Within recent years, the wedding industry has seen a growing number of trends steering away from the “traditional wedding cake”. Everything from colorful wedding cakes, cupcake towers, cake pops, and dessert tables began to replace the standard wedding cake and started to become normal substitutes. As the substitutes gained popularity, the element of surprise began to fade; while still being delicious, the cupcake towers and dessert tables no longer wowed guests, and for some almost became an expected replacement.

In search for new and different alternatives, the wedding cake industry began to see an increasing number of request for the traditional wedding cake in place of what had become traditional substitutes. Surprising guests young and old with the simplicity, grace, and beauty that is the heart of tradition, the wedding cake industry had finally come full circle.

However, what classifies a cake as “traditional” you may ask. Well, at The Baking Institute, tradition means clean lines, simple designs, all monotone white or ivory color, with small touches of crystal or sugar flowers to match. This makes the wedding cake timeless, beautiful, and the perfect embellishment to an already unforgettable event.

Bright colors, out-of-box designs, cupcake towers, and even dessert tables, while all beautiful can now just be an addition, as the glamour and beauty of a traditional white wedding cake can not only stand alone, but has proven to stand the test of time.

Here at The Baking Institute we pride ourselves in customer satisfaction.  We take every review whole heartedly and are always striving to improve on any feedback we receive.  Most importantly, we continue to try and uphold our standards so that we remain deserving of all of our positive reviews.  That is why we are very proud to be known as one of the Top Bakeries for wedding cakes in the Chicagoland area.

We want to give a huge thank you to Brides Chicago for noticing all our hard work and mentioning us in their article!

http://www.brides.com/blogs/aisle-say/2015/07/chicago-most-popular-wedding-cakes-local-brides.html

Please check us out on the article, as well as always feel free to follow-us on facebook, twitter, pinterest, and even wedding wire!

With fall just around the corner, there is no better time than now to get into the spirit of the season. Incorporating fall colors into your next big event or wedding is a simple and beautiful way to feel that “fall glow”. Allow colors such as lush orange, red, burgundy, and gold to stand out through elegant table linens, bright floral centerpieces, and most importantly, a remarkable cake that ties everything together.

At The Baking Institute, we specialize in bringing this remarkable season to life. Using fondant to create decorations such as bright color leaves, flowers, pumpkins, and branch-like designs allows us to really add that extra fall touch to your custom designed cake. More importantly, we can also bring the taste of fall to the cake itself through flavors such as apple, cinnamon, and pumpkin. So this fall, as the leaves begin to change colors on the trees and the summer heat fades into beautiful cool days and nights, allow us to indulge your sense and bring the sights, smells, and tastes of fall to your next cake and event.

Fondant – a familiar word with a bad reputation; but what really is fondant?  The textbook definition is “a thick paste made of sugar and water and often flavored or colored, used in the making of candy and the icing and decoration of cakes.”  Unfortunately, when brides think “fondant” that is not the definition that comes to mind. Instead, they think “$” signs and chewy, bad flavor and of course the dreaded question, “is that in the budget?”.

Here at the Baking Institute, we have become very familiar with the worries and concerns that come to mind when “fondant” is brought up as a decorating technique.  However, we also know its benefits and value.  To us, fondant does not have a “bad reputation”, it has a great one.  When our Chefs think “fondant” they think elegance, elaborate details, and upscale glamour.  Why? Because fondant allows us to transform a cake from typical to memorable.

Fondant can be used and manipulated in variety of ways.  It allows for the creation of smooth, elegant surfaces and bright custom-matched colors that buttercream does not.  It also allows for exquisite décor such as draping, elaborate pintuck designs, ribbon work, and designer bows.  Most importantly, it helps transform the surfaces of a cake and gives it that extra element of “shine”.

At The Baking Institute, we love working with fondant, but we also understand that your cake should taste even better than it looks.  That is why we make sure that our fondant recipe creates a soft, delicious flavor that does not need to be “pealed off” and instead can be enjoyed with the rest of the cake.   If you still have concerns or prefer buttercream to fondant, perhaps consider using fondant for a portion of the cake design, as opposed to all of it.  With its diversity capabilities, your imagination is the limit!

So next time you are browsing our website or pinterest for your next cake design idea, don’t shy away from fondant, Embrace it!  Schedule a design consultation with us and allow us to use fondant to transform your vision into a work of art!

Regardless of what the occasion is, a cake is always a perfect, delicious accessory to the decor of any event.  Whether it is a birthday party, wedding, or baby shower, each event has its own unique style and color scheme.  Designing a cake to go with such an event does not have to be some difficult or stressful, elaborate scheme. Instead, an elegant white or ivory cake with a simply pop of color would lend itself as the perfect masterpiece.  Details of color go a long way in creating a look that speaks to the “vision” while keeping ones own unique style in mind. The Baking Institute team can incorporate color through ribbon work, fondant, and sugar flowers.  Additional elements of color can also be added, such as a customized cake topper or fresh florals (of course both recommended to be placed on by experienced professionals).  So whatever your next event may be, ask yourself what is your color scheme and keep it in mind when designing your cake.  Remember, it doesn’t have to be complicated to be beautiful.

Here at The Baking Institute, Halloween is one of our most favorite times of the year.  We love to get creative and make everything from Halloween cookies to spookishly beautiful wedding cakes.  As with many other holidays, Halloween allows us to feel the excitement and participate in the joy and creativity that sends us back into our childhoods.  Bright and bold colors of orange, black, red, and purple guide our imaginations as we design holiday festive delights for everyone to enjoy.   This Halloween, like many others, our professional team of bakers invite you to challenge your creativity and come sample some of our many seasonal flavors, such as pumpkin and carmel apple.  Set-up a tasting free consultation for your Halloween events today or call us to place your orders for some goolishy delicious treats that will have your taste buds screaming in delight.

When it comes to cake, each venue has the ability to offer a variety of serving options to please all different taste buds and styles.  Here are some of the options that we at the Baking Institute know are available to most of our clients and recommend you to speak to your venue about.

Option 1 – Serving the same cake as a sit down course to all guests

With this option, your cake will be served as the final course in a sit-down meal to all the guests.   If you have only 2-3 courses total, most locations will require you to cut your cake following the grand entrance so that they have time to bring it into the back, cut, plate, and serve.  Keep in mind that your guests will not see the cutting process.  However, if you prefer not to cut your cake immediately, we recommend a few different options.
A) Purchase additional sheet cakes so that the wedding cake is “extra cake” or is not for the full guest count, and therefor will take less time to cut.
B) Prolong your dinner by adding more courses or adding dancing between courses, allowing you to cut the cake after the 2nd, or even 3rd, course.

Option 2 – Serving a choice of cakes as a sit down course to all guests

This option is similar to Option 1, where you may be required to cut your cake earlier in the evening.  However, the difference here is that instead of the same flavor for all guests, you are offering your guests a choice.   In order to offer a choice, The Baking Institute recommends ordering about 20-30% more of each flavor cake than expected guest count, and only sticking to two flavors total.  Then, talk to your venue about having the servers ask each guest which they would like – for example – chocolate or vanilla?  Keep in mind that if you do not arrange this with your venue in advance, servers may simply hand out cake without asking flavor preferences.  The same situation goes for not ordering over guest count; this could cause one flavor to run out more quickly than another and only a portion of the guests actually getting a choice.

Option 3 – Serving your cake as a sweet table, instead of a course

With this option, your guests are immediately guaranteed variety and choices. We recommend you choose about 3 different cake options and set them out about 30 min to 1 hour after dinner, on a sweet table along with some coffee and tea.  Your guests would already have had time to digest their dinner and, after some dancing, are bound to be more hungry for a dessert break.  However, keep in mind that some guests do leave early, so serving the cake “buffet style” may cause some guests to not get cake at all.   We also recommend speaking to your venue about some possible to-go boxes, as we have found that there is more uneaten, but already cut, cake at the end of the night when using this serving method.

Option 4 – It doesn’t all have to be about the cake

Not everyone prefers cake as their sweet of choice.  Some prefer a variety of pastries, tortes, or cookies to take the place of  cakes.   We always invite our clients to ask us about our many different alternative options, or additional options.  You can order a sweet table in lieu of a wedding cake, or better yet, in addition to one!   Especially with Option 3, it is always nice to expend the dessert table with some of our fine pastry selections.  Or, if you are not a cake person at all, consider serving your guests cupcakes and ordering a smaller cutting cake for yourself!

Whatever option you choose, let it represent you as a person and the event that you planned for your guests.  And remember, no matter what serving style you choose, your guests will always be happy with any of our delicious Baking Institute products!