Let them eat cake!

A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I met with Deerpark Restaurant to discuss our menu for the reception. They brought out different samples of canapes, appetizers, entrees, and sides we had chosen to try from their menu, and we got to eat our fill! It was all so delicious, that it was pretty difficult to choose which dishes we liked best, but what was most difficult was figuring out which cake we favored the most.

There were samples of white cake, chocolate cake, almond cake...cake with strawberry filling, ganache filling, raspberry filling. Cake with fondant and buttercream. The choices were pretty limitless, what with all the possible combinations! After the first round of cakes, we were lucky enough to get to try more combos, and after much deliberation, and with the help of Rachel and her fiance Patrick, we finally came to a decision. I'm not a huge fan of fondant -- it's just too sticky and waxy-tasting to me, so a rich, buttercream icing was a no-brainer. However, it's surprisingly difficult to choose between a variety of cakes and fillings. With all the tasting, your palette can get a bit confused. Not to mention, your stomach starts filling up soon after even a few bites of the sweet samples -- at least for me! But, we eventually decided on two types: chocolate cake with ganache filling and buttercream icing, because after all, who doesn't like chocolate? Or ganache for that matter? And the second: almond cake with raspberry filling and buttercream icing. A heavenly combination!

With the tasting of the cakes aside (sniff), it was time to think of a design for the cake itself. This was a bit tougher. I never had premonitions of cakes floating through my head, so I had to go out in search of cake designs I really liked. Even though the design will be more or less undecipherable once it has been cut into many pieces, the cake will be sitting out for all to see during the reception dinner, with everyone's eyes gravitating towards it in anticipation of a mouthful. So, I did a little research, and found some cakes I really enjoyed. (Hint, I saved my favorite for last!)

I like the vine-like decorations spiraling down from the last tier...ever-so-haphazardly pretty!

I love how the cake seems to have an uneven texture about it -- it's slightly rough, but I like the un-perfect look. Plus, the strawberries give a refreshing contrast to the white cake.

Not sure if these are real flowers or not, but I sure do find them pretty. I like how they're kind of cascading down the side. I definitely want some flowers incorporated into our cake.

This pattern is a bit too prim and proper for my taste, but I love the old-fashioned black and white design....very vintage yet placed as a border makes it look more modern.

A little too uniform, however I do like the swirly vines in the lavender color.

Very simple, yet elegant. And again, I like the texture to the cake.

I just love this set-up! It's so unique. It's the perfect balance of rustic elegance. May just have to steal this idea!

I love how the viny branches wrap around the tiers here.

This last photo is very similar to what I envision our cake to look like. I like the square cakes rather than the traditional circular style, and instead of being stacked perfectly symmetrical, I want our tiers to be slightly turned with each new cake tier, so there is a bit of a fluid motion.

All this talk about cake, I may just have to scour the kitchen in search of a sweet treat!!