Visions of wedding cakes

I dreamt about wedding cakes last night. Luckily, I think yesterday's cake tasting for my cousin's wedding is the last one. We went to four places, including two places in San Jose that just focus on wedding cakes; a local wedding cake designer whose space doubles as a cupcake shop; and a bakery/deli that happens to do wedding cakes, too.

Though you might think the places that just focus on the wedding cakes would have the edge, I don't really think that is the case. At both places we went to that just do wedding cakes, we found the cake dry and the fillings not very flavorful. At those places, there were long lists of cake varieties and fillings, but pretty much everything is an "upgrade." So even if the base price for the cake is $500, by the end it goes up a few hundred dollars. Want fresh strawberries? That will be $1 a person, but for $25 per layer you can get strawberry gel. Hmmm, no thanks. I think these places focus more on the decorating than on the flavor. The cost was also $200-300 more than we were quoted at the two places that actually had good-tasting cakes.

There is something to be said for a smaller shop where the decorater and the baker are one in the same because I think they will strive for the best of both - a good-tasting and good-looking cake. My cousin has the final say on her cake, but I think we are looking at a three-layered cake with chocolate cake and kahlua hazelnut cream layer, a layer of French vanilla and strawberry buttercream, and a to-be-decided layer from the local bakery that delivers. As for the other bakery with the amazing buttercream made with pastry cream, my cousin couldn't find a place with a refrigerated that would deliver so it's kinda out of the runnings. My mom and I, however, do have plans to order a cake from that place for my cousin's bridal shower since we would easily be able to transport a smaller cake by car!