Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network November 2014 | Page 79

What are three things a cake decorator
should know before walking into a
consultation with a couple to be?
How important the wedding cake is to
the couple (in relation to other aspects
of the wedding), what is the budget
for the cake, and I ask the bride for a
short description of what her wedding
cake looks like in her head… not a
photo, but what she envisions based
on her feelings about the day. This
usually gives me a much better idea of
the direction we might want to go for
the design.
Do you provide tastings? If so do
you charge for them and how many
flavours to you allow a couple to try?
How do you think wedding cakes have
evolved over the past 10 years?
The wedding cake industry has
evolved so much in the past 10 years.
The fabulous creativity and use of
new textiles and finishes continues
to amaze me. I also think artists are
more confident in using a variety of
colors and shapes, and I’m thrilled
to see the growing interest in the art
of sugar flowers. The high level of
craftsmanship is also wonderful, which
allows artists to create cakes with
“simple” designs, but with beautiful
and elegant lines that don’t need
much adornment. The artists who
are creating sculpted and painted
wedding cakes completely blow me
away with their skills and ideas too…
I’m very grateful to be a part of the
industry at this amazing time.
From a business perspective, how
much time do you allow yourself to
work on each wedding cake you are
contracted to create?
I don’t necessarily have a set time to
work on a wedding cake, but I try to
stay very organized and work on sugar
flowers for cakes a few weeks before
they are needed. I make our signature
filler flowers, buds and leaves all
year around so we have access to
them when we need them, and I’m
grateful to work in a dry environment
where we can make and store sugar
flowers easily, so the last minute rush
is quite rare. We don’t add much to
our cakes other than the flowers and a
simple ribbon finish, so while the cake
tiers really need to look perfect and
polished, I think they take less time
than a design with a lot of adornments
or other details.

We do provide tastings and yes, we
do require a deposit to book them.
We offer three flavors of cake and six
flavors of buttercream and/or ganache.
What has been the most unusual
wedding cake you have created?
I have been asked before about
making unusual wedding cakes, and
truthfully, I don’t have any good stories
to share. The style of our wedding
cakes is very modern, fresh and floral,
so those are the types of cakes