The Good Stuff
When you’re making a champagne-infused cake like this Cocoa & Fig creation, rest assured no guest will be disappointed. In addition to fresh flavors, the bakery focuses on modern cake designs. “A statement tier can layer different design elements for a more dramatic look,” says co-owner Laurie Lin. Complementing the brushed watercolor design of the top and bottom tiers and a lush sugar flower, the middle tier adds height and interest, with a clean, crisp trellis pattern.
All About That Base
Enticing Icing owner and cake designer Heather Jurisch displays her skills with this glam goddess. Traditional white tiers featuring the bakery’s signature marshmallow buttercream are balanced by a mesmerizing array of ruffles in a rosette pattern across the base. Flawless gold accents lead your eyes up the cake before they arrive at the hand-made sugar flower topper.
Expect the Unexpected
When you’ve been decorating cakes for 25 years, you’ve seen, done and tasted it all. Robyn Hanisch of Denny’s 5th Avenue Bakery calls on her experience to create pretty little numbers like this. Crisp lines and a natural-gorgeous edible flower are the perfect partners to a shimmering, textured statement tier. Using buttercream frosting and wafer paper, Hanisch created an out-of-the-box tier that looks like woven ribbons. “I try to create the unexpected,” she says.
Detail Work
Personal touches meet timeless style in this four-tier beauty. Covered with hand-cut fondant ruffles, shimmering edible gold and delicate handcrafted flowers, this confection will wow decades from now. “Our specialty is in highly detailed statement tiers,” says Lauren Potter, lead cake designer at Nadia Cakes. “It allows us to get creative and put those small touches on a cake that people don’t typically think of,”
Couture Creation
A cake inspired by a couture wedding gown? Count us in. “We always strive to allow the statement tier to be the showpiece of the cake, keeping the other details subtle, complementing the tier without overpowering it,” says Sweet Retreat owner Stephanie Kissner. This masterpiece comes complete with petite edible flowers, decadent vanilla buttercream frosting topped with fondant and, of course, the skirt that will set all your guests’ hearts aflutter.
Go ahead; judge a cake by what’s on the outside. With one tier different from the rest, these creative confections have a flair for the dramatic.
Published:
Spring/Summer 2017
Season:
spring
summer
