Wedding cakes and desserts

quietcrane75, did you ever actually get a chance to try that cake Monica made?

Yeah 😁
I was actually thinking about grabbing a chocolate orange cake from Monica's for my partner's anniversary...

Daniel Smith8 said:We didn't have any structural issues at all. The bottom floor was chocolate mousse, the top two were parfait, and the whole thing held up perfectly without a hitch.🤷

Check out the bolded parts 🙂 those are all lighter cakes—you can actually add a bit of butter to the mousse to make the cream firmer (it doesn't really change the flavor much, just gives it a sturdier structure...)

Just wanted to give you guys an idea of what happens if a multi-tier cake doesn't have support between the layers...




Keep in mind these are generally poorly made cakes 😁

The most common thing that happens when a cake lacks support is that it develops a "bulge" from the weight of the upper tiers, and personally, I think that looks terrible...

Especially if you're aiming for that classic "American" style cake with tall, round tiers and perfectly sharp edges...

Support doesn't always mean a fancy metal stand; you can use wooden dowels (the food-safe kind, obviously) and cardboard rounds... it's simple, but it works perfectly fine 🙂

True, you've got a point. The texture depends entirely on the flavor profile. I remember 🙂
explaining that exact concept to me once. 😉There wasn't any butter or margarine involved back then.

We’re planning on picking up both the cake and some pastries from Mark Twain’s bakery. My old man used to work down that way a while back and was always bringing home treats, and honestly, they are just delicious; my husband and I ended up devouring them all at the local fair! 🙈
At least I won't have to stress about that part, because I think I would actually lose my mind if I had to worry about one more thing on top of everything else 😂

We grabbed some treats from the small house. Honestly, I’ve tried seven different bakeries and hated them all. I can't stand it when every single dessert tastes exactly the same. They look different, sure, but the flavor is identical. Just gross...

At the small house, every single pastry actually has its own unique flavor. I even picked up a cake there after a wedding when I was the maid of honor at a christening... everyone absolutely loved it.

I usually don't bother buying sweets for Christmas or Easter since I hate that store-bought stuff.

We got our cake from the sweet secret... it was delicious, but mostly I just wanted something a bit more out of the ordinary, you know? Like those gourmet sampler boxes.

Anyway, that's my experience. Hope it helps someone... 😉

Nathan Cox25, that chocolate-vanilla combo is easily one of her absolute favorites. 😁 Honestly, I’m obsessed with her baking—I think I’ve actually tried every single thing she’s ever made. Right now, my mom and I are on this endless hunt for desserts for a party I'm hosting. My mother is being quite particular; she insists we can't just serve the stuff from Absom that'll be at the venue and call it a day. She wants homemade treats too, so we’re just wandering around looking for something... well, I don't even know what anymore.

😍 We had vanilla-chocolate, Hershey's, Black Forest, and chocolate-orange

We went ahead and finalized the order for the cake at the Sweet Secret this past Saturday.

Monica was actually at the top of our list, but the employees and the manager were so incredibly indifferent and checked out that we ended up crossing her name off immediately.
Look, let’s be clear: their cakes are absolutely delicious. I have nothing against the quality of the baking. But when I try to get a straight answer through their messaging system, the experience is just maddening. I reached out to ask about a price hike they mentioned would take effect on March 1st due to the new state sales tax, asking specifically how much the increase would be. Her response? "I don't know, maybe a dollar, maybe two, I'm not sure." Honestly, give me a break. If you're running the show, how can you not have a clue about your own pricing? It's incredibly frustrating.
We’ve decided to move on from them. To be perfectly honest, I just can't stomach working with people who lack backbone or show zero interest in what they're doing.
And they still have the nerve to charge a delivery fee, even when you're practically living right next door to them. It’s a bit much, isn't it? 12 miles.

After that, we decided to head over to the Sweet Secret.
We showed up right after business hours, and since we hadn't called ahead, I decided to give the owner a quick ring just to let her know we were standing on her doorstep. She didn't hesitate for a second—she practically sprinted to open the door. Once we got settled, she and her daughter sat down right there with us. They didn't just give us the cold shoulder or try to rush us out the door; instead, they pulled out their catalogs, started taking notes, and really engaged in the conversation, offering suggestions and talking everything through with us.
They aren't going to charge us for delivery from the warehouse in Chicago to the distribution center in New York. In fact, they’ve offered to throw in a slightly larger cake at no extra cost just to make sure we're satisfied.
The cake features a stunning arrangement of fresh white roses and delicate mini roses—and just to be clear, those floral decorations are at the customer's own expense.
They even went through the trouble of packing up half a pound of assorted cookies for us to take home as a gift.

I prefer to call it "knowing how to sell yourself."
We decided to go big and do three distinct layers for this one. For the base, we went with a rich chocolate infused with Ferrero cream. The middle layer features dark chocolate paired with raspberries, and to top it all off, we finished with a decadent dark and white chocolate parfait—we even tucked a few whole raspberries inside the white chocolate just to get that perfect visual pop.

We couldn't be more thrilled!😍

Hey everyone, does anyone happen to know where I could pick up some clear, rectangular disposable trays for the tables? I'm specifically looking for trays rather than plates—I don't want the pastries looking cluttered or messy on individual plates; I really want them lined up in neat, organized rows. 😁

The sweet secret is actually worth it. 👍
I’ve picked up several cakes and pastries from them myself; their customer service is top-tier. 👍

Don't they carry Tanya? I once grabbed some gold-foiled ones over at Absom that turned out to be quite impressive. Did you bother asking them about their packaging for deliveries?

It’s just foolish when you can't predict the price hikes—kind of a shame, really.
The sweet secret also makes some solid cakes, so the choice is 👍
We used to pick up those round, clear placemats from Offertiss, but we actually ended up returning them to the "bakery" because they gave us too few in the hall and some were torn. No clue what they did to them, but we ended up spending about $13 on trays instead. We grabbed the rectangular ones for home there, too.

Daniel Smith8 said:The sweet secret is actually worth it. 👍
I’ve picked up several cakes and pastries from them myself; their customer service is top-tier. 👍

Don't they carry Tanya? I once grabbed some gold-foiled ones over at Absom that turned out to be quite impressive. Did you bother asking them about their packaging for deliveries?

I honestly haven't a clue, because we only ordered a single cake from them (which, if you ask me, is just one more point in their favor regarding service, considering we only took one item).

As for the cookies, my folks will be bringing some in from back home a day early. 😂
My grandmother, who is quite the baker herself, only trusts cookies made in that neck of the woods. 😂

Come to think of it, cookies are cookies. I don't imagine there would be any issue if my parents delivered them personally rather than having some big corporation or local bakery ship them out.
Or am I wrong?

I mean, the quality is proven, and that's what matters.

So, looks like it's straight to Offertiss!

Roger Phillips54, those flavors you picked sound absolutely divine 😍
but I was wondering, how far in advance do girls actually need to coordinate on a cake and dessert order? Is three months out considered too late?

crimsonwolf382 said:Roger Phillips54, those flavors you picked sound absolutely divine 😍
but I was wondering, how far in advance do girls actually need to coordinate on a cake and dessert order? Is three months out considered too late?

Not at all. For us, we’re actually sitting just slightly past that three-month mark right now.

Roger Phillips54 said:I honestly haven't a clue, because we only ordered a single cake from them (which, if you ask me, is just one more point in their favor regarding service, considering we only took one item).

As for the cookies, my folks will be bringing some in from back home a day early. 😂
My grandmother, who is quite the baker herself, only trusts cookies made in that neck of the woods. 😂

Come to think of it, cookies are cookies. I don't imagine there would be any issue if my parents delivered them personally rather than having some big corporation or local bakery ship them out.
Or am I wrong?

I mean, the quality is proven, and that's what matters.

So, looks like it's straight to Offertiss!

If you've got the paperwork, there shouldn't be an issue. Honestly, they shouldn't care who's behind the wheel delivering the goods.

http://www.dealsdaily.com/chicago#b
Check out today's deal on BAKINI COOKIES. 😲 Does anyone have the scoop on these? Are they actually any good?! 🙂
Well, if you're looking to save a few bucks, this discount might be just what you need. 😉

I was wondering if someone might be able to help me out—I feel like I’m just going in circles here! How many cookies should I plan on per guest? I need to make sure I account for the cookies already set out on the dessert table, plus the extra treats people usually bring from home, and then figure out how much cake I'll need for a group of 160 people. Thanks so much for any advice you can share! 😉

Has anyone tried the Red Velvet Cake shop on the circle? I absolutely love their pastries, but are they actually as tasty as they look?

Can someone please help me out... I saw a mention of a lady named Stephanie a few posts back who bakes amazing cakes. Could anyone shoot me a DM with her contact info or let me know how I can get a hold of her?

I would honestly be so incredibly grateful!! 😉