When you are serving cake at your wedding, you need to make sure that no one cuts into the top tier. It is customary to save the top tier of your wedding cake to eat at a later date. While the tradition has changed over the years, it stems from the olden days. Back then, couples would save the top tier of their wedding cake, and serve it at their first child's christening. Traditionally, couples were expected to have a child within the first year of their marriage, so keeping the top tier for one year became customary. 

Couples do not keep their top tier for the christening of their children any more. It is more common to keep the top tier preserved to defrost and enjoy on their one year anniversary mark. 

To preserve the top tier of your wedding cake, you need to put someone in charge of packaging and transporting the cake from the venue. Any flowers, garnishments, or embellishments need to be removed from the cake prior to packaging. The cake needs to be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in an air tight container. It won't hurt to wrap the container in plastic as well. You need to make sure that the cake is packaged properly, or the cake may get freezer burn. On your first year anniversary, remove the cake from its packaging and plastic, and let it thaw. After the cake thaws, enjoy!

If you want to know more information about preserving the top tier of your wedding cake, contact us today! Cakes By Gina also gives you the option to have an identical top tier of your wedding cake, sent over to you on your first year anniversary, if you don't want to deal with the hassle of preserving your cake. Call us today to set up a consultation. 

 

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Photo Credit: Tracy Eason Photography

 

When designing a cake that includes a floral element, you have to decide if you want real or edible flowers on your cake. Each option adds a little something extra to your cake, but you definitely have to decide what is more important; edible or design. Real flowers are beautiful and elegant, but they aren't always the best option when designing a cake. 

You may have a specific theme in mind, but the flowers you are envisioning may not be edible. Even though, 9 times out of 10, your cake will be removed out of site so that the catering staff can cut and serve your cake, make sure to ask your cake designer about using flowers that don' thave any negative side effects if the flowers, or the chemicals used to preserve the flowers, are consumed. If the flowers you want to use aren't edible, there's another option for you-- edible wafer paper flowers!

Wafer paper is a rice-based edible paper that is safe for consumption. Wafer paper is often used by many cake designers in many cake designing techniques, including forming edible flowers. The wafer paper can be colored to give the wafer flowers a more realistic look. While they are not going to be an exact match, wafer flowers come very close to the real thing. 

Having edible decorations is important, so ask your cake designer about their edible flower options! They can help you decide what will work best with your cake design. If you want to see what we can do with wafer paper, set up your Cakes By Gina consultation today! 

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Your cake consultation will be an important step when planning your event.  This should be an enjoyable experience, and it shouldn't feel like work! You will be tasting cake and talking about your event. What's more fun than that? You should expect the following at your Cakes By Gina consultation:
 
When you arrive, a friendly receptionist will greet you and escort you to a design station. Here, you will be able to look through photos to get a better idea of what you would like for your cake design. One of our team members will promptly bring you a beverage and your cake designer will be with you shortly. At this time, you will go over your event details, but you will not talk about the cake design just yet! The fun part comes first--picking cake flavors! 
 
Your designer will help you select several cake flavor and filling options to taste. The team will put together a sampling plate for you, while you discuss your design ideas. Once your sample plate arrives, your cake designer will walk you through the items on your plate. Our team members will check on you to refill your beverage and get you anything else you may need. 
 
While you are tasting the delicious cake options on your plate, you will continue to discuss your design ideas. Your designer will begin to sketch your cake out on her notepad. Now, you will discuss the shape, number of servings, tiers, and other cake details. Once you decide on your cake's flavor(s), your designer will show you the sketch, as well as an estimated price for your cake. 
 
If you decide that the design and flavors are to your liking, it will be time to pay a deposit for your cake. This guarantees that your cake will be set for the day of your event. If your date is far enough in the future, you will have the option to make changes to your original cake plan. Our staff is more than happy to answer any of your questions. We would love to walk you through any necessary changes--no matter how close it is to your event date. 
 
Contact us today if you need a cake for your next event! 
 
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When graduation rolls around, you want to celebrate this achievement in style. The problem is, most graduation cakes are very similar. Generic graduation cakes all include a cap, a scroll and “Congratulations”. While a cake like that will taste fine, it won’t be memorable. You are going to want to remember your graduation celebration because it is an important milestone in your life! Instead of going with a typical design, pick something unique! There are so many routes that you can take when ordering your graduation cake. The possibilities are virtually endless!

If you are going off to college, there are a few things to consider before ordering a cake. Is the college logo visually appealing? If so, you should have that on your cake somewhere! You are headed there next, so why not celebrate this next step in your life as well? Does your college have a fun mascot that could be incorporated? Does your college have any fun traditions that are unique to the school? (Ex. The Aggie Ring) What are you majoring in and can that be incorporated into the design in a fun way?

If you are graduating from college, where are you headed next? What ideas can you come up with that include this next chapter of your life? Try to tie in your job offer, your graduate school acceptance or your plans to travel the world for a year. Let your guests know what you plan to do next with your cake design!

Your cake designer can make you just about anything! Write down a list of ideas and take your list with you when you talk to your cake designer to see if they can help make your graduation cake dreams into a reality! 

 When  picking out a wedding cake, one of the most important things to think about is how many guests you're inviting. You want to have a delicious cake that your guests can all enjoy! The size of your cake will not only depend on your guest count but also the shape and number of tiers. The number of servings that one tier yields will differ depending on the shape and size of the cake. The most common two shapes being round and square. So how many servings will a single tier yield? 

Approximate servings for round tiers: 

  • 8" round = 14 servings
  • 9" round = 24 servings
  • 10" round = 38 servings
  • 12" round = 56 servings
  • 14" round = 78 servings
  • 16" round = 100 servings
  • 18" round = 146 servings

Approximate servings for square tiers: 

  • 8" square = 32 servings
  • 10" square = 50 servings
  • 12" square = 72 servings
  • 14" square = 98 servings 
  • 16" square = 128 servings
  • 18" square = 182 servings

You are able to mix and match the different sizes to ensure that you will have enough cake for all of your guests! If the cake that you choose includes a 6" tier, most bakeries will not count that layer in the estimated servings, because that tier is typically saved to be eaten at a later date, such as an anniversary. For more information on cake sizes, or to order your wedding cake, contact us today! 

Picking out the perfect cake is an important part of wedding planning. You not only have to pick a flavor, but you also have to pick the design. There are so many different options out there for wedding cakes, where should you begin? One of the first things that you need to decide is whether or not you want your cake covered with fondant or buttercream icing. Both have distinctive design advantages, but you ultimately need to decide which is the best option for you.

Fondant Decoration

Fondant is a favorite because it gives cake a smooth and polished appearance, but not everyone loves the flavor and consistency. Fondant is made from mostly powdered sugar, corn syrup, and water. The ingredients are melted together to form a moldable paste. This clay-like substance is easily rolled out to cover a light layer of frosting on the outside of the cake. The fondant will be smoothed over the cake to leave a professional finish. Fondant can also be used to mold additional decoration elements for your cake including: shapes, characters, flowers, textures, etc.

Buttercream Icing

Buttercream is a favorite because the flavor is light and luxurious, but it is more of a hassle to transport. Buttercream is an icing made of mostly butter and powdered sugar. The ingredients are mixed to create a soft and delicate consistency. Buttercream icing and can be colored and flavored to your liking. The possibilities are endless! The soft consistency of buttercream makes it easy to load into a piping bag to pipe intricate designs on the outer-layer of your cake. While piped borders, flowers, and designs can be beautiful, the base layer of buttercream will never sit as flat as fondant.

We recommend looking through our catalog of past cakes to choose some designs that speak to you the most. Then, come in for a complimentary consultation with one of our designers, so that you can talk through your ideas, and also taste some cake! Our bakers are skilled in pulling off gorgeous designs working with whatever version of icing you like the best! Contact us today, and lets get started creating the perfect cake for your next wedding or celebration!