The Colour Purple

This cake was fun to do, and what was even better was the reaction when I delivered it today! I love to see people get excited over cake!

I was contacted by Heather who was planning a surprise 25th wedding anniversary for her parents. When they got married something went awry with their wedding cake and they never had the cake of their dreams - so she wanted to make sure they had something extra special for their 25th anniversary.

She wanted something bold, fun and whimsical - so an Off Kilter design fit the bill just perfectly. Heather came to me with a design in hand, we added a few elements during the consultation and the finished product is a show stopper!

Each tier is Vanilla Orchid cake filled with Hot Buttered Rum buttercream, iced in lavender buttercream with fondant accents.

Congratulations Joel & Beth!

Sweet & Simple

Simple 2 tier wedding cake for a small backyard wedding. Each tier was a different flavour: lemon/lavender top tier and midnight chocolate base tier filled with white chocolate buttercream, then iced in pale yellow buttercream and decorated with sugar daisies and ribbon.

Sweet & Simple!

Crazy for Cupcakes!

Well wedding season is still here....and so is the cupcake craze. The cupcake tower phenomenon started oh so many years ago now, but they have not lost their popularity unlike other fads. In fact this year I seem to have more cupcake towers on the books than wedding cakes.

Why are they so popular? Well some people just like the look of them - I mean 100 or more cupcakes all decorated the same way lined up on an elegant stand with a coordinating top cutting cake can look quite impressive. The other reasons are: they are cute, portable, single serving cakes that can be customized to suit any wedding theme - and who doesn't like to eat a cupcake??

This past Saturday I had 2 wedding cupcake towers at 2 different venues - and it was pouring rain - I mean pouring! That kind of rain doesn't help much when you are transporting multiple boxes of cupcakes, a boxed top tier, a stand, extra decor, etc....

The first tower was for Cynthia & Steve's black & white wedding at Deer Creek. To keep the entire display in their colour scheme, they went with Midnight Chocolate cupcakes with Vanilla buttercream swirls in white cupcake liners. Each cupcake was decorated with 3 tiny black flowers with white centres. The top cutting tier was iced in vanilla buttercream and decorated with an edible grosgrain bow and ribbon and more black & white flowers.

The second tower that day was for Shantell & David's "colour purple" wedding at Tosca Banquet Hall. Their room decor was gorgeous! From the linens to the flowers to the lighting, nothing was left out. They chose Pink Lemonade cupcakes each decorated with a either a lavender or eggplant sugar hydrangea. The top cutting tier was iced in buttercream and then decorated in a romantic fashion with hand piped buttercream flowers in shades of purple and a pair of sugar butterflies.

Off to VEGAS!

Yes that's right...in just a few short hours I will be boarding a plane to go to Cake Camp in Las Vegas! Yes people there really is something called Cake Camp - and it's just as it sounds: hands on classes with some of the best in the cake industry! 3 days of learning, sharing, having a blast with all things cake!

Here I am 2 years ago at camp with Colette Peters

So as you may guess, Flour Confections will be closed until I return on August 5th.

Isle of Love Topper Continued....

I wanted to share this wonderful review I received from Christa & Darryl on WeddingWire

"I searched far and wide for the perfect cake topper. So far, in fact, that I contacted someone in Germany who then recommended Lisa of Flour Confections. I then sent Lisa a photo of my husband and I, and asked if she could create a cake topper based on the photo. It turned out absolutely amazing, and everyone loved it -- especially us!"

Yes it's true - Christa originally contacted my talented friend Bettina of Betty's Sugar Dreams in Germany! Bettina is the amazing artist that has opened my eyes to custom cake toppers and working with polymer clay - be sure to check out her wonderful figures! You can also see the original post regarding their custom topper here

Congratulations Christa & Darryl!

Who let the dogs out???

I received this great email from a couple for whom I created a custom cake topper.

They contacted me from out of province, wanting a cake topper of their 2 dogs as the "bride & groom". I thought it was a fabulous idea and was excited to create this for them.

Hi Lisa,
As promised, I’ve attached a photo of my wedding cake. The cake topper was the hit of the wedding – people were taking pictures of it all night. Thanks so much for your fabulous creation!

The cake was provided by Northgate Bakery in Regina, SK.
The photographer for the photo with just the cake is Martha Roberts, and the other photo of the cake cutting is by Doran Chen

A Slice of Advice

Choosing your wedding cake should be one of the most enjoyable aspects to planning your wedding. Here are a few details to consider before you get started:

Be prepared:

Before booking your appointment, you will need to spend a little time researching not only cake designers, but designs as well. Find out from recently married friends who they would recommend, get referrals from your other vendors, search wedding forums and blogs. Word of mouth is often the best way to find your ideal cake provider.
To help you figure out your design, search the Internet & clip pictures from magazines. Get a good idea of what you like and what you don’t. Make sure you bring along any images you find so that your designer can see what style of cake you are wanting. Also bring along any fabric swatches that you may want to coordinate, dress images - basically anything that inspires you. Your ideal wedding cake should not only reflect you as a couple, but should also reflect the theme and feeling of your wedding.

Know your limits:

Weddings can be expensive, and staying on track with your budget can be difficult. Make sure you have a budget in mind before meeting your cake designer. Designer cakes will cost designer prices. Our cakes start from $6.00/serving and can go upwards of $20/serving. Our average cost for cakes that serve 100 people is between $600-$850. If your budget is an important issue, make sure you discuss that with your cake designer. Then they can provide you with some options in order to try to reduce costs.

The Bait & Switch:

One note about saving costs: getting a smaller display cake (be it real or fake) and having additional kitchen cakes for the extra servings does not always save on costs despite what the magazines state. A kitchen cake still needs to be the same in appearance as the main cake (ie: same number of layers - it's not simply a single layer sheet cake like you can get at the wholesale food stores). Most private bakers only supply kitchen cakes when there is the need for the additional servings above and beyond what the main display cake will yield, and in most cases they will not supply the additional cakes if the main cake serves 100 people or less.

It’s all in the details:

Order your cake as early as possible. Anywhere from 6-9 months or more in advance is preferred. Some months are busier than others – prime wedding season will book up early – so plan ahead!

Know how approximately how many guests will be attending and be sure to have a good idea as to how you will be serving the cake: as the main dessert or later with coffee on the sweet table. These details are important to determining the size of the cake.

Think about how you will be displaying your cake. Today the cake is seen as the centerpiece of your reception, so proper display and placement should be considered. Most cake designers do not include table arrangement, decoration or design in the costs of the cake. So if you want something special for the display, be sure to consult with not only your decorator and florist, but your cake designer as well so that the ideal presentation can be created on your wedding day.

Decide if you want to save the top tier. This tradition was fine during the days fruitcake was the common wedding cake choice. But with today’s butter cakes, buttercreams, and other finishes, the idea of saving the top tier has become less important. If you still want to keep with tradition, make sure to tell your cake designer. They will need to size the cake accordingly.

Be prepared to pay a deposit once you decide upon your cake designer. This is necessary to guarantee your date. Due to the amount of time involved with custom wedding cakes, many cake artists will only take on a few bookings per month, so they book up early. If you want a custom and unique wedding cake, be sure to book early!

Make sure to find out if there are any delivery fees, set up costs, or other additional fees. Delivery fees are common, especially if the baker needs to travel a great distance from their studio. Set up fees are sometimes needed when the cake design is one that must be set up on site. Additional fees would pertain to cake stand rentals or other display materials that must be secured with a deposit and returned. Please note that in Ontario, there should never be any taxes applied to the sale of your wedding cake. Therefore you should not be charged either G.S.T or P.S.T on the sale of any whole cake in Ontario.