Cake Confirmed

Our baker has approved our cake design and flavors! Wanna see which design we picked?

Image via Real Simple / Bakery: Eat Cake Be Merry

Cake for dinner?!

If you wrecked your diet after the last cake posts, I'm sorry. Perhaps you should look away... because more cake is on the way! (The answer to the above question is a resounding yes, btw.)

You've seen this bag before so you know what's coming!
We loved the Hotel duPont cake samples, especially the hazelnut pound and apricot filling! And we're confident they can make the cake of our dreams. So why haven't we ordered our cake already? Well, since our last tasting we decided the cake needs more than one flavor and asked to try a couple more combinations.

Whispering sweet Nom Noms

It was with a little apprehension we reached out to a new cake vendor, the Hotel du Pont. Our venue encouraged us to call the bakery department and let us know how it worked out since they wanted to create a partnership with a new cake vendor. But we were still cautious. Our friends assured us the quality was there. (No rotten cherries.) So I left a message and waited to hear back. A patient week passed. I grew anxious, especially after my last interaction with Baker #1, and shot them a follow up email. I confirmed our tasting meeting as soon as I heard back, also asking questions about what to bring (Mr. P said glass of milk) and where to meet. I never heard back.

Hotel lobby 

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!

Cake Take Two

One of the bakers under consideration is Papa's Pastry Shop - our neighborhood pastry tasty. They're our go-to store for birthday cakes, cookies (pignoli!) and more. It all started when Mr. P brought home their chocolate cake for my birthday in 2006.


Then we brought one of their Italian Rum cakes to north Jersey for a family function. When the family (chefs and persnickety folks) raved about it, we knew it wasn't just us that had fallen in love with the cakes. Pretty soon, we were picking up cakes for every birthday.

Falling flat: a cake story

Pinning down a baker has proved tricky. Our venue recommended Baker #1, a popular bakery with a great pedigree, but offered us the option of using a credit toward whomever we wish. Since we knew nothing about wedding cakes or the process, we started off with Baker #1. We were still a year out and hadn't even found my dress, let alone picked colors or flowers. In our initial email, we emphasized that the flavor of the cake was more important than the appearance. And we were more than willing to pay for the privilege of a tasting. Just let us know the cost and when would be a good time. And that's where Baker #1 dropped the ball.

A cake that has fallen. Quite literally.

Lego Love

We may combine furniture, household goods, and even finances but our Lego collections will never be combined. At least that's what Mr. P has jokingly maintained for the last few years. He claims his Legos are superior to mine and co-mingling would be disastrous (for his).

source
Both of us grew up with a fascination with the tiny bricks. When I moved away from home, my Legos were packed up for the trip. Every once in awhile, we'll drag the storage totes out and start construction projects. My foreman does a poor job of planning since my projects inevitably run out of bricks and I eye his pile. Man, it would be nice if I could just borrow a few.

See what I could accomplish if I had more bricks?
You can tell whose Legos are whose; our sorting styles are a microcosm of our personalities. Mine are grouped by color and size into large chunks. And his, well... they're dismantled with lightning speed and unceremoniously dumped back.

Thing whole Lego thing got me thinking... How can we incorporate this quirky shared interest into the wedding? Cake! It's the most obvious and tastiest, of course. The internet is awesome. Ask (search) and you shall receive.

Birthday dinner at Terrain

I'm loving the crayon candles. It looks like I'm five.
(Better than Swiss cheesing the top of the cake with 29 candles.)
We dined at Terrain last night for my real birthday dinner. (More details on our super-tasty BYOB wine here.) A month ago, I heard they would be participating in the Main Line Restaurant Week and suggested to Mr. P that we go with friends. And it fell on the week of my birthday! What a coincidence... Weeks passed without further discussion and I forgot I even mentioned it until he became secretive about our restaurant reservation. Secretly, I hoped that's where we were headed.

Cake cake cake!

Can you tell I'm excited? Our first meeting with prospective baker #1 is this afternoon. Not sure what we'll need but I'm bringing my laptop and binder... and a fork. Mr. P suggested bringing a pint of milk. He may be on to something.

Note to co-workers: Expect me to be on an obnoxious sugar high later.