Such Decisions

Part One in a Series: Such Decisions

I’ll start off by saying that I, by nature, am a staunch buttercream purist. I love a traditional white wedding cake slathered in a buttercream that is melt-in-your-mouth sweet, subtly crunchy and purely delicious. And for years I said I would never have a fondant wedding cake. But now that I’m getting married this fall, I might have changed my mind. You know the old adage—never say never.

 

Earlier this month, my fiancé Andy and I attended a wedding cake tasting with our talented baker (let’s call her Stacy to protect the innocent). The experience was so informative that I will regale you with the story over my next few blogs.

 

Stacy travels for more than an hour to get to Kansas City. So when in town, she schedules tastings and consultations with as many brides as she can handle. Each bride (I say bride because Andy was the only man for blocks) gets an hour with Stacy to discuss and sample. And she’s willing to meet again for no extra fee.

Stacy had sample boxes of more than 10 cake flavors. Andy and I each received our own box, along with a choice of fillings. We decided on the fudge, hazelnut and cream cheese fillings—because, really, what place does fruit have in a calorie laden confection such as wedding cake? (That is simply my opinion—nothing against fruit, of course. I just think it has a place. On pastries. On cheesecake. On the side of my breakfast omelet. But not sandwiched between two pounds of butter and ten pounds of sugar, thankyouverymuch.)

 

The sample cakes were more than enough. Andy and I could have easily split one box. But Stacy apologized that the samples were so small—she’d had a bride call that morning to add ten people to her tasting. So Stacy and her team had to make create more samples from the already-assembled boxes. “Wow, that’s a lot of people,” I exclaimed. To which Stacy replied, “Yes. She added 10 more. She already had ten people scheduled.” Call me crazy, but 20 people is a ridiculous number for a tasting. And I think that bride was quite rude.

 

Stacy was extremely nice to make room for that many people. But I fear that this nicety will not pay off. Unless she decided to charge for the extra mouths (and opinions), I don’t think Stacy will recoup the cost of those samples. What do you think, cake bakers and decorators? Would you allow 20 people to a tasting without a fee—and without at least a day’s notice?

What will ice my wedding cake—fondant or buttercream? Stay tuned to find out!