How do people come up with this stuff?

When designing wedding cakes, my appointments usually have three phases.  Phase one, "Show and Tell", is where I have my clients open up their folders of Magazine Pages, iPads, and Pinterest Pages to give me an idea of the overall look of their wedding.  This is the most important part of the appointment.  It's during this time, that whether or not the client knows it, I design their wedding cake. 

Phase two, is what I like to consider the "put your money where your mouth is" part of the appointment.  It's when I pull out my albums of Gateaux wedding cakes, to show the client that I can actually do some of the stuff that I'm about to pitch to them.  I bet if you asked most people who met with me, they'd tell you that they thought this part of the appointment was where they got to pick their cake, but in all honesty, it's not.  You see, the Evil Cake Genius has an incredibly short attention span.  While I adore the cakes that we've made in the past, I have absolutely no desire to ever repeat a design.  After all, I've already done that.  Why would I want to do it again? 

Nonetheless, I enjoy the chance to show off my cakes. 

Gateaux's portfolio is split into four albums.  One traditional album, one preppy album, a modern album, and one that I lovingly call "The Weirdo Book".  Most brides and grooms don't have any reason to look through this book, aside from the fact that it's just damn fun to look through.  Let's be honest, the majority of my wedding clients aren't going to end up with a cake topped with two frosting otters holding hands, or the "Fab Five" walking across their bottom tier.  But even the most conservative of clients can appreciate these cakes for the creativity and artistry that goes into creating them.

When looking through this particular album with Cate, Adam, Cate's mom (recent client, responsible for this adorable cake) Kimberly, and Adam's mom, Pam, Pam asked me a question that I hear a lot after people look through  "The Weirdo Book"..."I'm just not that creative...How do people come up with this stuff?" 

She was about to find out.  First hand.

Kate and Adam were getting married at the beautiful Semple Mansion in Minneapolis.  The look would be Old Hollywood - a nod to that golden age of Art Deco decor and Nouveau thinking in America...the Jazz Age.  It made sense, they both worked in film, they even met on a set.  That being said, they weren't about to go theme party with it.

I'm a big fan of having a design scheme, rather than a theme to draw from.  So this was an easy one for me.  I had, on a recent trip to New York, finally gone to the top of the Empire State Building.   Funny, I had been there nearly a dozen times, over a span of twenty years, but I had never taken that pilgrimage until that most recent trip.  I shared that with Adam and Cate, and they agreed that that was the kind of graphic inspiration we should use for their cake.

Onto Phase Three - Free for All.  It's like stream of consciousness with multiple players.  There is no wrong answer, just throw out a bunch of ideas...we'll use some, we'll not use others, but together, we always end up with the perfect wedding cake.  Together.

I ran back to my office and grabbed a few Art Deco patterns that I had been saving for...well, I guess for these two.  We quickly sketched up the bottom and middle tiers of the cake using a Deco Fountain pattern and a great monogram panel, but when it came to the top tier, I drew a bit of a blank.  Then Cate suggested that we use the silhouette of the Empire state building on the top tier.  Adam agreed, and we added a stylized Deco Empire state to the top tier.  I recommended that we have the spire of the building extend beyond the top of the cake as a cake topper - "and you can have King Kong and Faye Wray hanging off the spire".  Great idea, Adam!...Cate...Kimberly...?  Nope, that idea came leaping out of Pam's head.  There was a brief pause.  One of those awkward silences.  She shifted in her chair and looked a little unsure.  Had she taken it too far?

As the cake lady, I knew it was genius the second she said it.  It tied in the Empire State design to the underlying Hollywood and film idea.  After all, they met on a film set!  But, it isn't my wedding cake.  Cate and Adam stopped, looked at each other, we all paused for a moment, and...Nope, not too far...just far enough!! We would replace the traditional bride and groom with Kong (decked in a tuxedo jacket, of course) and his bride.  Fortunately, Adam and Cate have a very talented friend who brought their vision of Kong and his bride to Art Deco perfection. 

And that... Pam, is how people come up with that stuff.  You are now an honorary Cake Lady.

We finished our sketch, and worked up an invitation design that would compliment the look and give their guests a little sneak preview of the wedding decor.  The Bride and Groom even had a little fun with the RSVP options - another little touch of film and humor.

I'm not actually sure if Cate and Adam's cake ended up in our "Weirdo Book".  After all, the cake is one of my favorite examples of a clean, elegant, graphic wedding cake.  It's fun to see people do a double take when they recognize the cake topper.  I think at heart, a lot of us are Weirdos.  Love makes you happy, sometimes even a little goofy.  I love when we can incorporate a little whimsy and humor into a wedding cake.  It's not like you're rolling the thing down the aisle at the church.  The reception is the party to celebrate that love that makes us a little goofy.  So enjoy yourselves, share a little inside joke with your guests, and most importantly, have fun.  Kong would want you to.

Decorator's Notes

The Cake

Cate and Adam's cake was frosted in buttercream and panelled in sheets of fondant to give it crisp perfect corners.  The black and white Art Deco embellishments were all screen printed in royal icing onto sheets of fondant.  We cut out the Deco patterns and attached them to the cake tiers. We weren't sure if the bottom tier's corner patterns would wrap around the corners of the cake without the royal icing cracking, so we planned to cut those in half vertically and attach them separately to each side of the cake.  On Jenna's suggestion, we tried doing one corner with the pattern in tact to see if it were possible to bend the pattern over the corner without the royal cracking if we worked quickly enough.  Fortunately, it worked!

We wanted Kong and the top spire of the Empire state building to be set back on the top tier so that it could be centered, like a cake topper.  In advance, we screen printed the top portion of the Emprire State building onto Mexican Paste (1 Part Gum Paste, to 1 Part Fondant) cut it out, and allowed it to dry with a pick sticking out of the bottom of it.  Once we decorated the cake with the fondant Empire State, we cut off the top of the pattern flush with the cake and replaced it with the set back Mexican Paste topper. 

The screens for this cake design are now for sale on our Evil Cake Genius site HERE - without King Kong, however...those were just for our Cate and Adam.

We'll even customize the Middle tier's in case your client's last name doesn't begin with an "H" ;)

The Cake Stand

We wanted a cake stand that had an Art Deco feel to it without distracting from the cake.  So we had our very own "Magic Phil" cut us three 1" thick squares of particle board.  One 14", one 16" and one 18".  He glued them together and painted them high gloss black.  It has become a very useful stand in our collection, and is quite easy to DIY.

Film History

I'd like to spend this blog recounting classic film history, from Citizen Kane to Raging Bull...Orson Welles to Alfred Hitchcock...but I'll spare you my limited Film History 101 knowledge of the topic.

 You're welcome.

When I heard that Courtney and Josh had chosen the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown as their reception venue, I was immediately struck with visions of a cake that embodied the magic of old Hollywood.  They had already begun their planning, and the save the dates, etc. had the perfect amount of Hollywood "feel" to them, without crossing over into a theme party.

So when it came time to design the wedding cake, it was obvious that this wouldn't turn into a film-reel-shaped cake with frosting popcorn bursting out from every seam.  It would honor the less kitschy, side of the movies. 

You don't have to study film history, to have your own film-history.  The movies influence our lives.  Whether it be something as profound and moving as "Schindler's List" or as ridiculous as "National Lampoon's Family Vacation" (bet that's the first time those two movies have been mentioned in the same sentence) the movies become part of our collective history.  Every family has that one movie that they can recite start to finish.  I remember bringing my, then boyfriend, "The Captain" home to meet my family, and the horror on my father's face that "the boy" had not yet seen "Young Frankenstein".  I laughed, and shrugged it off, but must admit, that when we watched the movie together for the first time, I then studied his reaction to it.  After all, you're not going to "get" my bizarre family if you don't roll around laughing at things like "Abby-Normal" and "Seda-give".  Thankfully, he got it.
I remember the shock I felt when I found out that my two Evil Cake Minions had never seen "The Shawshank Redemption" and the utter horror when discovering that they had no idea what "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" was.  With our lack of joint "Movie-history" I'm surprised they ever understood a single word I said.  We have since made a list of Movies necessary to speak "Robin"...it's on the fridge at the shop.

Now, back to Courtney and Josh.  Their venue was more than a renovated movie theater, it was a landmark.  The Varsity started out as a Cabaret theater, featuring Vaudeville style acts.  It's diminutive size earned its nickname "The Dinky" which then spilled over to the neighborhood "Dinkytown".  In the late 1930's, it was renovated into a movie house, with its distinctive marquee and Art Deco design. 

Photos courtesy of Placeography.org

By the time I went to the U of MN, it had deteriorated into a venue for seedy bands (although, Greenday actually played there once).  Finally, the Loring Pasta bar bought it and renovated it into its current form. 

The one constant in all that time, being its impressive marquee.  And that's exactly what Courtney and Josh chose to inspire their wedding cake.  But first, they needed invitations.  How about a modern twist on the marquee design in the invitations?

After that, the cake design was a snap.  We'd make the cake replicate the marquee, complete with the movie title "From Mississippi With Love".  The couple lives in Mississippi, and the wedding would be held in Minneapolis, so what better film title? 

So, for this school principal and her pilot husband, they got their Hollywood ending.  And the cake lady got hers too.  This gracious note accompanied their photos. 

"Our cake was absolutely perfect, and we can't thank you enough for our second-favorite moment, after saying "I do," of course!"

Fade...roll credits...

Style

"Fashion fades, only style remains the same."
Coco Chanel

"Never trust a cake lady who can walk in heels."
Evil Cake Genius

I've never understood Fashion. Take it from the other cake girls, the Cake Lady ALWAYS loses the Project Runway pool at Gateaux. ALWAYS. I guess, when you spend your days working in long sleeve thermal t's and yoga pants, you have other priorities besides fashion.

That's why I love that quote from good old Coco. You see, even the most astute fashion minds, the icons of the industry understand that there is something inherently deeper than what is currently in vogue. Something that transcends yoga pants and bad hair days, and the Cake Lady has it (or at least she borrows it from her clients from time to time). The Cake Lady has style.

That's why, when I first spoke to Laura-Leigh's mom Christine, I knew we'd be perfect together. Turns out, Laura-Leigh, and Christine have that rare gift of possessing both fashion sense and style. And these fortunate few are the architects of some of the most chic and timeless cakes that we do.

Christine described the event decor as "Not French Country, more Paris Flea Market". I instantly conjured up visions of Belle Epoque Metropolitain Paris...black wrought iron and stone, the height of style...the kind that Coco speaks of, the kind that never fades. And Christine and Laura-Leigh delivered.

The color palette of soft champagne, black and Ivory set the stage for a timeless beauty. With the added drama of textural floral, linens, and candlelight, we had ample fuel for the cake-fire.



The definitive elements for the cake were the textures in the floral and an incredible motif from the wedding invitations. Coupled with a french lattice pattern imprinted on the cake and tiny little Fleur de Lis (Paris, after all...not Flea Market, leave off the first word of that phrase, and you have a whole different meaning). And what better to top this not-so-moveable of a feast? How about a vintage bride and groom cake topper. Bride and groom cake toppers are the epitome of that Coco Chanel quote. You see, whether or not they are currently fashionable, the truly well done ones, the vintage, bisque porcelain-beauties, are always in style. Especially when it belonged to the bride's grandmother.



A more timeless event, I can't remember. And once again, my clients made me look so much more chic than I'll ever be. So, thank you Christine and Laura-Leigh...maybe next year, you'll teach me to walk in heels!

Once again, the Fabulous Olive Juice Studios provided us with some absolutely incredible photos of this truly elegant affair.

Decorator's Notes

Laura Leigh's cake was a joy to decorate.  We really had the opportunity to play around with texture on the tiers. 

Quilted Tiers

We imprinted the quilted tiers with a quatre foil shaped cookie cutter.  I couldn't find one on the market, so I made my own using this kit http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product/make-your-own-cookie-cutters-kit

Textured Tiers

These tiers were fun to make.  We simply dumped out our drawer of flower cutters and mixed and matched different sizes of 5 petal cutters to layer together to cover the tiers.

Baroque Patterned Tier

This baroque pattern was too intricate to replicate using a stencil, so we shot a silk screen for it.   We screen printed a thin sheet of fondant with black royal icing, and then cut out around the pattern.  We wet the back of the fondant, and attached it to the fondant-covered tier.  You can buy this exact screen on our Evil Cake Genius site HERE