By Yael Rose Deutsch

A GLANCE BACK AT
THE WAY IT WAS

Looking back on her 1963 nuptials, writer and mother of two, Barbara Christian recalls an elaborately adorned vanilla sponge cake, garnished with fresh flowers and topped with a happy plastic couple. "It looked like the Kremlin, with all its tiers," she laughs. "It was covered in a sugary white filigree icing." "Color," she says, "was considered outrageous." Christian insists that as a jittery bride, she cannot remember what anything, let alone her cake, tasted like. Chances are though, that it was bland and possibly even stale given that wedding cakes back then were usually made days, and sometimes even weeks ahead. To compound matters, the egg white and confectioner's sugar-based royal icing typically used to pipe decorations could not be refrigerated, so of course, the end result tasted like sawdust!

OH, HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED

A lot has changed since then. Just ask Cheryl Kleinman, who over the course of the past two decades has become known for her delicious, understated yet whimsical wedding cakes. Her beginnings were marked by the 80's infatuation with puffy-sleeved Dynasty-style wedding dresses, a trend that inspired similarly over-the-top cakes, their tiers elevated by Roman columns or pillars. Years later, she helped popularize streamlined cakes that echo the elegant style of Vera Wang couture gowns. Throughout, she insists "I never wanted to be associated with cakes that were dry and crusty. What would've been the point?" Colleague and master pastry instructor at The French Culinary Institute, Ron Ben-Israel, who counts Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart among admirers of his tastefully glamorous confections, concurs, though he admits that at first he was reluctant to do wedding cakes because of their reputation. He goes on to say that his success is owed in part to Sylvia Weinstock, called "New York's reigning cake diva" by In Style and the "Leonardo da Vinci of wedding cakes" by Bon Appétit. "She was gutsy enough to charge a high fee for her expertise, paving the way for wedding cake designers to become an acknowledged profession," he proclaims.
 

DESIGNING A NEW CAREER

Kleinman, an ex-assistant therapist, initially turned to baking as a way to unwind. "I loved psychology in school," she says, "but hated it in real life. This felt soothing and was the complete opposite on a stress level from the career I'd chosen." Since formal instruction is a fairly new development, she trained by apprenticing in several New York City bakeries before opening up shop in her current Brooklyn location. Ben-Israel, self-described as "over-the-hill" at thirty after retiring from a successful career as a ballet dancer, became a pastry chef on a lark while pursuing a romance with a chocolatier. "Both professions are rigorous disciplines of repetition," he says, pointing out that the person who taught him to frost was previously a gym teacher. Another similarity, he notes, is that "in most fields, training focuses on the end result. Both dance and cake design concentrate on the way to do things, such as how to position your feet." Ben-Israel's downtown New York City neighbor, Weinstock, began baking over twenty years ago to while away the time during family ski trips to Hunter Mountain in the Catskills. "Then," she explains, "a friend wanted me to do a beautifully decorated wedding cake that tasted great." A chef who worked for upscale Manhattan caterer, Donald Bruce White, saw the cake and began placing orders, jumpstarting a client list that has grown to include Donald Trump and Mariah Carey, among others. The newbie of the bunch is former art-conservationist Ruth Seidler.

cake by Cheryl Kleinman, photo by Dana Gallagher for New York Wedding Guide 2004

Entirely self-taught, she works independently out of a studio in her Brooklyn home. "I've always liked to bake," she says, "so I began combining elements of recipes and began trying them out to see what worked." She cites cookbook authors Nick Malgieri and Rose Levy Berenbaum as particular sources of inspiration.

We asked our experts to share some insights on the subject and here's what they had to say:

What distinguishes your work from that of your fellow cake designers?

Kleinman: "My personal sense of design." She cites the way she customizes colors by building them in layers, in addition to a tendency not to "overdecorate."

Ben-Israel: "My ability to develop new techniques with sugar flowers." Case in point: He created a low-moisture refrigeration unit designed to preserve the integrity of his now-trademark, spectacularly lifelike sugar paste decorations.

Weinstock: "My cakes are made from the finest ingredients regardless of cost. I use no preservatives or cornstarch and everything is done by hand." She goes on to describe the housemade lemon curd filling prepared with fresh zest, European butter, eggs, and cream.

Seidler: "I'm very into color and the art of different cultures." She also does vibrantly hued "stained glass cakes" made with colored gels piped over white rolled fondant.

What inspires your designs?

Kleinman: She mentions "weaving a life together and nesting" as the concept that inspired a cake featuring blowing blades of grass entwined together. Wedding gowns, textile design, dinnerware, and architecture are among other sources of inspiration she describes.

Ben-Israel: He lists "nature, fashion, and architecture," respectively.

Weinstock: "I use everything in life." Examples include a shoe, a watering can, an urn, and a basket.

Seidler: "My primary influences are textiles and decorative arts." She brings up an ottoman, a handbag, Greek pottery, and an Indian wedding garment as recent muses. "I recently did a cake inspired by 20th-century Bauhaus painter Paul Klee."

The smoothness provided by fondant versus the unbeatable flavor of buttercream pits beauty against substance. Do you have a preference of one over the other?

Kleinman: "Adults feel the need to touch the cake and buttercream marks, so I usually use it as icing only in the cooler months." She prefers rolled fondant for its "sleekness," using an ultra-thin layer so its flavor doesn't dominate. "Fondant," she says, "provides the latest looks while buttercream filling adds great taste."

Ben-Israel: "I combine the best of both," he asserts, explaining that he tops off a layer of meringue buttercream frosting with thinly rolled fondant. He likes fondant for its ability to act as a "fat-free coating that better enables decorating."

Weinstock: "I never use fondant. All the smooth looks you can do in fondant, I can do in buttercream." During the peak of summer, she avoids potential icing meltdowns by transporting her cakes in air-conditioned trucks and keeping them in a cool spot.

Seidler: "I work with fondant a lot since painting and stained glass require it." Seidler uses a thin layer of fondant enhanced with flavored oils, over curd or light meringue buttercream.

What are some of the current trends you're seeing?

Kleinman: "The plastic bride and groom topper is passé. More creative ornamentation is starting to emerge such as sculpting out the couple's last name or monogram." Pillars are gone too, though once in awhile she secures floral-covered columns between tiers to make them look as if they're "floating on flowers." Still another trend, according to Kleinman, is cakes that reflect the season. White-on-white is requested more often during the dead of winter, for example, while pinks and citrusy colors are popular in spring. Flavorwise, chocolate, mocha, and nuts are being selected more in the fall whereas lighter white cake with passionfruit or lemon filling is topping out choices for summer.

Ben-Israel: Wedding cake designers are starting to come into their own and express themselves more strongly. "If someone wants a cake from three years ago, I won't do it," he says. "It's important to find the right fit with a client." If he thinks a fellow colleague will provide a better match, he doesn't hesitate to make a referral.

Weinstock: "I often match the look of a cake with the décor of the event or do a takeoff on the bridal design using its beading, for instance, or pleats, or embroidery." She goes on to describe wedding cakes today as "highly personalized" and points to the use of more vivid color.

Seidler: "I haven't been in business long enough to really be able to label anything as a trend but the people who are coming to me are looking for more unconventional, colorful wedding cakes with an emphasis on simple, but very delicious flavors."

 
Can you share your secrets for a moist cake?

Kleinman: "We try lots of different recipes and select only those that provide both good structure and high moisture. In addition, our cakes are baked as close to due time as possible after which they're cooled at room temperature for about 30 to 60 minutes. It's important not to leave the cakes sitting out too long unwrapped but it's essential that the cakes are cooled properly in order for the cake to setup properly. We also cover our cakes in rolled fondant or marzipan which air-locks in the moisture."

Ben-Israel: "I use a batter that's high in eggs, especially whites, and lots of butter." Vermont butter, prized by Ben-Israel for its high butterfat content, adds extra moisture. "Water plus whey creates a stale cake," he says. "More butterfat equals less whey and as a result, minimizes staleness."

Weinstock: "The best ingredients and formula make a delicious, moist cake."

Seidler: "A fresh cake equals a moist cake. You can either start with a rich batter high in fat or moisten a lighter cake with a flavored syrup (but it still has to be a fresh). It's really a balance of ingredients and I experiment all the time. She also notes the importance of "not overbaking."

THE SWEET AND NOT-SO-SWEET REWARDS

Designing wedding cakes is not without its challenges. Seidler recalls a client who requested a dairy-free cake. "I used hazelnut butter instead of regular butter and brushed it with Frangelico," she elaborates. A combination of dark chocolate without any butterfat and vegan margarine stood in for the icing. Her attempts to use Splenda to bake a sugar-free cake were far less triumphant, resulting in a product that was way too sweet. Sometimes part of the challenge lies in just keeping things interesting. Spurred on by his success in using passionfruit instead of lemon to add acidic flavor, Ben-Israel tried infusing buttercream icing with lemongrass. "It was too subtle and elusive," he says. An attempt at flavoring with green tea went similarly unappreciated. "In a family gathering," he contends, "people want to recognize what they eat." Even celebrated wedding cake designers, it seems, wouldn't dare argue with a bride on her big day.

Yael Rose Deutsch has a Master's in Food Studies from New York University. Prior to that, she trained at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. A sometime freelance food writer, she maintains that the best culinary education of all is in the eating, a past-time she zealously pursues throughout NYC and its boroughs. Though married at City Hall, she knows a fabulous wedding cake when she sees and tastes one.