How many flavors did you taste for cake?

JBB28 · October 2015

I have my cake tasting in about a week. When I asked the baker how many flavors we should select to try (they have over 100 combinations) she just said to let her know anything we were interested in and she would make it. After looking at all the combinations we boiled it down to about 15 flavors that we were interested in. That seems like a high number but she really didn't give me any guidelines. I am wondering how many flavors is typical for a tasting? I want to try as many as we can that we are considering but I also don't want to come across as obnoxious either. Thanks!

justsie · October 2015

JBB28 said:

I have my cake tasting in about a week. When I asked the baker how many flavors we should select to try (they have over 100 combinations) she just said to let her know anything we were interested in and she would make it. After looking at all the combinations we boiled it down to about 15 flavors that we were interested in. That seems like a high number but she really didn't give me any guidelines. I am wondering how many flavors is typical for a tasting? I want to try as many as we can that we are considering but I also don't want to come across as obnoxious either. Thanks!

I know a lot of bakers will charge per flavor, so you might want to find out if there is a cost associated with each flavor and start with that?

kaos16 · October 2015

is it even feasible to try 15 flavors? I wouldn't be able to remember/keep track of what's what!

lyndausvi · October 2015

I think we tried about 4-5. They were all chocolate or vanilla cake with different fillings.

We wanted to go with simple flavors that would be crowd pleasers.

15 seems like overkill too me.

labro · October 2015

I think we tried around 4-5 which was free with our baker. I think 14-15 flavor combos is going to be REALLY overwhelming. Can you narrow it down anymore? I just can't even imagine tasting that much and not 1. getting totally burnt out on sugar and 2. even being able to remember my favorites.

cgss11 · October 2015

We got to taste 3 cakes and 3 fillings. More were extra, so we stuck with that. It was plenty to me. We did choose one filling that we didn't taste, but everything else tasted great, so I trusted the untested one would too.

pinupbride6189 · October 2015

I think we I tried 5 or 6? Ours was a little different though, because our venue mandated our baker, and the venue does an open house once a quarter that doubles as a food and cake tasting. I think she had between 8-10 flavors available, but there were some that I just wasn't really interested in.

TNDancer · October 2015

yea... 15 seems high. I think we tasted 8? I would try to narrow it down to 10 or less for sure.

jacques27 · October 2015

Also, remember that you know what food tastes like and what sorts of combinations you like together. You're new to this baker, but you aren't new to food. To some extent, you're just trying to get a good enough of an idea that they do quality work that is consistent and delicious, so you try enough of a representative sample to make sure of that. You don't need to try every possible combo you're interested in. If you pick enough variety to be representative and are satisfied with it, you can reasonably surmise the other similar options will be tasty, too.

Maggie0829 · October 2015

I agree that 15 is overkill. What are all the combinations? You need to keep in mind your guests and pick things that are completely out there. So you may really want to try their pineapple, rum, pound cake with passion fruit icing, but is that a flavor you think the majority of your guests will enjoy? If not, then cross it off your "to try" list.

[Deleted User] · October 2015

We got 2 from one bakery and 3 at the other; if we wanted more they started charging. Sometimes, fewer choices are easier to manage.

MusicLady7 · October 2015

While 15 flavors may seem like too many, here's what I would do. Write down all the flavors you are considering along with possible fillings. On paper, flavors may sound really enticing but some of those flavors you might be disappointed by. I was really excited to try a spice cake during my tasting as well as red velvet, both with a cream cheese filling but when I did try both cakes, I was let down in contrast to the other cakes I had tried. A LOT of your cake tasting will be process of elimination. Don't be daunted. In the end, you'll know which flavors you'll like the best.

TheCheeseWench · October 2015

5 with one baker and 3 with another. The first bakery we just didn't care for, then all 3 from the 2nd were so good that we ordered one tier of each. You don't need 15 options. If the baker is THAT good, you will want all of them. Just narrow it down to a few ahead of time and choose from there. If it helps, ask your VIPs what they think. I did and mine scratched several options from the online flavor list off before I even got to the point of tasting. In the end, they were right when it came to what would appeal to the masses. Some of the more exotic flavors might sound good to me, but would have been largely ignored by most of my crowd.

hellohkb · October 2015

We tasted 4 before we decided on 2 flavors.

marie2785 · October 2015

I recommend going in with a basic idea of what you want. Fruit? Chocolate? You must know what kind of cake you generally like to eat. Keep in mind most bakers can do each layer of the cake a different flavor, so you can have multiple options. My cake had 2 flavors: white with raspberry and lemon curd, and then white with nutella mousse, all covered in buttercream frosting.

To come up with this I knew ahead of time the white with lemon/raspberry since this baker made that cake for my brothers wedding, and I LOVED it. The day of the tasting she gave me 3 cake choices, 3 frosting choices, and about 10-15 filling choices. From there, we discussed, and I went for a nutella mousse flavor with white cake, which she custom made for me since she didn't usually keep it in stock.

The frosting for me was the bigger choice--did I do light and fluffy, or dense and sweet???? I ended up with whipped buttercream frosting after sampling since I realized I really don't like dense frosting. She was a skillful baker, since she made whipped frosting look like fondant on the cake. This baker had skills. And my cake was AMAZING. We took half of a layer on our honeymoon and I tried to hide it from my husband so I could eat it all...

MizLizz · October 2015

The idea of tasting 14 or 15 different flavors is intriguing. However, I fear that after the fourth or fifth flavor, everything would taste the same.

If you are working with various combinations of cakes and fillings, you might just want to ask the baker for his or her input. He/she would know which combinations work well and which ones don't. The baker probably knows what combinations go over with diners.

Have fun!

MesmrEwe · October 2015

IMO - remember your guests - While the fancy schmancy flavor combo looks good, is it a crowd pleaser? Also consider how you plan to serve the cake. 15 flavors is excessive. When you check out a caterer, you don't get to try everything on the menu, it's a sample. Every thing you taste has a cost associated with it that's going to be wrapped into the final cost of your cake. You're simply establishing "Does their cake/frosting taste good" and "what flavors go with the meal I'm serving". Chocolate cake/white cake, buttercream, whipped icing, fondant, and 2-3 fillings is MORE than plenty to establish this.

One bakery did a lemon-layer cake and a chocolate layer cake with I think raspberry or strawberry filling. Then they did a few fondant balls so we could taste the fondant they use (all fondant is not created equal!). Another baker - we barely got a sliver of spice cake with a smear of frosting she had leftover. Then another had a plate of I think 6 different flavor combos, but by the second we knew their frosting sucked and left a sheen of shortening all over that overpowered everything else. The only baker I know of that has an extensive sampling plate charges a pretty penny for her tastings.

doclago · October 2015

Our caterer had a tasting event that was $15 a person...champagne and cake. They offered 5 different types of cakes which turned into quite a bit more when we started mixing and matching.

We are having individual cakes on each tables a part of the centerpiece so we chose a few different combinations.

Maybe check and see if they are having an event like that..it'll be less expensive.

lembaslover · October 2015

I liked the way ours did it. They brought out plain cake, vanilla, chocolate, espresso, and lemon. We had the option of picking some other cake flavors I think they had carrot and red velvet and I forget what others but we declined those. Then they also had little dishes of 7 or 8 of their fillings. That way we could mix and match the cakes with the flavors we liked. Our place did it free but some others we looked into charged so I would check on the pricing.

leroweb · October 2015

She had is taste her most popular. I think we had 8. Then if we wanted to chose any we didn't she would make them and we could try at a later date

leroweb · October 2015

We are doing cupcakes. Five different flavor a then a small cake ontop for us to cute. All home grown and farm fresh eggs. I'm so excited

How many flavors did you taste for cake?

Re: How many flavors did you taste for cake?

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