Sorry for the delay guys, there was a little hiccup. Okay this will be long, so if you want the cliff notes version of my Pro's and Con's, scroll all the way to the bottom.
Azea Cake StudioThis was my first place and I was excited! When we pulled up to someone's house however, my fiance was not too thrilled with my choice and he didn't want to get out of the car because he didn't feel like it was a "real baker". Fortunately he changed his mind and we tasted the following flavors:
Tahitian Vanilla & Grand Marnier
Vanilla & Mocha Cream
Vanilla & Raspberry CreamThe only one we didn't like was the Mocha cream, it had a distinctive coffee taste and that was my fault for not thinking that choice through! I will say that the cakes were very moist, and the Grand Marnier flavor didn't really shine through, but she let us taste the syrup she makes and it is good. She also had the best tasting buttercream ever! Most buttercream icings, to me, are thick and sweet and hers was light and creamy--soo good! I was very impressed with her professionalism and her talent. She was the only one to offer a different option other than fondant for the filmstrips I want to have on my cake. (I will try to add a PIP). I hadn't heard of her until someone on the KNOT gave her a review and I have to agree that her cakes tasted amazing!
Creations BakerySuzie was so nice and bubbly! The greatest thing about this consultation is that she took the idea we presented and reworked it and we have a variation of the idea that we came in with and her creativity and excitement about our cake really made us a feel great. We ended up talking for about an hour and a half. The flavors I tried were:
Princess White cake with French Buttercream Frosting and Cannoli filling.
Yellow Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Strawberry Mousse Filling.
Yellow Cake with French Buttercream Frosting and Vanilla Bavarian Cream filling.
Susie told me that the white cake and the yellow cake were the same cakes, just food coloring--so if you are deciding between the two, it's all based upon the look you are after when the cake is cut
As far as the flavors--I have never had Cannoli's before, but she said it is the same filling they use in their Cannoli's, and it has little chocolate chips in it (don't know if that is normal). It tasted really good. We both loved the Strawberry Mousse, and if we choose them we will use both the Cannoli and the Strawberry Mousse fillings. My fiance thought the yellow cake was more moist, but she said they were both the same cakes..so I am not sure why that was
.
The cakes were moist and for me they were on par with AZEA, although Azea's buttercream icing was FAR superior, but their fillings, for us, tasted better! But a con for them is that they have the most expensive cake quote for what we wanted to do by about $100!
The last stop on Saturday was
Cake Design Las Vegas:By the third stop my Fiance was a bit cranky with me and just wanted to enjoy Vegas. I hadn't told him until we got there that I had to purchase the cakes I wanted to taste--he was pretty livid that we couldn't have a sample and had to purchase what we wanted to taste as we weren't going to eat a whole cake. In order for me to at least get a feel, I ordered two different types and it came out to $13.00. Not a steep sum, but it is a bit off-putting that even someone having you taste out of their home start-up allowed for a more professional sample.
This was an unfortunate event for us and I'm not sure if it was because it was the 3rd tasting in a row, but all around we had service issues with Cake Designs. Though email Dawn was great, but I should have trusted my instincts and just left immediately.
When we arrived we were told to look at the book and someone would be right with us. We were flipping through the book for a few minutes and a young girl came out to meet us and she started from teh beginning asking us general questions that I had already answered through email. After she asked me my wedding date I was annoyed and asked her if the person I was corresponding with through email had forwarded any of the information on to her. She then said yes and left to go get it and then filled out my information onto the quote sheet. I was also annoyed that while we were having our consultation, she greeted and spoke to every employee/friend/etc that walked by. I understand if we weren't able to have a private room, but I would have appreciated having her undivided attention.
She drew the design exactly as the picture I gave her and she is an excellent artist. Here are the fillings I ordered:
Yellow Cake with Bavarian Creme w/ their standard icing
White cake with Oreo filling and White Rosette Butter Creme (since they said the fondant would have to lay on the Butter Creme for support).
When we got back to the hotel the cakes I received were:
Yellow Cake with Bavarian Creme w/ Standard Icing
Yellow Cake with Oreo filling and Butter Creme filling w/ Standard icing.
Overall, I was disappointed, although between the two the Oreo tasted a bit better, but it was half oreo and half butter creme and their butter cream was not that tasty to me. The cake was also not as moist as the others and I wouldn't have paid $6 for either cake if I were just shopping for dessert. With that said, the cakes weren't
nasty no one gave us a bad cake, but with excellent moist cakes and great tasting fillings, they were average, in our opinion. Also, I like to know if the person I've been emailing and speaking with is not going to be the one meeting with me--it just felt less personal.
The next day we had an appointment with
Gimme Some Sugar:
After a Saturday night in Vegas, we were running 30 minutes late to the appointment, so again, Fiance not in the best of moods because he felt Creations was the best and didn't want to try anyone else. I also had to pay which I will explain below. We get there and the door is locked and my email told me to call when I arrived. I rang the door bell and called both numbers I was given, to no answer. We waited for about 5 minutes with me alternating the numbers and decided to leave. Now my FI is grumpy that we wasted a trip and as we are driving my cell rings and I am asked if I was close enough to come back, which I was. So I grab my grumpy FI and am prepared to taste the following flavors:
Red Velvet w/ Cream Cheese
White Butter Cake w/ Vanilla Bavarian Cream
Oreo w/ Cookies and CreamThe last two were an extra charge ($10 for standard and $12 for deluxe) because it is outside of their standard tastings. I do not like chocolate, so it would be a waste for me to really bother with their standards which are:
Red Velvet w/ Cream Cheese
White Butter Cake w/ Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Cake w/ Peanut Butter Filling
When we get inside I am told they had a crazy weekend and had to use all extra cake and wouldn't have any for me to taste. I could feel my FI seething at the idea that we were sitting here for nothing, but she said that they will send me the cakes back home at no charge. So we agreed to do that (which is why I am a little late with the reviews).
She then spoke to me about the special I saw of buying the wedding cake and getting Groom's cake at half price. I had completely forgot and she reminded me of what I was thinking about (Xbox) Once she said that, he perked up and was throwing out ideas and was excited to be there again. In the end the quote for BOTH cakes, was still less than the ONE cake from Creations.
Well I received the cakes last night and after a long day at work and a weekend filled of eating cake I only tried the Oreo with the Cookies and Cream--WONDERFUL!! It was very good! I almost ate it all, but I was good and saved FI some. For it to be overnighted, the cake was STILL moist and the icing tasted like the cookies and cream ice cream (if you can imagine that). mmm. I am very impressed.
The only CON for them is that all of their cakes are Fondant, and I don't think Fondant tastes that good. However, we will probably use them for the gooms cake--even if that means full price for it because it will be a great show piece and the cake will taste great under the fondant anyway!
Honestly, I don't think that you can go wrong with either of them. I personally had a bad experience with Cake Designs, but I think that if I were dealing with Dawn the entire time I would not have had the same experience. And if you can make a trip out to taste the cakes--DO IT!
My Favorite icing:
AzeaMy Favorite Cake(mostness, overall flavor):
Gimme Some SugarMy Favorite Filling (haven't tasted all of Gimme Some Sugar to be fair):
Creations****CN****
Azea Cake Studio
Pro: Aracelli is very nice, gives a White Chocolate Option, instead of Fondant if you don't like the taste. Very good Butter Cream and Moist Cakes!
Con: Although it didn't bother me, some may be put off by having someone bake their wedding cake outside of their home kitchen (I didn't see any, but you may want to ask if there are pets in the home, etc).
Creations Bakery
Pro: Susie is very creative with designing cakes, Fillings were really good, cakes were moist also. Maggiano's Brides can put cake towards room minimum.
Con: My quote was on the expensive side; you also are speaking with the owner, not the baker. So the idea may look good on paper, but the baker knows best as to what he/she is capable of actually doing (if you have a complicated design). So you may want to be wary of that.
Cake Designs Las Vegas
Pro: Email communication is great. Their standard icing is good and the oreo filling is good as well.
Con: You have to pay $6 per 6 inch round cake if you want to taste before you buy. Their buttercream was too thick and sweet for my taste and the younger people that are responsible for the baking (that I've spoken to on the phone and met in person) are not that professional.
They didn't seem concerned with trying to "earn" my business, which for me is off putting because if something goes wrong I don't feel confident that they will care enough to fix it. (that may not be the case, just my feeling when I'm treated that way)
Gimme Some Sugar
Pro: Cakes taste great and even receiving them in a USPS box shipped overnight they were moist, the filling I tasted so far tastes great also. They do amazing complicated design work, so you can feel confident that whatever you can think of they can create!
Con: All of their cakes are made with Fondant, so for me, that was a con.
this is the cake Idea I brought with me (no feathers for me, or red base)