Fun with Fondant

We’ve had a particularly rough experience while attempting to choose our baker for the wedding cake. I’ve heard more than one horror story about recent wedding cake disasters from ones that are not structurally sound to no cake being delivered whatsoever.

As you may have read in my "Cake Tastings are a Myth" post, the first place I called to schedule a tasting had no idea what I was referring to. Since then, I have successfully tried cake from three different bakers. The first could make the kind of cake I was envisioning, and she had very good samples of cakes, fillings and frostings with an impressive presentation. However, she was quite pricey, and she didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the project. So, on to the next.

The second baker we sought out was one we had met at the wedding fair. She was out of samples that day, but mom and I had stopped by her store and we liked the prices very much. I didn’t see a lot of cakes in the style I preferred, but there were a few I liked, and for the price I thought it would be worth a try.

So, I called her to make an appointment for a cake tasting. She told me over that phone that she would be in the office all day the coming Saturday, so just stop in anytime to have a tasting. She always has white cake to try, otherwise we could request a special flavor and try it another time.
When we arrived that Saturday, I introduced myself and told her we had spoken on the phone earlier in the week about a cake tasting. She told me that she doesn’t normally have cake to offer those who do not make an appointment. Rather than arguing, I decided to have a look at her photo albums of past cakes. Page after page of traditional cake with nothing but white frosting. Uh-oh.

The baker went to get some cake to defrost for us, and when she returned, I showed her the sketch of what I’m envisioning for my dream wedding cake. She made a face and said "Oh, somebody’s been watching that show on Thursday nights!" (we assume she was referring to "Ace of Cakes") and continued to insinuate that cakes like this don’t exist around here. I thought this was a little odd, as it was a product of my meeting with the previous baker, who has photos of cakes she has created like this for past weddings. My response was to inform her that I do not have cable.

She then went on to tell us that, although she offers a few specialty flavors, she prefers not to make them because "no one will like them anyway...people only want white and chocolate." Nice of her to tell me what me and my guests will enjoy. Then, she went on to insult my guests further by saying that even if we send out RSVP cards, we will ultimately not get much of a response, therefore it’s hard to ever get an accurate number of guests, better to have more cake just in case someone unexpected shows up. (Please help me prove her wrong...be a good guest and RSVP.)

The conversation had taken quite a ridiculous turn by that time, and mom and I had heard enough. Later mom realized that this was the woman who mentioned that fondant (a frosting made of sugar, corn syrup, water and gelatin that gives the cake that smooth, porcelain finish) does not taste good, and therefore she would not consider making a cake using it as the frosting. I have had this misconception from early on, and now that I know a little more about the source, I’m not willing to take it seriously.


Onto bakery #3, HyVee. We set up an appointment for last Saturday. We went in, asked for the person we were scheduled to meet with, got a worried look from the employee we were speaking to, and told that "she wasn’t in yet." A few moments later, a very sheepish looking manager came out to inform us that she was not working today. He admitted that it was a terrible mix-up and that it was most likely his fault, since she usually works on Saturdays and he switched the schedule this week. He went on to offer their photo albums to look through, as well as their catering guide. He also made a list of several flavors to try, and rescheduled our appointment for the following afternoon. He apologized again, and as we were leaving he said "I hope this wasn’t too much of an inconvenience, did you have to travel far?"

To which mom replied "Well, we’re from Kansas City." The manager looked horrified and she immediately told him she was kidding and he looked so relived. It was hilarious. The poor guy felt so bad already. We just wanted him to know that we had a sense of humor about the whole thing. The best thing about the mix-up was that mom and I were left alone with the books and price list. This way we were able to calculate the most inexpensive way to feed everyone and still get me the cake of my dreams.

The next day we went in for our appointment, and the person we were there to meet was actually there! She took us to look over possible design ideas, and I showed her my sketch. She loved it! She seemed so excited to create it, as she’s never really done anything like it in the past. She also referenced to "Ace of Cakes" but, she actually called the show by name and mentioned how much she liked to watch the way they create their cakes.
I showed her my color swatches, and she complimented those as well. She took a look at samples cakes I had cut from wedding magazines that I brought with me in my inspiration notebook. She loved them, and everything else about my notebook. She asked to look through it, while mom and I looked at the HyVee sample books. She complimented my taste in flowers and we talked about my wedding dress. It was a great experience. Not to mention that we got 5 different cake flavors to try. She’s even interested in doing some experimental flavors based on the pink champagne flavored cake, so that the color of the cake matches our wedding color scheme. (Key Lime or Orange Champagne, anyone?) I can order any flavor of cake I can dream of, give them a week, and go pick up a tasting of it for free!

The best part of the whole thing; mom and I mentioned how much we’d like to try fondant frosting, and she went to the kitchen right away and got us a sample bag. We actually got to eat fondant (and honestly, I like it better than other frostings)! Even mom, who loves the traditional buttercream, enjoyed the fondant. We will definitely have some of each at the wedding, so everyone can get the kind of frosting they like. It was just so wonderful to know that it tastes good.

Needless to say, we booked HyVee to make the wedding cake, and to handle the flowers. We loved the girls in the floral department as well! It’s so nice to have that taken care of. *Sign of relief*