IBIE - 2019 Show Daily, Monday - 14

Finding a balance in cakes
Decorators aim for both fun and nutrious designs

N

ovelty cake flavors are
often sought after for
the nostalgic, feel-good
sentiments they provide. That is
why strawberry lemonade, root
beer and lavender are popular
ingredients for cakes in 2019.
Miredys and Karla Peguero,
founders and owners of Cake
Bash Studio & Bakery located
in Van Nuys, CA, recently celebrated their first year in business, boasting custom cakes
and sweet treats in specialty flavors such as guava and cheese
and passion fruit colada. Born
and raised in Carolina, PR,
Peguero fell in love with baking
at the age of four and remembers watching her mom bake
birthday cakes that brought
her family and friends together. Currently, Chef Karla has a
YouTube channel with more
than 120,000 subscribers and
an Instagram page with 11,000
followers.
Extraordinary Desserts, with
two locations in the heart of
San Diego, isn't satisfied with
mastering just one aspect of the
business. When you talk with
owner Karen Krasne, the first
thing you notice is her passion.
Whether she's discussing travel,
education, family or business,
her enthusiasm and energy are
on full display.
Many of the products at Extraordinary Desserts are topped
with fresh flowers, something
Ms. Krasne picked up from her
time in Hawaii. With dazzling
desserts that pop out of the display case, the bakery uses colors
to set it apart from its peers.
"We're very colorful. Where
a lot of bakeries can use beige
and brown tones because that's
the color of dough and that's
the color of chocolate, it's important to me that it's a painter's
palette," Ms. Krasne said.
The complexity of each dessert's look extends to its taste
as well. Ms. Krasne pointed out
that the products have a lot of

layers and textures that have
become another calling card of
the bakery.
Consumers today want creative flavors and textures, in
addition to clean labels and no
chemicals. "It's got to taste good
first and foremost," said Rhonda Delaney, vice-president,
sales and merchandising for
Lawrence Foods, Inc.
And keep the flowers coming, Ms. Delaney recommended, because "Consumers love
them! And everyone's looking
for the next unicorn ... will it be
llamas, flamingos or mermaids?
Whatever you choose, make a
bold display work for you."
Mark Seaman, Certified Master Sugar Artist and specialty
application chef for Barry Callebaut North America, (Booth
No. 1337) pointed out that llamas
are trending, without a doubt. "I
call the llama the new unicorn,"
he quipped. Also, tropical fruits
are on the rise, so Mr. Seaman
recommended incorporating
guava or dragon fruit into cake
fillings and icings.
"Coconut sugar carries a
healthy halo as an alternative
sugar," he added. "Experiment
with coconut sugar in your
cake base. Or try Coco Niu, a
coconut sugar-based chocolate from Van Leer. Oat milk is
emerging as the next milk alternative for lactose-intolerant
consumers, as well as those
seeking a healthy alternative to
cow's milk."
Another flavor to incorporate
is avocado, which has a mild
flavor that pairs well with others including chocolate.
Shawna LeMott, marketing
manager for Lucks Food Decorating Co., agreed that cake artists should get ready for 2019
desserts that are good-for-you,
in many ways. "Customers are
looking to treat themselves
with indulgent pick-me-ups
that make them happy while
also keeping an eye on natural

14  *  IBIE  *  Monday, September 9, 2019

Lucks Food Decorating Company

Cake decorators are ﬁnding ways to keep their creations fun and
interesting while also adding in good-for-you ingredients.

ingredients," she said.
Additionally, weddings and
other spring celebrations provide ample opportunities to
cross-merchandise and showcase your cake shop's best promotional efforts. One great
example involves offering party supplies that complement
your cakes. At Cake Life Bake
Shop in Philadelphia, chef/
owners Nima Etemadi and
Lily Fischer sell eye-catching
Meri Meri party supplies, including 6-inch birthday candles and party hats. "Being a
bit of a one-stop shop is important," Ms. Fischer said.
Rebecca Moesinger, chef
and owner of 45 Surfside in
Nantucket, MA, said color is
another important element to
get right. "It's very often that
you will get an order for a custom cake where a shade of color
is very important to the client,"
Ms. Moesinger said. "With
thousands of shades, everyone's
description of color is different.
They could order a light blue
cake but could be disappointed
when the shade is baby blue
rather than the desired sky blue.

Sometimes bakeries will ask clients to bring in an object that has
the desired color. The problem
with this is now the bakery is responsible for that item whether
it's lost or damaged. Not to mention they need space to store a
variety of items labeled and kept
for each client."
Ms. Moesinger has found the
best way to avoid these problems is to ask customers to
bring in a paint swatch. "This
gives the color they are ordering a specific name and avoids
any miscommunication, such
as Benjamin Moore Melrose
Pink. The paint swatch can
easily be stapled onto the contract and put away."
To see cake decorating experts in action, stop by the RBA
Bakers Center - Brought to
you by Bundy Baking Solutions (Booth No. 945) to see the
final day of the 18th Annual
Pillsbury Bakers' Plus Grand
Chamption Creative Cake
Decorating
Competition,
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., which
will feature commentary by
Planet Chef host, Angela May.
- John Unrein, bake
IBIE - 2019 Show Daily, Monday

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