You had me at wedding CAKE!

If you know me, then you know that the way to my heart is wedding cake! Just put a piece of cake in front of me and I’ll say “yes” to just about anything, lol! Which brings me to my topic for today…wedding cakes! And who better to talk to than Anita Algiene, the owner of The Midnight Sun Cakery about cakes! If you have never had one of her cakes, then you are surely missing out, and I am not exaggerating! Years ago I attended the Fall Wedding Show and Anita was a vendor there. She served samples of an almond cake that was to die for. Normally, almond anything would not be my jam, but this cake was so ahhhmazing that I still rave about it to this day!

Meet Anita Algiene, the face, and talent behind The Midnight Sun Cakery! Anita first picked up cake decorating as a hobby in high school, decorating cakes with her mother. She landed her first professional cake decorating job in 1991, and trained at the famous Haydel’s Bakery in New Orleans, where she worked for six years. In 2006 she moved to Anchorage to work at UAA in the theater department….why? Well, she has a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Theatrical Design, specifically in set and costume design! In June of 2012, she opened The Midnight Sun Cakery, attaching a custom-built professional kitchen to her home and has been a mean, baking machine since then! And did you know, she is still not sick of the taste of cake after all these years in the business!

So, let’s get down to it! I had questions and Anita had the answers!

What’s Hot? – What trends within your industry are you seeing right now, or from this past wedding season?

Taller stretched tiers, almost collumesque… if that’s a word! lol
Rough buttercream icing with unfinished edges.
Layers of abstract colors and patterns of icing.
Metallic accents
I see that hand made sugar flowers are making a big come back! These elegant flowers are the perfect juxtaposition on a rough iced buttercream cake.
Most all of my Alaskan Brides want to incorporate “Alaska” into their cake in some way, either with mountains, birch trees or with our new Alaskan Filling Flavors in their cake!

What’s Not Hot? – What trends within your industry are you seeing right now, or from this past wedding season that are dying out?

Perfectly iced fondant cakes that are decorated with precision.
Shorter tiers
A colored ribbon at the bottom of each tier – (Lorell’s side note, this was my wedding cake 10 years ago, haha!)
Topsy turvy cakes

On average, how much time do you spend on one wedding cake order? – I’m interested in the time from when you receive the inquiry, do the tasting, design, any follow up, making the cake, to the delivery.

Inquiry & Follow Up – 2 hours
Tasting/Design/Proposal – 4 hours
Shopping – .5 hours
Mixing, Baking, Cooling & Storing – 2 hours
Making Icings & Fillings – 1 hours
Set Up – 1 hours
Decorating 1-5 hours
Finishing/Preparing for delivery – .5 hours
Clean Up – 1 hour
Delivery – 1-3 hours

It is hard to estimate because we can do more than one cake in most of these steps…However, I estimate each cake takes us 15-20 hours. – WOWZA!

If you had to estimate how many cakes you have made in your Midnight Sun Cakery career, what would that number be?

That is hard to say! But we make about 100 wedding cakes a year! And beyond weddings, we make about 200 custom cakes a year. We also have our “Fancy Layer Cakes”…. but I have my assistants help me with that. So, I have lost count! lol! So if you do the math, I have been in business for over seven years. I would say we’ve done over 2100 custom cakes!

To save the top tier or not?

I would suggest couples save their top tier! We have a system that helps couples do it the right way! Many bad experiences have tainted newer couples’ idea of making this a long-standing tradition! However, we did an experiment here in our bakery and after a year in the freezer we served a year old cake to some unknowing guests and after one slice, they wanted more!

Here’s the method:

Wrap the tier in plastic wrap after being chilled over night in the refrigerator.
Then place in a 2 gallon freezer bag.
Place the cake in a protective box or container so as not to be disturbed.

THEN IN A YEAR

Remove the cake from the bag & the plastic wrappings.
Defrost in a fridge for 24 hours.
Enjoy! 🙂

What are 3 wedding pro tips that you can share with a couple who is thinking about wedding cakes in their pre-planning phase of their wedding?

I would hope couples understand the value of a beautifully done cake adds to their event. The cake is a gift that the couple shares with the guests. Of course your friends and family are excited to support the couple as their new adventure begins but the guests seem so much more excited when they know they get to eat a great dessert at the end of the night! It brings an element of anticipation, wonder, and suspense that adds so much to the excitement of the day. I find that when a cake is presented at a wedding the guests are enraptured by the dessert, knowing that in a few short hours they will be able to enjoy that gift, taste its delight and share with one another in the experience. Maybe some of it is our addiction to sugar! lol

So I would say:

Don’t wait until the last minute to book a baker.
When a friend who dabbles in cake making offers to make you a cake, be wary… Cakes are so much harder than they look! I mean the Netflix show “Nailed It” show is all about semi-experienced bakers trying their best and just watch what happens! We have had many people call us after a friend backs out at the last minute.
Budget accordingly. A good cake isn’t cheap, and nor should it be. Many bakers cannot make a large enough profit to make this career sustainable, and that is very sad. Most bakeries in town advertise their prices so, do the math with the number of servings you expect, so you are prepared with the price.

I’d like to thank Anita for dropping some of her wedding cake knowledge on us. I even learned a thing or two! Before this diary entry I was against saving the top tier, and she has changed my mind completely. And I love her take on what a wedding cake really is, a couple’s gift to share with their wedding guests…I couldn’t have said it better! To find out more about Anita and The Midnight Sun Cakery you can visit her website: www.midnightsuncakery.com

And I’ll go ahead and just leave some eye candy for you down below so you can see just how talented Anita is! You’re welcome!