Nashville weddings

Wedding Cake Talk + Trends with Signature Cakes by Vicki: Flavors, Grooms, Originality

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

If you've been to a bridal show and stopped by the Signature Cakes by Vicki booth, you'll often hear them say, "Try one, it'll change your life" as they hand you a cupcake-sized sample of their cakes. Now, this is a personal opinion, 100% me, but I think they're right.  Now, I'm not saying this is the only cake I'll ever want to eat but by golly, Vicki's cakes taste like little bites of heaven and they're up there with some of the best cakes I've ever eaten in Nashville (we're REALLY lucky to have such phenomenal bakers).  Vicki is so sweet and such a nice lady who takes pride in her workmanship and baking skills and rightly so. I was more than happy to catch up with Vicki recently to see what's been going on in the world of wedding cakes.

One-on-one with Vicki of Signature Cakes

What were your more popular flavors this year?
Of course it is hard to nail it down because people's taste buds are all different. But the thing I've noticed this year is that everyone loves our VARIETY. For example, if you have a 4 tier cake you may choose up to 3 flavors for NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. As a result, you have a beautiful cake that is centerpiece to your reception and you ALSO have the option of several flavors. I often suggest that the bride and groom instruct the venue/coordinator/caterer to slice up all the flavors and serve them on a table with little cards with the flavor titles on them. People get so excited to choose from a "line-up." So it's like having a dessert bar. It's the best of both worlds--a beautiful cake and a buffet of flavor.

Left: image courtesy of Gregory Byerline

As for our most popular flavors, it depends somewhat on the season. No matter the time of year, everyone seems to love Lindor White Chocolate Truffle Cake, Strawberry Ghirardelli White Chocolate Cake and Caramel Butterscotch Cake. I'd say almost all our cakes include at least one of those flavors. But we have others that are just as popular especially with groom's cakes . . . Mocha Frappaccino Dark Chocolate Cake, Old Fashioned Buttermilk Spice Cake, Almond White Chocolate Cake. In the summer Raspberry White chocolate Cake, Lemon Chiffon Cake and Orange Creamsicles Cake are also very popular. Most importantly we use the freshest most high-quality ingredients possible. Our strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon cakes are made with fresh fruit and juices. Our almond cake has ground up almonds and we always use the finest butters, creams and chocolates. We also offer the service of custom flavors. In fact, that is how we began offering our Buttermilk Spice cake.

On January 16, 2011 at Weddings the Bridal Show, we will introduce a new flavor. It's a secret so you'll have to come to the show to find out what it is. But let me say this, you know that Progesso soup commercial when people are calling Progresso wanting to talk to their Grandmother? Well, you'll be looking around the corner to see if your grandma is hiding in our booth! I pulled this recipe from my mother's cookbook from the 1800's and kicked it up a notch for the 21st century.

What do you think the cake trends will be now that we're going into a new year?

Style trend: This year and into next year, less brides have asked for a "simple and elegant" cake. Brides seem to be much more concerned with uniqueness. Most do not bring a picture of a specific cake to copy, but come with a few pictures and ask me to incorporate different aspects of these cakes to design the cake of their dreams. They want an original design that will be a show stopper that is original to their wedding personality and style.

Style trend: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some brides love soft fabric swagging and ribbons made from fondant that shimmers. Others prefer tailored cutwork, while still others love the realistic look of sugarpaste flowers, fruit and birds. So many, many beautiful ways to express a brides style and originality.

Color trends: Brides seem to have more confidence in their own likes and dislikes these days. Although they are somewhat limited to the colors chosen by designers for their bridal parties, there are so many colors to choose from that I honestly don't see one color standing out more than all the others. That being said, I do think that some of the new purples such as eggplant and lapis are going to be more popular in 2011.

Cake size trends: Of course, we make cakes of all sizes, but most brides want the largest cake they can afford for their size wedding. I made a cake for a bride and groom a couple of weeks ago that were only having 5 guests. They still chose a 2 tier cake with two flavors. Even though their wedding was the smallest I've ever been involved in, the cake was extremely important to the bride. I talked to her Monday after the wedding and she and her groom were so happy they got such a large cake and continued to eat it all weekend until it was gone. Another wedding this year had 350 guests. That cake was seven tiers with 6 flavors. However, the average wedding for us is between 135 to175 guests. So most cakes are 4 tiers with the tiers varying in size and shape.

What sets Signature Cakes apart from other cake vendors?

1. Customer service -- I don't make cakes "on the side." This isn't a part time hobby. I wouldn't rather "be doing" something else. I'm not looking to be on Food Network or win a cake competition. All I want to do is make my clients happy on their wedding day. A wedding cake is just as important to me as it is to the bride and groom, maybe even more important, after all people are going to look at my work and eat my work. I want the bride and groom to be thrilled with their guests' reaction.

Today it seems that companies just don't care about their customers anymore. Once they have your money it's over. Everything you buy has an option to PURCHASE a warranty. What happened to pride in our work? When I promise a bride and groom that I will make their cake, it is a commitment. It's not about the money, it's about my integrity as a person. I promise that I will bring the cake that I've sketched, that it will taste wonderful and it will be on time. I work directly with the wedding coordinator and/or venue. Once you hire me to make your cake, you can relax and move on to something else. I'll take care of everything.

2. Quality - A beautiful cake that also tastes wonderful -- I am not going to bring a cake to your wedding that I wouldn't have for my son's wedding. If I wouldn't be proud to present a edible piece of art for my family and if I wouldn't be proud to watch my family and friends take a bite, I'm not going to bring it to your wedding. A wedding cake should be the best cake you've ever eaten! I guess that combination isn't that easy to find, well at least that's what the reviews say.

3. Reviews, ratings from our clients -- It's easy to have endorsements on your website that have your customers singing your praises. After all, a bakery wouldn't put a bad review on their website, would they? But brides are savvy today. They want referrals and reviews! We highly encourage our perspective clients to check out MarthaStewartWeddings.com and WeddingWire.com to see our reviews. We have 94 reviews with a 5 star rating. We have the highest number of reviews with a 5 star rating not only in Tennessee, but also in Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri and others as well. The great thing about these websites are that they are completely beyond our control. The reviews are completely verified and unbiased.

Which were your favorite grooms cakes to create?
I love it when the groom's cake is a challenge to make and really, really important to the groom. It's also really wonderful when the bride is surprising her groom with a cake that really means a great deal to him. It's tough to choose, but here are four:

November 27th, I did a Semi Tanker truck for the groom. He drives a tanker and the bride works at the dispatch. It was sentimental for both of them and it was really important to them that it was really well done. It was quite a challenge to make the structure work. I had to make the wheels, axles and chasie to support the weight of the tanker and the cab. It took mathematical equations to get it right, but the result was pretty cool. Three of us worked on decorating it for 2 days and that didn't include the baking, icing and making the structure.

Bear Bryants fedora hat . . . Herringbone fabric is really intricate and their are a lot of different variations of the pattern. The groom was very specific about which pattern. I image googled "Bear Bryants hat" and found that he changed hats frequently. But the most difficult part was laying the edible fabric onto the cake fedora hat. It took 2 of us alllllll day to get it right and I actually think I broke out in a cold sweat when we were almost done. I also thanked God when we were finished. We took it and the wedding cake over to Gatlinburg.

I also did an Air Jordan shoe on top of the shoe box recently. We never use krispy treats. Everything we sculpt is out of cake. Both the shoe and the box were really cool. My son came in an actually thought I had a shoe box and a shoe on the counter in the bakery. That was the best compliment I could have received. Of course I said, "Why would there be a shoe in the bakery?"

One of my favorite is the Victorian house we did recently.

Do you think cupcakes and/or cake buffets will remain a trend for a while?
I know we see a lot of cupcakes in magazines, but honestly I don't think they are as popular as people think. Occassionaly I get a call for cupcakes, but not very often. Most brides still want a beautiful wedding cake.

Wedding cakes have been around for a long, long time. Although, if you look up the history of wedding cakes, there are lots of different stories and tales. The first stacked white wedding cake was Britain's Queen Victoria's in 1840. The white icing that they used for the cake is still called "royal icing" today. It seems every bride wants to be a princess and so why wouldn't she want a royal wedding cake? Wedding trends and fads come and go, but certain things stay like white wedding dresses, diamond engagement rings, floral bouquets and wedding cakes. Most brides don't want to look back at their wedding pictures and ask themselves what they were thinking.

Be sure to mention that you're an ABG bride to receive 20% off your cake order from Signature Cakes By Vicki, as well as free delivery!  She has tons more cake pictures from numerous special occassions, and constantly updates her site with pictures so definitely visit Signature Cake By Vicki's website to see if any of her cake designs are for you. 

Cake images courtesy of Signature Cakes by Vicki unless otherwise stated.

About the Author:

Tabitha

Blogging is something I’ve enjoyed doing for years. My interests lie mostly in lifestyle related topics like fashion, style, design, food and weddings. When I heard Ashley was looking to bring on new members to the ABG team, I jumped at the opportunity - I can’t think of a better way to stay involved in weddings than to write about them and to stay in touch with the trends and new ideas. Lucky for me, Ashley likes my blog and trusts my experience to bring me on and so far, it’s been a blast.

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send   Posted on December 15, 2010 | Filed under: Advice & Planning, Cakes & Food, Inspiration & Trends