Adventures in Cake Tasting

A while back, I had an impromptu cake tasting. Why was it impromptu you ask? A wayward bride did not honor her cake tasking appointment with my dear friend and pastry chef extraordinaire, Padua Player aka Suga Chef .

What’s strange is that in the 3 years Suga and I have been friends, I had only tasted his pound cake {delish!}. I had never had an occasion to taste the full complement of his desserts {crazy, I know! Why have an amazingly talented pastry chef as a friend and NOT take advantage?} Anyway, we were chatting on the phone one afternoon and he mentioned that he was on his way to meet with a bride regarding her wedding cake. While we were on the phone, she called to cancel (!)

Mind you, Suga had spent the better part of the morning baking and sugaring and decorating cookies and cakes for the tasting. He only uses the good stuff: fresh fruit, butter, cream...so it’s not like you can put the items on a shelf and try again next week! So, being the shopportunistic woman that I am {yes, I am borrowing from the Marshall’s ads}, I suggested he meet me at my house for an impromptu tasting. I was going to hold out on the tastings until closer to the wedding date. Boy am I glad that I didn’t!

Fruit options

I was totally impressed with the multiple selections he brought. In addition to a variety of cakes, he brought cookies and handmade caramel corn {drool...}.

Cookies which can be made in a variety of shapes

Note, I never wanted a big fancy wedding cake {FYI, fondant really is not that delish…kind of like a flat, sugary marshmallow}. While I do appreciate the artistry of fondant cakes, I’ve never pictured that type of cake at my wedding. I LOVE dessert, wait, I repeat...I FRIGGIN' LOVE DESSERT. I like the experience of multiple treats and since I want my wedding to have a family reunion feel to it {remember the dessert table with the yummy assortment of desserts that your grandma and aunts contributed to?}, I couldn't picture it any other way. I thought our guests would appreciate it too. They can grab dessert on the fly for a quick burst of sweetness after dinner {and energy for dancing!} or they can take a box of treats home to enjoy later {our dessert bar is our favor…cute paper boxes with our monogram will be provided}. Plus, leftovers can be easily frozen and stored; so much less wasteful than a great big cake that folks may or may not eat {apparently, there are actually people who don't like cake}.

Note the mini cake covered in fondant and the box of handmade caramel corn

A special shout out my Old Dude for playing along: He gave constructive comments, shared his favorites, practiced the cake feeding moment (!), and “talked shop” with Suga {Old Dude is a Food Network fanatic and a pretty good cook himself}. It was a lot of fun and a great way for us to bond over wedding planning.

For our dessert bar, we chose the following…All will be made as “two to three bite delights”:

Opera Cake. Picture hazelnut mousse sandwiched between two pieces of the lightest sponge cake ever with an icing of dark chocolate ganache {Old Dude says it’s a MUST have}.
Almond Pound Cake. Because this is an “Elegant Family Reunion”, you can’t have a family reunion without some good old Pound Cake, you just CAN’T. Suga’s cake is buttery and moist and just plain delish!
Mini pies. Apple, pecan, and sweet potato…again, perfect for the fall and in my family, every major holiday calls for sweet potato pie!
Cookies. In addition to frosted sugar cookies, I was introduced to a new favorite: Monrovian Spice Cookies. Two soft gingersnap-like cookies baked with a hint of white pepper and nutmeg held together with a layer of tangy, lemon butter cream…fan-friggin'-tastic.
Frosted Buttermilk Fudge Cake. Moist, chocolate layer cake with rich chocolate icing. A classic.
Handmade Kettle Corn. A nod to my favorite hometown fall festival and the amazing kettle corn I loved as a child.

The aftermath...total. cake. coma.

And for our wedding cake, we chose to have a small cake with two tiers in a combination of our two flavors: carrot cake and butter rum cake with butter cream cheese frosting {ummm, it is soooo NOT low fat or vegan}. I love carrot cake too, but we didn’t want brown cake for our photo op, so we will be cutting into the butter rum cake layer for the photos. I have Suga to thank for that…he reminded me that it’s not cute having photos of us feeding each other brown cake, no matter how yummy!

I’m so excited! One more wedding thing…DONE!