cakes in. It is important to taste the cakes, frosting, fillings and embellishments separately this will enable you to taste the true flavor of each item.
3. Now notice the differences and take note of the textures, is the frosting lumpy or smooth? Then note weather the cake was moist, dry, fluffy, sugary, and buttery? This is a good time to inquire about the ingredients. Are the fillings made with fresh fruit? Can they use organic ingredients upon request?
4. Try a few combinations, perhaps there are a few flavors you enjoy and the baker can possibly make a special combination for you or has a recommendation.  Think about what you and your groom enjoy the most, then what your guest will likely enjoy. As an option ask the baker if they can do different flavors for each tier.
5. This one is an important one: cleanse your palate as you taste cakes with milk or water. Do this in between each different cake tasting and that will ensure that you taste the proper flavors.
6. Take it slow and ask questions. Savor each bite and take note of flavors you liked. Ask the pastry chef about creating custom wedding cakes as well as any extra charges for certain types of cakes. Then inquire about all the details and ask to see their portfolio.

Aside from previous six steps mentioned above you should also know the cake language. Yes, there is a language. If you are currently sucked into cake making reality shows like I am you may not need this advice. If you don’t know what genoise, mouselline, or ganache is then don’t stop reading.  Here is a list of cake vocabulary to brush up on before you go into your tasting.

Fondant: An ultra smooth sugar icing that seamlessly drapes a cake. Its matte finish is an ideal canvas for appliques, royal-icing brocade work, or sugar flowers.

Buttercream: A buttery soft icing or filling that can be blended with anything from apricot puree to burnt caramel. Like fondant, it can be tinted to match your color scheme.

Genoise: A moist European sponge cake, less sweet than the American version. Usually flavored with syrup, this cake works best with a light filling and icing, such as whipped cream.

Ganache: A rich frosting or filling, created by the Swiss, that combines chocolate and heavy cream. Ganaches don’t usually hold up well in humid weather.

Mouselline: An icing or filling enriched with whipped cream for a light, smooth texture. You could have a mousseline buttercream, for instance, flavored with chocolate or fruit.

Marzipan: A paste made of ground almonds, used for edible cake decorations in such shapes as flowers or fruit. Some bakers use a thin layer of marzipan as a filling or to cover a cake.

Creme Anglaise: A smooth custard, sometimes placed under slices of cake. It can be flavored with Grand Marnier, chocolate, or pistachios, giving it a beautiful pale-green hue.

Are you craving cake yet? I am.  I will be sure to follow up with you all on what some of our final cake decisions are. I have step one down plus my cake language, now only five more steps to go till the cake of my dreams, oh wait I mean “our” dreams. I got to get use to that.

Swiss Delices Fine Bakery and Pastry Shop is not your usual wedding cake baker. With a staff of 6 between both their Castro Valley and Hayward locations, they offer authentic European cakes made from all natural ingredients.

Christine Clement, the founder of Swiss Delices states emphatically, “All of our cakes and icings are made from scratch using real butter, eggs and other high-quality fresh ingredients. We use only organic flour and organic or pesticide free fruits. We do not use high fructose corn syrup or shortening.” Her strong belief in high quality ingredients reaches across all her baked goods. The cake fondants are flown in from Europe where they use glucose instead of high fructose corn syrup and all her chocolate cakes contain at least 55% cocoa beans. The chefs even use vanilla bean for flavoring instead of vanilla extract.

She also buys local as much as possible by utilizing farmer markets and recommending clients to use in season fresh fruit.
But, her most popular cakes may come as no surprise – Chocolate Mousse and Lemon White Chocolate Cakes. I tried both and they were delicious!

Working with customers everyday at her bakery, she is very much in tune with what clients requests. She offers cakes that can be customized with a different cake per tier. For example, if you order a 3 tier cake – the top layer could be chocolate mouse, the middle lemon white chocolate, and the bottom tier carrot cake. For the budget conscious customer needing to serve many guests, she makes secondary sheet cakes that feed many people at a much lower cost.

But, wedding cakes are just a small portion of her Swiss bakery business. She is very much a part of the Castro Valley community serving fresh baked morning pastries to clients, soup made from scratch, and hosts weekly Wednesday play dates for children. Even if you are not looking for a wedding cake, her bakery is worth checking out.

To make a cake tasting appointment, call Christine – (510) 393-3121

Swiss Delices Fine Bakery & Pastry
20669 Santa Maria Ave.
Castro Valley, CA 94546
(510) 881-8669

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know by now I have a sweet tooth.  Imagine my satisfaction when I came across a table brimming with mini pecan pies, sweet potato pies, pecan pralines, red velvet cupcakes and more at sfnoir’s Wine & Food Gala this weekend.  The creator of this sweet spread?  Yvonne Hines, a baker and Bay Area native who is whipping up delightful Southern-style cakes and cookies just the way she likes them.

Take her Pecan Pralines for example—the Southern candy confection made with butter, sugar, milk and pecans is her signature sweet.  My personal favorite is her “Old School” Butter Cookie, a retro style treat based on the cookie recipe used at her school cafeteria growing up.  Yvonne’s authentic flavors and family recipes add a touch of nostalgia to her desserts.

I’d never recommend something I didn’t try for myself, so of course I had to have one of each. And at an event where I was already stuffed to the gills and limiting the portions I ate of each dish, Yvonne’s desserts were the one thing I ate every crumb of.  Her pecan pie has just the right amount of sweet with an incredibly layered flavor.  Her Red Velvet cupcakes are moist little cakes with just a touch of frosting.  If you’re looking for a fun twist on traditional treats for a dessert bar at your wedding, Pralines by Yvonne might be just what you need.

Want a little of everything but can’t imagine not cutting the cake?  In addition to her pies and cookies Yvonne makes buttery pound cakes, carrot cake, German chocolate cake, and even something called “Mama’s 7-Up Cake.”  I’ll be heading to her bakery to try some of these for myself (in the name of research of course!).

I’m continually amazed at all this area has to offer, and I love meeting bakers and chefs who express themselves through something delicious.  Yvonne started her business baking for friends and family, then turned her passion into a profession.  As she says, “It has been a sweet journey.”  With a mouth full of butter cookie crumbs, I had to agree.

Pralines by Yvonne

5128 Third Street, San Francisco, CA  94124

www.pralinesbyyvonne.com

For more information on special orders for weddings contact Yvonne at pralines@mail.com.

The folks at Sibby’s Cupcakery in San Mateo, CA are busy perfecting the art of the cupcake.  Rather than dilute their talents making a wide array of desserts, this is one bakery that knows how to specialize—devoting themselves to creating cupcake perfection in mini, regular and jumbo size. The Cupcakery has been open for business for since 2004, when creator and owner Sibby left the advertising world to start a bakeshop, turning her hobby to a full-time job.

All of Sibby’s Cupcakery’s hand-piped custom creations are baked to order from scratch using fresh ingredients like sweet cream butter from local dairy farms, Scharffen Berger chocolate and Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla.  The cupcakes have a delicious home-made feel to them and are hugely popular with Bay Area brides who order them by the dozen rather than purchasing a traditional tiered wedding cake.

I stopped by the bakery last week where Gina (Sibby is out on maternity leave) showed me the ropes, and even taught me how to frost a cupcake properly (the secret is to put a big frosting dollop in the middle then use little swipes to push it out to the edges).  At Sibby’s the team starts baking around 6 in the morning, producing dozens upon dozens of piping fresh cupcakes daily.  Sibby’s works with brides to create custom colors and designs to fit any theme, not to mention select the flavors.  Though Buttercup (a traditional vanillla cupcake with vanilla frosting) and Chocolate remain the most popular, Sibby’s has an array of amazing flavors like Lemon Drop, Latte Love and Snickerdoodle.  And don’t let that traditional chocolate fool you—the chocolate requested most is Sibby’s “Grandma’s Chocolate Tea Cake.”  It’s a chocolate cupcake with a cream cheese-chocolate chip center, topped off with a fudgy frosting.  Now, having just moved to SF from New York I’ve had some great cupcakes in my time.  Magnolia, Buttercup Bakery, Crumbs, Billy’s…some true champions.  But I’m confident I’ve never had a tastier cupcake than Sibby’s Grandma’s Chocolate Tea Cake.  It is OUTSTANDING.  That creamy chocolate chip center puts it right at the top of my tastebud Top 10.

Eager to try some for yourself?  Call ahead to sign up for one of Gina’s bridal tastings, or, even better, order up a Sibby’s Sampler—an assortment of tastes as well as their special flavor of the month.  February’s flavor is Dulce de Leche.  Cupcakes come in mini ($24/dozen), regular ($39/doz) and jumbo ($7.50 each).  The jumbo size is a favorite for brides because it is perfect to use in the cake-cutting ceremony. Delivery is available within the Bay Area for weddings, and Sibby’s even rents out items from their terrific collection of cake stands.  To order, call (415) 613-4373 or email sibby@sibbyscupcakery.com.

Sibby’s Cupcakery: 716 South Railroad Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401.  Call ahead, this is not a storefront, but instead a commercial kitchen so you’ll want to be expected ahead of time.

{Green and White cupcake photos by Silvana Di Franco Photography.}