Cake Archives

Posted by Jennifer Miranda, Associate Editor

We've become known for our beautifully designed cakes, all created in-house by our super talented art directors, stylists, food editors, and usually the very talented Wendy Kromer. But ever wonder what happens to those cakes after they've been shot? (Sadly, they don't end up in the editors' stomachs.) Well, wonder no more. They go into our cake archive. Here are some old favorites from previous cake stories that have run in MSW. Though they look good enough to eat, I wouldn't try it—some of them go back years! How they're preserved—well that's for another day. Enjoy!

A Taste For Color: cakes inspired by flavors that are also colors. Here we have a strawberry cake decorated in a Bavarian style with gum-paste fruits.


Pretty Piped Cakes: This seven-tiered traditional wedding cake features intricate buttercream piping over fondant.

Cakes Inspired By Fabric: This cake details a playful calico print.

Calligraphy and Cakes: This one makes a loving sentiment the main decoration.

 

Comments

[Emily @ Peach & Pearl]

Okay, this blows my mind! You keep ALL of them?! I must know how this happens! I think the preservation process definitely merits a future post...

[Allison]

That is crazy! I had no idea you kept them all. I love the closer views. The second photo is the cake that inspired our wedding cake, but the bakery end up being the pits. The cake was hours late, having barely arrived before we did to the reception, it was leaning, and to top it all off it was super crumbly on the inside and impossible to cut neatly! I was so disappointed.

I'm dying to know how you keep the icing preserved... I'm sure there are just forms of some kind underneath all that icing.

[Talley Sue Hohlfeld, Weddings managing editor]

We don't keep them all, actually. But a LOT of them!

The icing is Royal Icing, which will last almost forever. Sugar is an amazing preservative, actually. As long as there's no fat in it (and as long as you don't actually plan to EAT it,LOL!)

What's fun is, that tall white cake is sitting near my desk. And if you stand really close, you can still smell the vanilla, months later.

Oh, and we did actually get to eat a cake once: The month I started, the kitchen folks set out a cheesecake wedding cake we'd shot (one tier a day--oh my goodness, we gained so much weight!).

I can't find that pic on the site right now; it was in the Fall 1999 issue. It was gorgeous, and it was incredibly delicious (there's a recipe in that issue)

(seriously, this is not the place to work if you're perpetually dieting)

[Shira Savada, Martha Stewart Weddings]

It's also important to note that while it's tradition to keep your top tier to eat on your first year anniversary, the reason our cakes last so long isn't because we freeze them, it's because they're made of styrofoam inside and usually covered in fondant. Ever wonder how cakes in bakery windows don't turn into mush after sitting in the suns for weeks? Same little trick...they're called cake "dummies". We also use them when we're dreaming up each cake so we can get the right proportions.

Darn, now I want some cake.

[canada flowers]

ok, looks delicious, but what about the taste
hoping, it was great

[Tania Guahyba]

I Love you Martha , I love your Blog and I loved this cakes. So hummm...rs...
I am brasilian and I am working with candys for special days. Sorry my english.
I pray to God to bless you and all of your staff.
Kisses,
Tânia
PS: Please look my Blog too, and write to me there, ok?
http://sissy-bemcasadosespeciais.blogspot.com

[falana]

Those cakes are gorgeous, but please dispel the myth that dummy cakes save the bride money. This bad advice keeps being spread in articles on how to save money when planning a wedding. It has gone on too long. Dummy cakes take hours of work, just like real wedding cakes, then you still have to pay for the sheet cakes. This makes no sense whatsoever. Publications are doing brides a disservice by telling them to throw good money after bad.