Made to Order

Custom Cakes Made to Order:

BY ADRIANNE LOVRIC

SWIRL Sweet Cocoa Butter Cakes

Cakeology

Cake and Chocolate

As a kid, my experience with

cake was limited to birthday parties, where cakes were either slab or ice cream. The fanciest cake I could name was Black Forest.

That all changed once I started accompanying my young children to birthday parties. Cakes were no longer the standard transition to the gift opening portion of the party. They were presented as showstoppers — appreciated and enjoyed, by kids and adults alike, for their unique designs and flavour combinations. What happened to the days of fighting over a corner piece of grocery store cake with extra icing?

“The Food Network and baking show competitions are to blame,” laughs Deb Cook, of her inspiration to begin creating custom cakes 12 years ago, and the reasons behind the demand for them. The owner of CAKEify Studio, and recent participant on The Food Network’s The Big Bake: Holiday Season 2, says cakes have evolved over time as people have come to understand how edible pieces of art can be sculpted from cake.

“In the past, cakes were generally finished in white icing, with icing flowers — a traditional, classic finish. This evolved into cakes that featured a fondant finish and flowers. Now it’s all personal preference, depending on the cake design. Generally more sculpted cakes will have fondant, while more rustic cakes will be finished in buttercream.”

The influence of baking shows on people’s appreciation of what can be done with cake is undeniable. “It has changed the requests we receive. People are understanding what you can do with cake, helping them to realize they can have more than an average cake at their event,” confirms Lynnette MacDonald, owner of SWIRL Custom Cakes and Desserts, and The Big Bake Season 1 alumna.

MacDonald and her team regularly field requests for realistic replicas of

CAKEify: DIY kit option

luxury cars and handbags, and have also replicated planes and the Calgary Tower with cake. “We can defy physics and gravity. We can do more with cake given the artistic freedom to create something special for our clients.” MacDonald says a cake structure doesn’t depend as much on the type of cake or filling as it does on proper assembly and tricks of the trade. “The medium doesn’t change, but the engineering on how it is designed and built does.”

Social media has also influenced demand for custom cakes. Anthonia Anowai of Cakeology, has seen cakes evolve drastically over time becoming taller, rather than wider. “Cakes in the past were either slabs, or one or two rounds stacked and decorated. Now they are two to four rounds that are much more elegant.”

Like Cook and MacDonald, Anowai works closely with clients during the intake to understand the theme, colour scheme and personal preferences. More often than not, clients will have drawn inspiration from cakes they have seen on social media. Anowai stresses the importance of research before ordering because everyone has a different style and approach to cakes. “That’s the power of social media for ideas, but I add my own style instead of replicating specific pictures. Given a theme and colour scheme, having as much room to play is what I love.”

Ultimately, it isn’t only the jawdropping design that sets a custom cake apart from a generic ready-made cake. “A custom cake features the finest ingredients, freshly assembled from scratch with love and proficiency,” says Debbie Obio, owner of Sweet Cocoa Butter Cakes. In addition to the evolution in cake design, Obio has also seen a change in flavours. “Flavours have become more fabulous. People are pushing flavours to the edge — it might be tropical here and spicy there — our clients are more experimental, adventurous, and open to marrying different flavours.”

For some clients healthier, allergyfriendly options are either necessary or just preferred. Elena Murashova, owner of Cake & Chocolate, creates custom mousse cakes that are lower in sugar.

SWIRL

One of her one kilogram cakes contains 10 grams of sugar or less. “People are surprised by the natural sweetness and the feel of the berries or fruit, and all the textures that play in the mouth,” she says of her art-inspired cakes that feature mousse married with a one centimetre sponge base that can be made gluten-free, and a layer of fruit, berries, compote or confit. Some of her more popular flavour combinations include passion fruit and mango; lemon and blueberry; champagne with strawberries; and caramel apple.

From designs to flavours, it is anyone’s guess as to what the future might hold for cake design. According to MacDonald, the past 18 months have made it hard to determine trends because so much has been unknown, and the constant change has forced many people to celebrate in the moment rather than planning events months in advance. “Although many clients are sticking to classic, elegant, tried and true designs, the sky is the limit for what we can do with cake. Think outside the box, come with your craziest, most challenging ideas because that’s what fuels us,” she says.

Adrianne Lovric is a communications professional who has spent the last 20 years creating content for print media, non-profits, creative agencies, start-ups and publicly-traded companies. Adrianne lives in Calgary with her husband, Miroslav, and their two daughters.

Sweet Cocoa Butter Cakes Cakeology

CUSTOM CAKE ORDERING TIPS:

• Do your research. Check out social channels and websites to get a feel for what different cake designers can do and where they specialize • Come prepared with the following information: Event date Number of servings Theme Colour scheme Ideas for inspiration • Costs vary according to the complexity of the design. A 6-inch custom cake can start at approximately $80, and easily go up from there. • Be sure to factor in time for multiple consultations depending on design, sourcing ingredients, baking, decorating, and delivery

If you feel the need to deliver a homemade cake for a special occasion but your skills are at more of a “Nailed It” than “Cake Boss” level, the team at CAKEify has a DIY kit option, in addition to custom cakes. CAKEify will provide the cake, icing, all the components and decorations as well as online tutorials. “You can come to us with an idea and we’ll point you in the right direction,” says CAKEify’s Deb Cook. DIY kits start at $45 and are assembled in CAKEify’s nut-free facility.

CAKEify Studio: cakeifystudio.com SWIRL custom cakes and desserts: swirlcakes.ca Cakeology: cakeologyyyc.onuniverse.com Sweet Cocoa Butter Cakes: @sweetcocoabuttercakes Cake & Chocolate: @cake.andchocolate