Get Your Perfect Wedding Cake in San Francisco
San Francisco is full of sweets, with pastry shops galore and dessert-laden coffee shops. Finding a baker for your Bay Area wedding should not only be fun, it should be a piece of cake. Since food trends start on the West Coast and head East, no matter what confection you choose, you’ll be ahead of the game.
Your wedding cake baker search should start 6 months before your wedding date, even earlier if possible. Generally, there are two routes to follow: Either have your caterer supply the cake or search for a baker. Caterers will offer cake as a package deal, and you’ll probably save money. The reason couples most often opt for the second choice is because they’d like something more unique than what their caterer offers.
When looking for your wedding cake baker in San Francisco, ask all vendors, friends and relatives, and your own taste buds. If you loved a cake you had at a restaurant, ask who their baker is. Ditto any favorite pastry shops. Expect to pay anywhere from $450 to $1,000 (for 100 guests), based on the baker and your needs. Should you have a particular cake design in mind, cut out a picture and take it with you when interviewing. Write down any flavors you love, too.
Not that you have to know what you want. “A good baker should show you three cakes,” says David Brian Sanders, L.A.-based chef. “What’s hot, what’s traditional, and what’s his personal favorite.”
Currently, there are several popular cake options. A main cake along with cupcakes is an extremely trendy idea, and the cupcakes don’t have to be the same flavor. Carrot cake has made a big comeback, and is especially popular when cupcakes of another flavor are served. Remember, many people are allergic to nuts, so if your cake choice is crunchy, offer an additional, nut-free concoction. Cupcakes can also be tiered and served as the main cake, and given to guests as favors.
Groom cakes are still popular for San Francisco weddings; the difference today is that they are any flavor you and your groom desire, and served at the same time as the main cake. While groom cakes used to be in the shape of sports cars and football helmets, the design has moved into the more traditional cake shape fray.
A word of the wise from David Brian Sanders: If you choose a red velvet cake or blue velvet cake, know that the food coloring may show up in your mouth and pose a photo-op problem. Be sure to check a mirror before anyone snaps away.
To keep your wedding cake budget down, the wisest option is to serve one cake. You can make the tiers small, and have a sheet cake in the kitchen, which the caterers will serve to guests. Cakes can replace the dessert course of your meal too. Some couples opt for a main cake, and then a dessert bar with sundaes and banana splits. Kids love this, and the sweets aren’t automatically served to each guest.
Once you’re settled on your cake baker, find out the deposit, and make sure it’s in the contract. The baker will show up on the day of your wedding and store the cake (before your ceremony, he’ll inspect storage facilities). No matter the weather, the cake should be taken out about 20 minutes prior to cutting and stored soon after people have been served.
Follow these guidelines, and the perfect baker will go ahead and cake your day.
-David Toussaint