Wedding Desserts and More from Superfine Bakery

I have to admit that today’s feature is a bit of a challenge to write the intro for. It is because I am totally distracted by the deliciously gorgeous desserts across my computer screen right now. Today’s feature is all about cakes, cookies, chocolates, and other yummy treats. I am excited to add  Superfine Bakery to our list of favorite dessert companies. You know how much of a foodie I am, and when there are desserts around, then I am a total dessert foodie. It is hard to resist something that is so lovely in design and presentation, and that the first bite has me wanting another.  Grab your morning coffee, and enjoy a little but of sweetness on this lovely Monday morning.

Urban Meadow Cake

Rocher Crunch Truffles

Mod Cake Trio - Photo Andrea Bricco, cake Superfine Bakery

Superfine Bakery

Buttercream cake, sugar flowers

Emerald Inspired Shoot

Florentine Lace Cookies

Carly Rae Dessert Bar with credit

Naked Cake at The Ebell of LA

Silverleaf Border Cake at ATT Ctr

Superfine Bakery is a cake and confection house located in Los Angeles. Our focus is high-end wedding cakes and dessert tables featuring sweets all made from scratch (even our white chocolate fondant is house made). We’re trained in the European baking tradition, so our treats tent to be less sweet than others who use cake mixes or bulk-bought fillings. Our cakes feature some standard and some not-so-standard flavors like Pink Velvet (made with melted Belgian chocolate), Champagne cake (about four bottles of champagne are used in the batter for a 100-person cake), and Black Onyx Chocolate cake featuring a deep dark Black Onyx cocoa. We also love to soak our cakes with premium alcohols like Bacardi or Grand Marnier. Used lightly they add a nice flavor kick to a cake without overpowering the crumb or the icing flavors. Perfect! 
Our confections tend to be off the beaten path too — we don’t offer cupcakes, macarons, or cake pops. Instead we go for a more sophisticated Foodie-driven table, featuring Splitter Truffles (clusters of chopped almonds and hazelnuts held together with white chocolate), Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies (eat them upsidedown to get the saltiest hit off the flavor), and Rocher crunch chocolate truffles — balls of crunchy chocolate swiped with 24-Karat gold on top.
Are we decadent? Yes. Do we love food? Most definitely! The more we eat and explore, the more we can bring back to the kitchen and to our clients.
Our designs are influenced by architecture, fashion, modern art, and nature. Rather than having a client choose a cake from a book of designs, we prefer to design something uniquely for them, with accents pulled from their event stationery, floral design, venue style, dresses and suits, as well as their personal story. The design process is really fun, with everyone getting involved to create something wonderful for a couple’s Big Day.

Top Five Ways to Save on Wedding Favors

One thing everyone’s going to be secretly exciting for during your wedding? The fun wedding favors, of course! This expense may be daunting (especially if you’re budgeting), but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve got some great tips to help you save some money and still give away some awesome favors.

Start Big

An easy way to have favors set up is to buy one thing in bulk and to separate it into individual gifts. You can do candy, trinkets, anything really. You may be able to save money by buying one big thing in bulk rather than buying pre-packaged. It may take some time, but it’s a labor of love.

Double Up

If you’re doing assigned seating, create a name tag or placeholder that is also a great wedding favor. Use customizable bracelets or make your own trinkets with names on them. Guests will be able to find their seats and love that they get a favor to play with immediately when they sit down.

Reuse What you Can

If you decked out your ceremony hall with flowers, bring them to the reception and cut them down to take home. It’s a beautiful favor that gives your flowers new life with one of your guests. It may be a bit chaotic, but if you have the right team to cut and re-prepare the flowers for distribution it’s a great favor. It will be a reminder of what a good time your guests had at the wedding and fill their house with fresh scents and love.

Ask for Freebies

If you have your heart set on one specific product, email the company and ask for samples, freebies, or a discount. It’s always worth a shot! Explain that you love the product and want to be able to share the product with your wedding guests. Most companies are able to assist, sponsor, or at least offer discounts in special circumstances like weddings and events. Don’t be offended if you don’t get anything off the bat, just keep trying. Remember, any bit helps when you’re on a budget.

Have your Cake (and Eat it Too)

Over order the sweets and send your guests home with some extra dessert! You may be able to strike up a deal with your bakers. See if you can do cookies or brownies or anything at all with your baker as favors. You can sell them on the added publicity as well. Bakers may be able to work with your budget and sweeten the deal for you.

 

Top Three Valentine’s Day Cake Ideas

Valentine’s day is almost here, and I can totally smell the sweetness of the love in the air. But do you know what else I smell? Yummy and delicious treats ready to be indulged by sweet lovers. It is the perfect excuse to have a little something yummy. Love and sweets, a lovely combo! Do you know what other combo I am in love with right now? Weddings and Cakes! Valentine’s day inspired cakes that is. I am obsessed with my lovely friend, Alexis Sturgeon and her designer cakes. So obsessed, that I kind of want to take each and every one of these cakes for myself. Is that bad of me? She is so amazingly talented, she whipped up three amazing Valentine’s Day inspired cakes for us, with each and every one with it’s own style and design. I am in love! See for yourself, and believe me, you will fall in love as well. TRUST ME!

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  • Three Tiered Valentines Day cake: This is an adorable Valentine’s Day wedding cake designed with a simple backyard wedding in mind. Three tiers generously iced blissful buttercream with hearts strung around the top and bottom tiers like music notes. On the middle tier, two lovebirds are featured. One asks the other to be his valentine to capture the essence of this special holiday. This cake was made at Susie Cakes Manhattan Beach.

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  • Cupcake Tower: This is perfect for a Valentine’s Day party. Cupcakes dressed in pink, magenta, rose, and white buttercream. All decorated with Cupid’s sanding sugar. This cupcake tower was made at Susie Cakes Manhattan Beach.

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  • Single Tiered Valentines Day Cake: This beautiful cake was created with a more traditional wedding design in mind. Its sweet and sensational pattern leaves you floating away on a cloud of love. A gorgeous bouquet of flowers tops this cake giving it a fresh organic look. This cake is perfect for a small wedding whose bride is looking to add a rustic or vintage touch to their special day.

 

About Alexis Sturgeon…

Alexis Sturgeon is a cake artist located in Los Angeles, California. Alexis has been designing cakes since 2007. Her specialty is showpiece, wedding and celebration cakes. She spent time working for the Roosevelt Hotel as the Resident Cake Artist,. During her residency, Alexis made cakes for various Hollywood stars and shows such as Gordon Ramsey and Fox’s The Simpsons. Currently, you can find Alexis working for Susiecakes in Manhattan beach where she continues to perfect her craft in the world of beautiful and artistic cakes.

Mini Cheesecakes from Pacific Cheesecake Company

Halfway through the week already? How the week has flown by! It has been so busy here at BHL with a week of gorgeous details, I wanted to take a break, and well, indulge into some sweet goodness.  Starting the day with some incredibly delicious desserts which has my mouth watering. I am talking melt in your mouth oh-so-amazing taste. I am a bit of a dessert snob, so you can only imagine my excitement when I was surrounded by some amazingly scrumptious cakes. Not just any ole cake, but mini cheesecakes!  We’ve got Pacific Cheesecake Company  here to make your day a bit sweeter, and your mouth water.  These cakes are not only beautiful, but they are so delicious that our eyes roll back in our heads. My first bite, lets just say it was not my last. I treated myself to a few more bites. I could not resist! What is so amazing about these cheesecakes is the fact that there are so many flavors to choose from. The list is endless, so whatever your tastebuds want, you can get! Get ready to bite into some heavenly treats. If you are like me and want to reach into the computer screen and grab one of these tasty treats, don’t worry, its normal. Enjoy!

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Steven Freeman from Pacific Cheesecake Company  tells us…

Opened in 2010 by Myself, my brother Mike, and mom Karen. My mom has made cheesecakes practically her whole life, and together we turned it into 100+ flavors and an amazing cheesecake business. We specialize in min cheesecakes in 100+ flavors including popular red velvet, salted caramel, cookies and cream, caramel pecan turtle, sweet lemon basil, and more! Typically for weddings, the couple chooses a few flavors of mini cheesecakes and tier them up with a larger cheesecake on the top for the cake cutting. Some couples also choose to include our mini cheesecakes in a dessert table/ buffet. We offer wedding tastings, where the couple can choose 10 flavors and come in to taste the different flavors.
Daily, we have about 30 flavors available of our mini cheesecakes. Our larger 8″ and 10″ cheesecakes generally are ordered in advance.
Also, we offer savory cheesecakes! Spinach feta, gorgonzola apricot, pancetta date, and more! These are great as an appetizer with bread or crackers, or next to a salad for lunch.

For more information:

Email: info@pacificcheesecake.com

Phone:  (818) 763-1488

 

 

 

A Guide to Wedding Cake Size and Servings

At BHL, we are totally head over heels in love with everything wedding. You can say that we are kind of obsessed.  We are constantly surrounded by  beautiful soirées, gorgeous blooms,  stunning gowns, sweet engagement sessions, elegant styles, adorable couples, and more! Included in this lovely mix of wedding details, we are also a huge fan of wedding cakes. Yep, the wedding cake, which can be the jaw dropping gorgeous detail of the reception. Whether they are tall and extravagant, short and simple, we love them every which way. As much as the design, the style, and intricate details catch our eyes, and we kind of want to never cut into that beautiful sweetness, we are very interested in the logistical details of it all. How much cake will you need for your guests for your wedding day? Lets face it, weddings come with a price, and sometimes a huge price tag, which means you may have to look closely at every detail of the budget. Well, actually it is a good idea to create a budget and determine how much you like to spend for each item. But, more on that later! Getting back to cakes! Wedding cakes that is.  We thought it would be helpful to share this fun infographic on wedding cake sizes and servings. So, looking at your guest list, and those attending your wedding reception, you can determine how much cake you really need. Now, sometimes, you may just want to get a huge cake and “wow” your guests, and just have leftovers. Which is totally fine. However, if you are trying to save on some bucks, then take a look and see how much cake you like to serve to your guests. Ready to dig in and eat some cake? I know we are! We love ourselves some cake.

 

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Mother’s Day Inspired Cakes by Alexis Sturgeon

Good morning lovelies. It is a gorgeous Saturday morning here at BHL. As I look outside the window all I see are blue skies, and the sun shinning away. Oh, I do plan to go out and soak in all the beautiful nature…but first I have a very special Mother’s Day treat for you.  I hope you have had your breakfast (or maybe you are just waking up), and now ready to indulge into some sweet goodness. My gorgeous and very talented gal Alexis from Cakes by Alexis Sturgeon has created a lovely cake for Mother’s Day weekend. At BHL, we are always finding ways to celebrate the special days, and what a better way to celebrate Mommy’s Day than with an amazing and sweet cake which is also a beautiful piece of art.  The inspiration? Besides the obvious, a day dedicated for all the moms, aunts, and grandmothers out there?  Alexis was inspired by a beautiful antique air vent found in Italy which happens to be french inspired from the deco era. This simple, yet pretty cake is the perfect way to shower your mom with all the love she deserves. For the big day, you can show mom how much you love and appreciate her with a  beautiful cake. Mothers of the bride or mothers of the groom play a very special role for the big day, so why not get a cake in their honor? How special will they feel on your important day?  Good idea right? I mean, who can say no to an awe-inspiring cake? I love sweets and I love celebrations, and the combination of the two makes my heart go pitter-patter.  It is the kind of day that makes me want to jump up and down. So, grab your cup of joe, and be ready to be inspired!

 

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french influenced italian art deco
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Photography:  Dalmiro Quiroga 

TLC’s Four Weddings Sneak Peek: January 3rd

Are you ready for tonight’s sneak peak of  “Four Weddings” which airs on TLC? This show features four completely different brides who attend each other’s weddings with one wedding being deemed “the winner” at the end. The brides rate the food, dress, venue, originality, and overall experience of each wedding, except for their own. At the end, all the scores of each bride are tallied, and the one with the highest score wins an all expenses paid honeymoon.

On tonight’s episode the four brides are all from Boston, however they have very different styles. The four brides are:  A organic food loving bride, a bride who loves the sea, a backyard glamour bride,  and a colonial bride. Each of these brides share their unique style and taste on their wedding day. Which bride will be your favorite? Which bride’s detail’s will you like the best? Which dress will stand out the most? What ceremony will be the most touching? Which bride do you think will win? What do I think? You will have to wait until Friday where I will provide a re-cap on this episode. All I can tell you know is that you do not want to miss this episode, there are some very unique details!

TLC’s Four Weddings airs tonight at 9/8c. So set your DVR’s, or watch it live tonight!

For more information on Four Weddings, check out the website: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/four-weddings

 

TLC’s Four Weddings Episode Recap: December 27th

Did you watch last night’s episode of “Four Weddings” on TLCHere is a recap of the episode:

Who are the Brides?: 

TLC's "Four Weddings" Bride.

TLC’s “Four Weddings” Bride.

  • Jenna is a laid back bride who gets married at her childhood church. The church featured tall ceilings, and a modern design. Bridesmaids wore blue dresses and the groomsmen wore blue shirts and black suspenders. Sunflowers tied to the pews brightened the room. This wedding continues at the whaling museum, where the cocktail hour and reception takes place.   A large boat in the middle of the cocktail hour “wows” guests as they walk in. Guests then enter the gallery rooms where large whales are displayed above the reception tables. Sunflowers decorated cupcakes instead of wedding cake were served to all the guests.  Guests dance the night away with Jenna at the center, as she really gets down and shows off her dance moves.
  • Celeste  is a backyard bride who shares her Mexican traditions with all her guests. Her love for family brings her wedding to her mother’s backyard.  Traditional Mexican papel picados (paper banners), handmade by the mother of the bride hung above. Guests enjoyed drinks in their personal mason jars prior to the ceremony. The ceremony space was very casual and simple, with a gazebo, and stacks of hay for guests to sit on. Keeping with the backyard theme, the guest tables all featured two potted plants for centerpieces, and plant wedding favors for each guest. At nightfall, each guest sent a wish lantern into the sky.
  • Cammi is a Harvard Ph.D student for biological sciences, and spends her days in the lab.  She adores her school and so has her wedding set at Harvard University. Harvard’s grand church with high vaulted ceilings, and stunning archways, sets the scene for the ceremony. An ensemble of musicians play music as guests arrive, and then for the grand entrance of the bride.  A very formal affair. The rest of the day is set at a historical inn.  A cocktail hour that features a bacon bar was definitely unique. To find their tables, guests picked up a lantern with a lighted candle inside, which also had their name and table number.  The reception space was formal with red, black, and white colors. There was not only one cake, but three cakes total. One was a four tiered cake with red ribbons wrapped around each tier and red roses. The other two were for the groom and bride. A violin shaped cake for the groom, and the letter “H” for Harvard for the bride.
  • Anjali, a princess bride and her Prince Charming share their wedding at a grand castle. She is a princess with a prince planner. Her prince planned all the details of their storybook wedding.  Guests walk through a red carpet draw bridge and enter the castle. The ceremony is inside a large dark hallway with lit candles, and medieval elements throughout. Very elegant. After the fairytale kiss, guests enjoy cocktail outside with sweeping views of the water. Caricature artists create personal portraits to enjoy and take home. The long hallway which was once the ceremony space was now the grand reception hall. Two long tables were set for guests to sit at. Wish lanterns were lit and sent off into the night sky.

Cool factor:  There was one detail from each wedding that stood out for me. What I loved at Cammi’s wedding was that the centerpieces at each guest table was a bride cage and inside the lyrics and sheet music for their first dance. How cute is that? This was so unique and personal for the couple since the groom is a musician and they share love for music. I have never seen this at any weddings I have attended or planned. I really loved this idea! Celeste’s  dress and veil was beautiful! I thought that the style fit her perfectly. I really loved the long veil. Even though I normally have seen long veils at church weddings, the veil worked for Celeste. It seems effortless, like the veil was meant for that dress and Celeste. Anjali’s cake was phenomenal! It was four cakes all connected by grand staircases, and the middle cake had a water fountain under it! Truly amazing! I thought it was perfect for a princess bride and her fairytale wedding. What I thought was so cute and fun was Jenna’s  first dance with her husband. It started as a sweet slow dance and then the music picked up, and they danced to a choreographed fun dance. The dance was choreographed by Jenna herself, which I thought was super cute. How fun!

Who won? Congrats to Cammi for winning!  She and her husband won an all expenses paid honeymoon to San Miguel, Mexico. I was not surprised about Cammi winning at all, she totally deserved it! Actually, as soon as I watched this wedding, without even seeing the rest, I knew Cammi would win! I loved everything about this wedding. While I can not account for the food since I wasn’t actually there, all the other details – venue, dress, and originality – were owned by Cammi’s wedding, easily exceeding the rest. I thought that every detail of her formal wedding was elegant and chic.  A wedding which I think you would agree would be one to attend and really enjoy. Wonderful job Cammi!  So how did the other three brides score? Amanda came super close (one point) at second, Celeste in third, and Anjali in fourth place. Were you surprised by the results?

Congrats to Cammi for winning!

Congrats to Cammi for winning!

Stay tuned to Bridal Hot List  for more TLC updates on wedding themed shows!

Cutting the Wedding Cake

The wedding cake is the focal point of the reception space, so you really want to make sure it is placed where everyone can see it. However being careful it is not in the way of people walking or obstructing the view of you and your new husband at your table. The cake is itself a wedding decor which adds to the style and design of your wedding. It is something you want everyone to see! Eventually, the cake will need to be cut, but when?

Typically you want to cut the cake about an hour after dinner. If you prefer a different time, then just make sure that you let the staff know. The staff will need to know so they can be ready to cut the pieces for all the guests and have coffee or tea ready to serve, (if you are having a sit down dinner. For buffet type dinner receptions, there may be a coffee/tea station). You also want to capture the moment of cutting the cake, so make sure your photographer and videographer are aware of the time of cake cutting.

The cake is usually cut with a special cake knife which may have your names engraved, or decorated with ribbon or flowers. If not, the venue or caterer can provide one for you. The knife and the cake server can be placed on the cake table, with a small plate, napkin, and two forks. This can all be placed during the reception set up. Now it is time to cut the cake!  Place your hand on the knife, and then your husband places his hand over yours. It is a wonderful moment when you cute the first slice together, and feed each other the slice of cake. This is the first of many sharing moments in your lives.

Enjoy this moment, and be careful of getting cake up your nose! It can happen!

Neon Inspired Wedding Ideas

Did you ever think that hot pink, hot orange or hot green colors can make it into an elegant wedding setting? LVL Weddings & Events together with some incredible vendors pulled this all off beautifully. I had never seen this done, and was absolutely amazed when I saw how pops of hot colors can make a simple setting come to life.

From Kim at LVL Weddings & Events:

When Jennifer from A Girl and A Camera came to me with the idea for a neon stylized wedding shoot, I was thrilled.  I had already been buzzing with ideas for how to incorporate neon into my next event!Our goal was to inspire and  show brides how to incorporate something unique and fun into their wedding without being over the top. We wanted to share with couples you can be fun, bright and energetic but still pull off an elegant wedding. We also incoporated a few fun DIY projects for our brides to play around with at home.

We used the picnic table provided by the venue, we covered it with a textured white linen, provided by Napa Valley Linens, allowing for the neon colors to pop even more. LVL Weddings & Events made the DIY gold glitter garland and the Mr. and Mrs. signs. The Petal Company provided all the amazing floral arrangement in her DIY spray painted neon pink vases. The model, Kendra, got all dolled up by The Makeup Dolls .

Get ready to be neon inspired!


 

Vendor Information:
Coordinator: LVL Weddings & Events

Stationery: Aerielist Press

Photographer: A Girl and A Camera 
Venue: Green Oaks Creek Farm & Retreat
Flowers: The Petal Company
Makeup & Hair: The Makeup Dolls
Cake: Filigree Cakes & Pastries | Facebook
Dress Designer: Haute Bride
Bow Tie: Intwined Bows
Jewelry: Vici
Veil or Hair Accessories: One World Design
Prop or Furniture Rentals: Pleasanton Rentals
Linens: Napa Valley Linens
Model: Kendra Rae