overwhelm, she says “Would you like fondant or buttercream for your frosting? I've got the book divided into two categories by frosting type so it'll narrow the choice down quite a bit either way.”
“Well, I like the sleek look of fondant but I like the taste of buttercream,” I say.
I'm sure this is going to earn me another sigh from Patrice, but Claudia speaks before that can happen.
“Oh, I have just the thing!”
She leafs through several pages in the book and opens to one of the most elegant cakes I've ever seen. It's a large three tiered cake with greenery and delicate white flowers on the top of each layer. The top of each layer is flat, with the most perfectly even spread of frosting.
“It's not fondant?” I ask.
“Nope. This is the looks-like-fondant-but-really-is-buttercream compromise. It's a very popular choice. The frosting is just a tiny bit thinner than usual but it doesn't affect the flavor. If you look at the side of the cake, you can see where the frosting is spread.”
I can see it now. At first glance it does look a lot like fondant, but now that I'm looking more closely, I realize it's not.
“It's perfect. Lemon cake with buttercream frosting and this design,” I say decisively.
“I can change the flowers on it to something else if you like,” Claudia says.
“No, I want it exactly like the picture.”
“Fantastic. What we'll do is have a few sheet cakes which will be cut in the kitchen for guests so you don't run out of the pretty cake. You'll want to save and freeze the top layer for your anniversary, and you'll be cutting into the second layer at the reception when you feed each other. For this particular cake there won't be enough for two hundred and fifty guests but with the sheet cakes there should be more than enough.”
Patrice is practically beaming. I haven't seen this woman this happy since I met her. I can practically read her mind. Finally an easy decision.
“Do you want the same kind of frosting look for the groom's cake or something different?” Claudia asks.
“We can do more traditional-looking buttercream for that,” I say.
“Chocolate frosting on the German chocolate cake? Or I could do a cream cheese frosting.”
“Chocolate,” I say, earning further brownie points with Patrice for my rapid-fire decision making in the face of infinite sugary possibility.
“Great,” Claudia says, jotting down notes. “Now, what I would suggest for this is having a groom's cake for the guests who might want it at the reception, but since a lot of people won't eat two different cakes at the same time, you could additionally do these as cupcakes and send them home with the guests. I've got these fantastic little boxes for them.” She shows me a picture.
“Yes!” I say, and suddenly it looks like Macy isn't going to be confused for the bride anymore. Who knew all it was going to take was sugar?
Claudia shows me a few photos of groom's cakes. “I can do any of these but I can also do something completely custom. Most groom's cakes are unique to match the groom's hobbies or something he likes. Do you have any ideas of what he might like? You can take a day or two to think about it and ask him. I know this is all overwhelming.”
I take just a moment to think about it, not wanting to have a goofy groom's cake marring such an otherwise elegant event.
“Well, we met at the art museum on third and main,” I say. “This may be too difficult but what about a cake to look like the museum building?” The museum is a sleek and interesting design that, if possible, would make an amazing cake. And though it seems a bit insane and extravagant, I have full confidence Claudia can make this happen.
“Yes!” she squeals, having caught the excitement bug I've come down with. “I can absolutely do a groom's cake of the art museum!”
The meeting ends and I part ways with my mother and Macy who came together in a separate car to meet me.
Patrice walks with me out to my car and shoves a black binder into my hands. “This is a list of all the things we still have to do and decide and the dates by which everything must be done to stay on schedule. I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time to lock everything down.” I can feel the judgment in her voice.
She goes to her