By Norman, on October 11th, 2011
 We got a call from Jim Webster of the St. Petersburg Times some time ago asking about our macarons. I think he said he was interested in doing a story for the paper about them and could he come in and talk to us about them. We were very open to the idea and conversations progressed until Jim set up a time with us where he could come over and talk about macaron making. We offered to have him try his hand at making a batch in our kitchen. Jim was able to see first hand the effort and care that it takes to make a really fine macaron. As it turned out, we all had a great time. As is often the case, memories are made making food in a kitchen and this was no exception. Jim turned to be really nice and have a greate sense of humor in addition to a love of baking.
 Time passed and the memory of the day faded but suddenly we got a call from Jim informing us that the article was finished and was on its way to be published! A photographer was scheduled to do a photo shoot and the article would appear in the September 28th edition of the paper.
When the 28th rolled around, we were thrilled to see lots of new customers appear that wouldn’t have otherwise been aware that we existed. We had people come from various parts of Tampa, Spring Hill, New Port Richey, St. Petersburg, Lutz, and many other parts of Pinellas County and neighboring environs. Some who had macarons before and some who had not. We were pleased when people compared our macarons favorably to those they had at places like Ladurée in Europe and François Payard in New York City. What a fun day. Many of the people who came in that day have now returned for more and we appreciate their support. Like the article talks about, these are not the easiest things to make in the baking world but maybe that is part of why we are attracted to them. I think if all we could make were cupcakes and cookies we would never have started this business. Nel is all about the “WOW” factor not only in design and execution, but also about taste. We never get tired of seeing people toss their heads back after taking their first bite of one of our macarons. One lady came in and said “You charge two dollars for a cookie??!!”. I offered her a sample and after the first bite, she declared, “I’ll take a dozen!”.
If you have not read the St. Pete Times article, you can find it here. I think you will find it interesting. For me the article brings back fond memories of making macarons not to sell, but just to have fun in the kitchen with a newfound friend and fellow “foodie”!
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By Norman, on September 5th, 2011
We recently passed our 2 year anniversary. We started with an idea… to make not just better cake and pastries than was available here in the Tampa Bay area, but to make the best cake and pastries that were possible to make anywhere no matter what the cost. We have stuck with that idea and will continue to make the very best that can be made. It has been a journey for us and I’ve put together some photos that mark some of the steps of that journey. We would like to say THANK YOU to our loyal customers for your unwavering support.
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By Norman, on March 8th, 2011
 We are in the process of getting ready for our new “Grand Opening” which will be sometime in April. We’ll be open in the evenings on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays to serve our fantastic cake and coffee. We will also be serving macarons. What is a macaron? NPR did a radio story about macarons and there is also a Wikipedia article about them. They are very tricky to make and it takes a highly skilled baker to be able to do it. Once you try these, you will understand why we don’t do cupcakes. These are just way better on every level.
As we get closer to opening we’ll be posting on our facebook page and also on twitter. In the meantime, if you need a special order cake, click on the appointment link at the top of the page and fill out the form. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
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By Norman, on December 19th, 2010
 What do you do when you are asked to produce a birthday cake for someone who is famous for being a leader in fashion, style and good taste? You do it. And that is exactly what we did.
The birthday girl was none other than fashion genius Laura Hunt, creator of Freeway Fashion. Laura is at the forefront of the styling industry, traveling to Fashion Weeks across the country and abroad to scout the latest in designer clothing. Should we be intimidated by the prospect of making a birthday cake for someone with such a discerning eye? Maybe just a little.
All we had to go on was the size of the party and the fact that Laura liked shoes. We studied her website and took some of the visuals and created 3D elements for the cake. What I found most remarkable was the figure created by Nel of Laura based on the caricature that is on her website.
I’d like to share some of the feedback we got from Laura and some of the guests via our twitter and on our Facebook page.
I don’t believe THANK YOU is just enough to say what an incredible job you did to create the birthday cake to my friend Laura Hunt with Freeway Fashion. YOU ARE the BEST of the BEST in town! So, millions of THANK YOU from my Bottom of my heart!!!!
-from Anne’ Phillips-Photography
The cake was awesome, I took great photos of it as well. Its on my page ‘Downtown Carols Photography by Carol Gallagher’ everyone loved it! It was not only beautiful but delicious as well, I had a BIG piece and ate it all!! You do some great work, Laura loved it!
-from Carol Gallagher
-from Laura Hunt (via twitter)
 Were are pleased that the party was a huge success and happy to see that our cake was enjoyed. Thank you!
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By Norman, on November 15th, 2010
Photographer Gary Kaplan was kind enough to provide us with some photographs showing the “Starry Night” cake. Thanks Gary! You can visit his website or send him an email at gary@garykaplanphotography.com
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By Norman, on November 14th, 2010
 CAD used in planning cake A complex cake begins with planning and design. This was especially the case with the Starry Night cake we did recently. All of our cakes must not only look good and tast good, but must be structurally able to withstand transport and then being cut into pieces at the event. We find that spending some time making a CAD model can pay off by having fewer surprises when you least want them… on delivery day!
Our cakes are moist and that means heavier than one might expect. When you make a tall cake, this weight becomes something that can cause problems when you try to move it. At the same time, how the cake will be assembled and taken apart must be studied. In the second illustration, a top view shows that the mass of the cake is centered so that it will not tend to tilt when the cake is lifted.
The third illustration shows how with 3D CAD it is possible to view the cake from a variety of angles. This helps the designer plan the decorations. A full size print can be made and used to sketch in images and other design elements. Also, exact spaces are shown where flowers will be placed. This eliminates guesswork at the end of the project when time is often at a premium.
Our goal is to produce the best possible cake with precision and no surprises. We leave the “drama” for the TV cake shows. It is fun to see it there, but not fun when it is at your wedding or other special event.
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By Norman, on November 13th, 2010
 In late 1888, Vincent van Gogh created the painting pictured at left. The original can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City but it has been reproduced often. It is well known to all art lovers but most everyone knows it from Don McLean’s song Vincent, which is also known by its opening words, Starry, Starry Night. This painting was shocking at the time it was made and even today it is considered a little unconventional.
It was a bit of a surprise when a bride-to-be arrived at a wedding cake conference to request this painting be depicted on her cake. She had been to all the other major cake decorators in the area and they all declined to make it. Not us! We are all about art as anyone would know who reads this blog.
Fast forward to today, November 13, 2010 when we had the priviledge to deliver the finished cake to the beautiful Columbia Restaurant on the Pier in St. Pete. Below is a snapshot of what it looked like after we set it up. In addition to painting a copy of van Gogh’s famous masterpiece, we also did it in caddywompus style to add to the already avant-garde nature of the artwork itself.
You may be thinking, “OK, but how did it taste?”. We feel that taste is just as important as looks.
The bottom tier, 14″, was a three-layer tiramisu made with cappucino/tiramisu compound. (All of our tiers are three layers of cake and two layers of filling.) The filling is a light buttercream flavored with the compound, spread in a very thick layer over a thin layer of chocolate ganache, made with Callebaut dark chocolate. The layers of cake with a simple syrup that is flavored with the tiramisu compound. Yummy!!!
The 10″ tier was dark chocolate throughout and the top two tiers were almond filled with layers of almond flavored buttercream and marzipan, which the bride’s mother flipped over. She came in the following week and told us how people went nuts over the cake.
We would like to wish the bride and groom best wishes from us at Cake City and hope all of our efforts on this cake made their day just a little more special.
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By Norman, on September 12th, 2010
When you are shopping for a wedding cake, you are really shopping for art. Edible art, but art nonetheless. When shopping for art, it is always a good idea to buy a work of art from an artist who is established and has at least some recognition. Of course it is important to “like” the work of art, but if it is a great piece of art, you will like it even better over time. If it is not, you will probably not “grow” with it and will eventually regret buying it.
You may think that this is not important since a cake is delivered and devoured and forgotten. This is not the case with our cakes. They are usually photographed and sometimes very heavily photographed as in the case of wedding cakes. These photographs live on and are looked at for generations.
When choosing a cake designer, don’t miss out on getting a real artist. You are buying a work of art. Don’t forget that.
Photo: Nel, Cake City artist, works on a painting that went on to win “Best of Show” at the 1997 Annual Exhibition at the Arts Center in St. Petersburg, FL.
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By Norman, on September 4th, 2010
 For you, the process begins with your quest for the perfect cake for that special occasion. Google leads you to us and we begin. Almost everyone who contacts us has seen at least one of the “cake shows” on TV. All good cake designers have a certain style that appears as you look through their portfolio. Hopefully you have chosen us because you like our sense of design, color and overall taste. With your ideas and knowledge of the person or event being celebrated, we can create the perfect cake.
The number of people at the event determines the size or sizes of cake that will be necessary. Then the discussion turns to design, color, flavors, shape, sculptural elements, quantity of sugar flowers, etc and ends with when and where to deliver the finished creation. Our artist produces a sketch which helps us during production and you get to take a copy home with you. 
A good beginning will lead to a good end. The more we can collaborate, the better the end result. We know that planning and managing an event can be difficult and streesful but when the day of the event arrives, we hope you will just be hearing, “Where did you get that fabulous cake?”. Cake City, of course!
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By Norman, on August 29th, 2010
 We love doing “theme” birthday cakes. Some are easier than others and it is hard to know at the outset which ones will turn out to be better than expected. This one is one of those that surprised us and the creativity kept on flowing.
I think the key to getting the best cake possible from us is to not give us too much information. All we really need is an idea without being too specific about details. Sometimes the best thing a customer can be is flexible and to trust us to do what we want to do… which is to make something really spectacular.
The real reward we get from doing what we do is to see your face when you get your first look at your cake. We know that “this is way better than I expected” look and so far we’ve been fortunate to see it a lot.
Sometimes customers bring in a photo of a cake they would like us to replicate. This is often useful and a quick way to communicate an idea but we cannot guarantee that our cake will look exactly the same. The photo at right is an example of this. Click on the photo to enlarge. On the right is the photo provided by the customer and at left is the cake we produced. There is a difference and we hope that you will see the difference and choose us because of that difference.
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We got a call from Jim Webster of the St. Petersburg Times some time ago asking about our macarons. I think he said he was interested in doing a story for the paper about them and could he come in and talk to us about them. We were very open to the idea and conversations progressed until Jim set up a time with us where he could come over and talk about macaron making. We offered to have him try his hand at making a batch in our kitchen. Jim was able to see first hand the effort and care that it takes to make a really fine macaron. As it turned out, we all had a great time. As is often the case, memories are made making food in a kitchen and this was no exception. Jim turned to be really nice and have a greate sense of humor in addition to a love of baking.
Time passed and the memory of the day faded but suddenly we got a call from Jim informing us that the article was finished and was on its way to be published! A photographer was scheduled to do a photo shoot and the article would appear in the September 28th edition of the paper.
