Cakespiration

Grab a fork and a glass of milk. It's time to dive into cakes - face first!



(This year's birthday cake - I didn't wait for a fork!)
Here are some of the inspiration images we brought to our cake tasting with Baker #3, Hotel du Pont. Divided into categories for easy browsing too!

Patterned:

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Aqua fondant coins circle their way round and round in overlapping layers. There's another version with octagonal tiers and circles that look more like Nilla wafers. Cookies on a cake - dessert win!

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Unadorned layers of loveliness - no icing on the sides! How cool is that! I love that it exposes the layers for a neapolitan/spumoni look. Using varying shades of yellow and white would be a softer effect... but I also like the idea of using a bold yellow with analogous colors for a big pop. Random considerations: Would this cake be too dry without the side icing? And would it dry out faster, meaning it'd have to be completed on some insanely close deadline?

Whimsical:

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This lovely has enjoyed much popularity online. I think it started out as black icing on a white cake, but this yellow and white version is the most cheerful and sweetest.

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Although a newer Martha cake, our baker has already constructed one. Good: she has experience with it and the kinks are worked out. Not so good: my desire for originality is slightly squished.

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Add a little color, keep the tonality and we've got ourselves a top contender. And with a bakery name like Eat Cake Be Merry, you can't go wrong!

Textured:

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Piles of dark chocolate curls. I'm in texture heaven with The Megeve. Wonder what the June heat will do to the curls? It'll melt, won't it? Drat! Why can't we marry in the fall just to have this cake?!

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Towering 7-tier confection by Martha - because we're seriously obsessed with coconut and I love texture. It doesn't require too much effort to create this look. As in, the design isn't so precise that it'll require hours of extra work (and drive up cost).

Simple and elegant:

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Clean. Modern. Adorned with a simple flower or two. (Krose Cakes)

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A clever twist on a simple cake. Would have several stand alone in lieu of a stacked cake.

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The varying height makes this April Reed cake very appealing. Our baker figures we'll need about 4 tiers. It may look like way more cake than a 4 tier but I think it'll amount to the same. And is leftover cake the worst thing that could happen??

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A little more frilly than we'd like, but it shows the different heights well.

What cakes inspired you? Summer brides: am I nuts for wanting a chocolate curl cake?