While Sweetness maybe taking a step back next year, we still have plenty of cakes on our plate for this year. And so many beauties, they just have to be shared!!!

Photo by Rebecca Eby - Studio Noveau

This cake is hands down one my favorites. Not only was the cake one of my favorites, but the couples overall styling of their wedding made it all the more fabulous. During my undergrad years (back when I thought I should be a nurse, and then a teacher, but before my pastry years) I was quite fond of Martha Stewart and all her simple, beautifully styled projects. This particular cake was actually inspired by a photo the bride tore out of one of Martha’s magazine. It was a cake I had seen in Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes book and was absolutely drawn to it the moment I bought the book.  The cake was created by Ron Ben Israel, one of the world’s best cake designers. We modified the design to buttercream and made a few more adjustments, L found the most lovely pedestal stand and then L and R added their touches of the antique armoire, gorgeous favors, and perfect “Just Married” draping signage. Doesn’t it look magazine ready?

Photo by Rebecca Eby - Studio Noveau

Photo by Rebecca Eby - Studio Noveau

Photo by Krystal Muellenberg - Krystal Muellenberg Photography

Sweetness has to thank the AMAZING photographers that shot this “magazine ready” cake! L and R had two photographers to capture their day and I am so grateful that they shared these stunning images with me. You really MUST check out both of their websites and blogs – Rebecca Eby of Studio Noveau and Krystal Muellenberg of Krystal Muellenberg Photography. Both extremely talented and lovely to work with as well. I am so excited to have these images as a part of my portfolio! Thanks Rebecca and Krystal!

Over 7 years ago I made a very difficult decison to attend pastry school.  I left behind a city I was comfortable in, a good paying job, and the family that I love.  I was following a dream and hoped that with the right dedication and hard work I would someday be able to open a small bakery or cake shop called “Sweetness.”  Fast forward several years, a few very challenging jobs, and countless numbers of hard work I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to start my dream cake business.  Being granted a dream come true is something I know doesn’t come around very often and for that I am forever grateful.

I am trying to play a bit of catch up these days.  Is it just me or is summer just flying by?  Whew!

While there are many wedding cakes to write posts about, I wanted to share a couple of cute cakes that we’ve done recently.  I like that the cakes are personalized and have meaning for the clients.  I truly appreciate that our clients trust us to share in their events.

This first cake was a collaboration with a lovely mom.  Her daughter, C, graduated from high school and is very much looking forward to her future.  Her mom requested that we steer away from the traditional, school colors/diploma kind of graduation cake and go a unique route.  C is a very talented artist and her mom shared some of her amazing artwork; beautiful illustrations of lilies, cherry blossoms and photos of her and her bike.  C’s mom also wrote me the most touching email including some of C’s favorite things.  After looking over the email and images, we took a quirky approach to include all of C’s favorite things — her coveted sock monkey riding her stylish, white bicycle surrounded by the lovely lilies and the colorful, garden gnome peeking out from behind the floral.  And lastly, gum paste cherry blossoms cascading down the cake tiers.  While an outsider might not be sure what to make of it, it was a one of kind, personalized celebration of C’s interests and talents.  Congratulations Miss C!  Best wishes for your very bright future!!!

I typically don’t share the cakes I do for family and friends on my off days, but this one was too cute not to share.  My darling, Goddaughter Tess was baptized last month and her mama asked me if I could make a cake for the celebration luncheon after the christening.  Tess’ mom has wonderful style and I thought she might appreciate a nod to Tess’ gorgeous nursery.  The gum paste floral have a bit of modern, simple feel to them which I love.   And I certainly think these flowers could make any wedding or birthday cake look fabulous as well!!!  Just a few clusters on the sides of a tiered wedding cake in any color scheme would make for a simple, yet modern cake.

Happy Summer!  I will be back again soon with some lovely, summer wedding cakes!!!

When I met with D and S last year they knew they wanted to incorporate birds into the their cake and I was ecstatic!  I knew their cake would be not only be meaningful to them, but also be visually beautiful and unique.

The very, pale blue buttercream was the perfect hue to display the piped and dried birch branches.  And of course, the show stoppers for this wedding cake were the hand-painted, gum paste birds.  I must admit it was quite intimidating to attempt to create these gorgeous birds for avid bird watchers out of sugar dough.  Each bird D and S chose was more beautiful then the one before.

It should also be noted that the cake fit perfectly into their venue, The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.  While I think this cake could look great anywhere, but the Audubon Center is absolutely the best place in the city to showcase a cake decorated in hand-painted, gum paste birds and dried birch branches.   Don’t you agree?

And last, but certainly not least – the FLAVOR!  Don’t get me wrong, I like all of the flavors created for my clients, but this cake was really a spectacular choice – spice cake with a whipped, orange infused, white chocolate ganache, finished in vanilla buttercream.  The layers of flavor perfectly meddled together for a simple, yet unexpected ending to a perfect meal.

The photography is compliments of the lovely and very talented, Anna Page.  Anna Page Photography is pure perfection.  It is easy to see why her work is being featured all over the place – in magazines and on the very best, wedding blogs.  Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos with Sweetness by Alice, Anna!

Hello All!  Happy Summer…Finally!  We are knee deep in buttercream these days and hardly find time to leave the kitchen, but wanted to share some lovely photos taken by Reminisce Studio by Miranda & Adam.  The talented, husband and wife team, Miranda and Adam were gracious enough to send on these photos from some weddings we did together in the past and I am truly grateful.  As you can easily tell – they are true professionals with a wonderful eye for detail!  Thanks so very much, Miranda and Adam!  Please be sure to check out their website!

During a design meeting with J a few months back, I mentioned to her that her wedding details seemed “Preppy Chic” (in a very good way).  She replied that her sister said the exact same thing.  Many of the wedding details had a classic feel to them; from the navy and kelly green color scheme to the gold framed table numbers.  And then there were some other details that exuded an elegant classiness to them, including paisley patterned invite.  Each and every detail sounded wonderful and well thought out.   I was excited that the cake’s design would fit right in the mix.

The top and bottom tiers were kept quite simple with a small tri-dot detail, allowing the center tier to be the show stopper which included portions of the paisley pattern in a bright, kelly green.  The cake was presented on a matching kelly green cake base which looked so crisp against the white, linen tablecloth.

And let’s not forget about the delicious cake inside this beauty!  Guests at this wedding enjoyed our moist, chocolate cake with chocolate mousse or a lovely, lemon chiffon cake with strawberry buttercream.

This particular reception was held at The Grain Exchange, one of the many wonderful venues where Bartolotta Catering showcases their exquisite food and service.  It is an absolutely gorgeous venue, with the most fantastic natural light in town!  I mention the light because typically when I set up a cake, the lighting not ideal for great pictures and I leave disappointed that I wasn’t able to capture the beauty of the cake.  (Please note that I probably should not blame the lighting because my below average photography skills are probably to blame.)  When I left the Grain Exchange, I was finally I was pleased with my images!  I think it can all be attributed to the lovely light that streamed down from the incredible windows lining the very top of The Grain Exchange.

Many congrats to J and K!

Sometimes the lack of details on a cake can create a simple, understated wedding cake.  This cake is one of those cakes.  There was no piping, not much floral, just a champagne colored ribbon to pull the wedding details together.  I think the simplicity is what makes it so stunning.  I really love the crisp, straight lines of the square tiers and the soft color scheme of the barely, off white buttercream and champagne ribbon.  The beautiful, fuchsia orchids add a pop of color on the cake and complemented perfectly with the floral on the guest’s tables.   The photography is compliments of Dale Mueller – Accent Photography – be sure to check out his website.  His work is fabulous!  Thanks Dale for providing us with the lovely images of the cake!

Floral provided by Fresh Design.

This wedding cake was from a few weeks ago.  It was a wonderful, spring afternoon and evening – a perfect beginning to “wedding season.”  The bride wanted to incorporate some details from her wedding dress, so we had to keep the design a bit of a secret from the groom.  Her dress had gorgeous folds of fabric that crisscrossed across the body and the entire back was lined with small little buttons.  Since the couple was looking for something a bit more modern, we built the tiers extra tall and slim, added some crisscross piping to echo the dress’ detail and included a row of dots going down each side of the cake.  A few orchids were added to soften the overall look.  The cake flavors included were chocolate cake with mocha buttercream and a lovely, vanilla chiffon with milk chocolate mousse both finished in vanilla buttercream.  Congratulations S and J!

Hello all!  Has it seriously been a month since I last posted?  My sincere apologies.  I suppose between spring cleanings, gearing up for the busy wedding season ahead, and some good ol’ laziness blogging has fell to the wayside.

Sweetness by Alice had an adorable birthday party a few weeks back that I wanted to share.  The client requested individual sized cakes for some lovely little ladies celebrating her daughter’s 8th birthday.  Each cake was marked with each girl’s first initial and decorated in the party’s color scheme (fuchsia and chocolate brown).  For a bit of a dramatic effect and in order to have the individual cakes to appear as one for the traditional blowing out of the candles, Sweetness found a regular cupcake tower and personalized it.  We added some shimmering, chocolate brown paper and lined all the edges in a fun, fuchsia pink ribbon.  Each vanilla chiffon cake with vanilla buttercream was presented on a fuchsia cake round.  I love how it all ties together.  Happy 8th Birthday P!

We created this cake a few weeks ago for a surprise 40th birthday party.  The cake was a gift from the lucky lady’s friends.  Isn’t that sweet?  The birthday girl was described as a woman that is so generous, kind, and wonderfully stylish.  She is especially a fan of all things French.  Sweetness was asked to make the cake feminine and elegant with French-inspired scrolled piping.  I think this cake turned out so lovely with the white on white piped details with small touches of pink.  The mixed flowers in various shades of pink give this cake beautiful finishing touch.

As per usual, the camera got left behind and I was only able to capture pictures on my iPhone.   While the photo isn’t ideal, I am glad we were able to capture this beauty.