A note about weddings

So B and I went to a wedding this past weekend.

We didn't just go the wedding; we had been asked to help coordinate the reception for our friends, Gabe and Dorise. So, it was a busy evening for us: setting up the chair covers, tying to gold sashes, making sure the banquet was set up, setting up the cake...

A word about cake...why are they so expensive?

I don't think many people realize what goes into a cake, especially a wedding cake. It takes a lot of energy out of you, a lot of work and time and that is on top of all the normal production that you have for your bakery or pastry shop.

There have been many times where I wished that I had a magic wand to make the cake. Cake decorating can be painstaking, especially if you have much detailed work ahead. Sometime you feel like you are buried in cake as is slowly comes together. Just thinking about the work into making a wedding cake can be stressful.

I think the biggest thing is planning: with cake, having a plan and executing it right plays a huge part in ensuring success. (Something that I learned making my first wedding cake outside of culinary school.)

It is rare that a wedding cake is baked, finished and decorating all in one day. It is often done in stages. Mixing and baking the cake take time, and even more time if you have several tiers to do. (It gets more complex if the tiers are different flavors.) Also calculated in that is the cooling and proper storage. Then you have to make sure that you have enough buttercream, ganache, stabilized cream, or fondant to finish the cake. You also have to make time to cut the cake into layers, put in the filling, and crumb coat it. Then it is on to icing it to have that nice seamless exterior.

The time it takes to decorate can vary depending on the complexity. If you have a whipped cream cake that is dressed with organic rose petals, then the labor is a lot less than if you have hexagon shaped tiers with gumpaste flowers.

On top of all that, you have to make sure that you work cleanly and that you are organized. Because if anything happens to your work: if the cake gets damaged, if the fondant gets niched, if the gumpaste flowers break, you have to stop and fix it or start all over.

And it is frustrating.

Then set up and deliver. This is probably the worst time for anything to happen to a cake. Because you have just finished all that hard work, of making everything look perfect. I think one of the most relieving feelings is when the cake is delivered: it is out of your hands and you've done the best you can. There is nothing more that you can do about it.

But as stressful as it can be, it is rewarding when you see what you have made with your hands and find satisfaction for a job well done.

(Here is my friend Kike, helping me assemble the cake at the wedding. To save some money, the bride and groom decided to have the cake picked up by one of the guest, rather than to have it delivered.)
Note: The cake (with the purple flowers) is from Ambrosia Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco.