CAKE CHAT with KERRY VINCENT
Wedding cakes have come of age. No longer a boring white monochromatic mass of butter-cream with predictable piped roses and leaves perched on plastic columns, today’s bride views a cake-filled horizon glowing with dazzling ideas on an ever-changing culinary stage. We now see spectacular varieties of techniques along with innovative styling: Instead of slumbering as it has for decades, cake has now become a superstar in its own right.
Stunning personalized designs reflecting the style of each individual bride have become routine. The sky is the limit; whatever can be dreamt can be made in rolled fondant and flower (or gum) paste. Fancy dressed up cakes are no longer the preserve of the well-to-do – brides across the board can enjoy specialty cakes that scream, “It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s all about me, me, ME!” And why on earth not – it is all about them – it is their special day.
If the people we love adore cake, then here are some sweet messages that will linger long
after the reception is over. Surely the decorated cake must be the poetry at a wedding? If the answer is yes (and of course it must be), then the flavor is prose. Dazzle the gathering with inspired baked artistry … wedding cakes should look good and taste delicious.
Since all of the designers showcased here used rolled fondant garnished with a variety of sugarcoated accents, perhaps this might be a good time to explain exactly what some of the terms mean.
ROLLED FONDANT or SUGAR PASTE has a firm surface texture with a creamy underside, which is nothing like the airy whip of butter-cream. It needs to be thinly layered over the cake after crumb coating with butter-cream, mousseline or glazing with pure sieved fruit gel. This layering creates a stunning surface, light in texture and rich in complex flavor. Creatively, this is the most exciting of the sugar mediums.
GUM PASTE or FLOWER PASTE are the same. This sugar confection is used to create intricate decorative elements such as flowers, jewelry and lace on rolled fondant cakes.
BUTTER-CREAM, so familiar to us all, is traditionally the most popular cake covering in the United States. Nonetheless, there are choices here: Italian and Swiss Meringue both contain butter, sugar syrup and clouds of whipped egg whites, or basic vanilla butter-cream with butter or vegetable shortening.
Historically, brides have preferred appearance before taste and have opted for the shortening version of butter-cream because it is so white, while butter itself leaves a yellow cast on the icing; however, nothing beats the real taste of butter. Keep in mind that butter has a lower melt factor, so if the reception is to be held in a warm environment, perhaps it might be wiser to choose rolled fondant.
MARZIPAN is a delicious blend of sugar, egg whites and freshly blanched and ground almonds that can be used to either encase or undercoat cakes, or to hand-mold decorations to go onto a cake.
GANACHE – a chocoholic’s delight! Chocolate must be the favorite flavor of all time – American consumers eat more chocolate per capita than any other sweet indulgence. Dark or white chocolate nuggets are combined with heavy cream and butter, warmed, then poured over a cake, leaving an exquisite satin surface. Ganache can also be chilled, firmed and whipped, then used as an undercoat for rolled fondant, or piped. It is the ultimate rich indulgence.
ROYAL ICING in clever hands is not the brick-finish surface that people think. Properly done, royal icing is smoothed on layer by thin layer until a light meringue-like covering envelops the cake. The cake is then completed with royal iced piping and decorations (this is a different consistency than the cake covering, even though they are named the same). This icing is traditionally English.
FLAVORS
Forget traditional singular vanilla – give it a makeover and build on it. Inject more flavor options into your lofty showpiece by layering from tier to tier, then look for more exotic ingredients to rev up the fillings: dates, mango, ginger and guava all add tropical hints that will have guests wondering and set your moment apart.
When questioned about their preferred cake flavors, our award-winning bakers responded with the following:
Chocolate almond cake soaked in Kirsch syrup, filled with truffle cream and minced Kirsch-marinated, dried sour cherries.
Chocolate fudge cake filled with white chocolate whipped ganache.
Honduras Torta de la Tres Leches – a delicious concoction of condensed and evaporated milk combined with heavy cream.
White chocolate cake with a thin undercoat of marzipan, covered with Amaretto-flavored rolled fondant, and between the layers – Amaretto-flavored butter-cream and freshly sliced strawberries.
One final thing to remember, if you want to commission a heavily embellished wedding cake that may take two or three days to decorate – it would be wise to not order cakes with perishable fillings. Discuss your options with your favorite cake stylist.
Now that the baked cake has been taken care of, the surface covering decided and the decorative design sorted out, the next thing to think about is what kind of table setting will be needed to accent these towering tiers.
What colors will best be used to set off the cake design? The Oklahoma Sugar Art Show was founded because of my personal dissatisfaction with tabletop. Tired commercial cloths that had seen better days, darned and patched, or tablecloths that had no artistic connection to the cake chosen, clashing horribly. I wanted to custom design the table to coordinate perfectly with the cake.
Think it out and create the prettiest table setting ever. The cake is an important investment, so position the setup in an attractive place in the function room. I recall one wedding cake that I personally delivered, and the bride insisted it be near the entrance to the restrooms, signs and all (ugh!), with an old-fashioned wall phone right above it. My eyes rolled, and the florist could see I was not happy. She offered to decorate the phone to conceal it. I was about to choke! The bride went for the suggestion hook, line and sinker, and much as I hate to recall, the cake portrait looked as if a pair of floral horns was emerging out of the top tier. I have never forgotten it.
Now off you go, brides, pick your colors and be inventive. Reach out to your local baker and work together to create a cake of your own that fits your budget – take a bit of this and that, mix and match, or leave intact. These top-of-the-line winning cake designs are definite trendsetters for 2012. Give your artisan notice – there is intensive effort invested here, so plenty of time is needed to sculpt and mold.
Post your pictures on my Facebook page Kerry Vincent TV. I would love to see what you come up with. Viva la cake!
SAVE THE DATE: September 29 and 30, 2012 is the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show & Grand National Wedding Cake Competition, held at the Tulsa State Fair. The theme will be HEADGEAR, HATS & HEADBANDS, and once again, the best of the best will go “head to head.”
Competitors must create their own designs. They can be inspired by something vintage, or perhaps golden age Mayan, ancient Egyptian, Fashionable Forties, Twenties Flappers, the extravagance of European royal courts … incorporating all the fine detailing inspired by milliners throughout the ages.
Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director Kerry Vincent has been inducted into two Halls of Fame, is a successful author and Food Network celebrity, appearing on Food Network Challenge, Last Cake Standing and The Best Thing I Ever Ate.
WINNING CAKES
Gary Silverthorn, Port Huron, Mich., knows a thing or two about cake design. His grand prize-winning Grand National Wedding Cake design gives us a colorful fusion of sugar gems and metallic settings reminiscent of the Elizabethan age, all integrated into couture design. His inspiration – a gown worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in the movie “Shakespeare in Love” – spectacular!
First runner-up Pamela Tsaldaris, also from Port Huron, Mich., delivered an exotic combination of black chocolate, bold red and yellow ochre with a distinctive Oriental edge. Easy to see a combination wedding and groom’s cake evolving here, in any color combination.
What’s not to love about black and white with daisy-yellow highlights? Second runner-up Lisa Bugeja, Toronto, Canada, created a marvelous construction topped with an organic arrangement of sugar tulips, exquisite gravity-defying piping and gorgeous black and white offset paneling.
Third runner-up Mercedes Strachwysky, Altamonte Springs, Fla., created an enchanting, lush fairyland with sugar flowers, tree roots and foliage that meanders vertically on the cake surface. This cake tells a story – every time one looks at it, more details become apparent. Sentimentally, a hard one to cut, but an amazing cake for an outdoor wedding, and easy to personalize.
In fourth place with an honorable mention – a magical cake by sugar artist Rebecca Sutterby, Savonberg, Kan. I can’t imagine a bride who would not love this cake. Lavender cameos highlighted with perfectly piped embroidery, a sugar bow holding a sugar sash in place, and a plethora of multi-hued flowers and foliage tie the tiers together.
