The Best Cake for Your Special Day

Airbrushing: the process of using a small air pump and pressurized air to spray a fine mist of coloring, usually used for gradual shading.

2-D Cake: a flat cake that has subtle dimension to represent a particular object.

3-D Cake: a stacked constructed cake that is carved and sculpted to the actual shape of a real object.

3-D Figure: a 3-dimensional item made from a mold or shaped by hand. It is used mostly for a focal point on top of a cake. These are usually made of a medium that can be eaten but can sometimes have a non-edible item inside it for structure and support.

Accent Flower: a single flower used as the main focal point on a cake.

Basket Weave: a technique where it gives the illusion that the icing pattern is continuously woven and intertwined both vertical and horizontal.

Bow (dressmaker, loopy): a dressmaker bow is a bow that has 2 to 4 large wider loops and two tails or streamers. A loopy bow is a puffy pom shaped rounded bow constructed with numerous short bow loops.

Buttercream: a creamy smooth frosting that is mainly fat-based whether it be butter or shortening. A good quality buttercream like ours will melt in your mouth like chocolate and will never leave a greasy film on the roof of your mouth.

Cake Board: a cardboard, foam core or plywood board that is covered with a food grade covering for displaying your finished cake on. On higher end cakes these can then be covered in an edible medium.

Cake Lace: a gelatin-based paste that is applied in a designed silicone mat and baked to set. Cake lace is edible gorgeous lace that can look supper intricate and delicate like real lace.

Cake Pops: regular baked cake that is processed to the consistency of dough then shaped or rolled into balls. It is then placed on a stick (creating a “pop” or lollipop effect) it is then dipped in melted chocolate to give it a smooth satin finish.

Chevron: a pattern with an inverted V in repetition so that it forms a seamless uninterrupted zigzag line.

Cookie Tart: a dessert made with two or more large stacked cookie layers covered with dollops of frosting. These are usually cut in the shape of numbers or letters. Then decorated with collective colored schemed small items and sweets like, fruit, candy, macarons, meringue drops and sometimes flowers.

Corneli Lace: a piped icing technique of small squiggly lines. When done properly, the lines will never meet or cross.

Cupcake Tower: a cupcake tiered stand consisting of several layers and levels of plates starting with the largest on the bottom and graduating smaller in size as you go up with a center constructed pole for support.

Damask: a continuous repeated intricate pattern that is commonly found in the textile industry. It is usually botanical or geometric based.

Dots (polka dots, swiss dots): polka dots are larger round cut circles, usually used to help fill in large cake surfaces. Swiss dots are very small piped raised dots in a consistent repeated pattern. Another technique inspired by the textile industry.

Double Barrel: a cake tier that is much taller than an average cake. Will usually have 3 to 5 cake layers of the same diameter that has extra board and supports in the middle, then iced and finished with the allusion as if it is one extra tall cake.

Edible Image: a picture or image that is printed on an edible sugar sheet with specialized printers that hold edible food grade ink.

Fantasy Flower: a whimsical style flower that is not botanically correct.

Favors: a small individually wrapped or presented token or gift given to each guest at a wedding. Edible favors could be decorated cookies, petite-fours, cake pops, macarons, cupcakes or chocolate dipped strawberries. Some have even done a candy or sweet bar with provided boxes or bags where the guests can pick a few items to take home with them.

Filling: a specialty flavoring added between layers of cake. Some of our most popular fillings are caramel, cookie butter, cinnamon cream cheese, ganache, fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Fleur-de-lis: a French motif consisting of a stylized lily composed of three petals bound together near their bases. This symbol in the US is associated with the Boy Scouts or the New Orleans Saints.

Fondant: a pliable sugar paste made of sugar, water, corn syrup and gelatin. Fondant is sweet and is slightly elastic in nature. It can be rolled thin and placed over a frosted cake to give it a satin finish, or it can be molded, shaped, or textured by hand much like play dough.

Ganache: a very rich mixture of melted sweet chocolate and heavy cream that is then beaten until glossy and smooth. Is generally used for filling in cakes and truffles or can be poured over the top surface of a cake for a special effect then allowing it to slightly drip down the sides.

Gelatin: a colorless tasteless protein made from collagen. When unaltered it is transparent and can be used for elements like fairy wings, insect wings or windows in a gingerbread house. It is used as a thickening agent, or an ingredient in gum paste or fondant.

Grooms Cake: grooms’ cakes started out a tradition more in the southern states but have grown more in popularity and are now done everywhere. It is usually a surprise for the groom from the bride. They can be presented at the wedding or at the rehearsal dinner. They can be very unique and custom and usually represent a personal interest of the groom.

Gumpaste: a pliable sugar paste with an added gum agent for stiffening so it will harden when dry. Gumpaste can be rolled very, very thin. Most common it is rolled and cut with petal & leaf-cutters and the components are then constructed with florist wires to make realistic looking flowers. 

Inscription: short message or writing on a cake.

Isomalt: a stable sugar substitute that is made from beet sugar. It has little to no effect on blood sugar levels and does not stimulate the release of insulin. It also does not produce tooth decay. It is combined with water and boiled to make hard clear candies much like blown sugar. Advantage to isomalt in the cake world it withstands much better under humidity compared to sugar.

Lace Draping: lace looking elements that are produced by pressing fondant into pliable lace textured silicone molds then applied to the cake.

Lambeth: a classic vintage ornate European piping technique that is achieved by over piping layer over layer of scrolls, shells and garlands creating intricate precision and depth. Lambeth is regarded as the most skilled technique in cake decorating. Because of the amount of time it takes, it is reserved more often to score higher points in cake decorating competitions.

Layer: the thickness of one cake from one cake pan. You can have two or more layers of cake in each tier of cake. Each layer of cake will be separated with a layer of frosting or filling.

Macarons: a meringue and almond flour-based French cookie known for its vibrant colors. With almond flour costing $7.00 to $15.00 a pound, macarons are considered one of the most costly and hardest cookies to perfect.

Marble: when two or more flavors or colors are swirled together.

Meringue: a dessert made of egg whites and sugar that is whipped till fluffy and stiff then baked. Most often used as a topping on a pie. Bakers trick, meringue is done when you can invert the bowl and the meringue stays in place.

Monogram: a motif consisting of two or more alphabetic letters combined or interlaced together. Commonly is made of an individual or couple's initials.

Naked Cake: a cake with no frosting on the outside. Most commonly decorated with fresh fruit or flowers then dusted with powder sugar.

Offset: when the cake tiers are not symmetrically stacked leaving variation wider on one side.

Ombre: to shade or blend one color tint, tone or hue to another gradiating from dark to light.

Pearl Dust: an edible powder that when brushed on or applied adds an iridescent luster finish made to resemble mother-of-pearl. 

Pearl: smooth edible hard candy bead made to look like real pearls, they can be made in many different colors and sizes.

Petite-Fours: a small dainty bite-sized French confection. We encase ours in chocolate.

Piping: a decorative technique done with frosting achieved by using a decorating bag applying various pressure through metal tips and nozzles of various grooves that manipulates the shape of the frosting.

Plateau: a metallic plated cake stand to display a cake on that has a hammered embossed design on the side, usually in a floral and leaf motif.

Poured Sugar: sugar and water that is cooked and boiled using a candy thermometer to 317 degrees. When transparent can be used to represent glass, ice, windows, water etc. When partially cooled, it can be stretched and pulled into ribbons or blown into bubbles and shapes with an air pump.

Quilting: a technique achieved with a scored matt pressed against the cake surface to impression a diamond pattern that has a slight pillowing effect and depth. Most commonly, single pearls are placed at the cross-sections.

Reveal Cake: When the cake batter is colored pink or blue, then baked and frosted as usual so that when cut will reveal the sex of the expected baby.

Rhinestones: an imitation diamond or gem made from quartz stone or crystal glass. They are used for decoration only and cannot be eaten so must be removed before serving.

Royal Icing: a frosting made of powder sugar and egg whites or meringue powder. It is piped when fresh but dries hard to hold and preserve intricate designs on cake or can be piped into 2-dimensional flowers.

Sash: a long narrow strip that cascades from a side to the opposing side as it trails down. This material look can be achieved by gathering thinly rolled fondant.

Semi-naked: A cake that has only a very thin layer of frosting so that the cake can still be seen through the icing.

Smash Cake: a small single serve cake that is made for a baby to destroy for picture opportunities at its first birthday.

Sotas: a technique done with thinned icing that is piped with a small smooth tip when piping with higher pressure, the icing curls in a random pattern overlapping on itself creating an overall lacy texture.

Spray: a small grouping or cascade of flowers consisting of larger flowers, smaller filler flowers and leaves.

Stenciling: a technique used for reproducing a design by applying color through a precut medium allowing color to only pass through the precut areas leaving the pattern wanted.

Stress-Free Support: this is the structure and support system we use for all our tiered cakes. It is made of stainless-steel discs with threaded bolts and legs that adjust to the exact height of the cake. Stable enough that it will allow us to transport cakes fully stacked. These are pricey and require a security deposit and must be returned to us after your event.

Stucco: an overall rustic texture on a cake achieved by adding small amounts of frosting at a time, swirling in a wispy motion as applying.

Tasting: a small sample of various cake and filling flavors before you place your order so that a bride and groom can choose what they want for their wedding cake. These are done by appointment only.

Tier: refers to each level of a cake at the point where it has its own structure of support or is a different or receding size. There can be two or more layers of cake in each tier of cake.

Topsy Turvey: a style of cake that is cut and constructed to where it gives the illusion it is teetering or unbalanced. Each individual tier will have one side higher than the other. Some call it an Alice in Wonderland cake.