"What's in my cake?"

When I discuss a cake order with prospective clients and the topic of "when do you bake the cake" comes up, the first thing a lot of people bring up is "using a mix". It seems that the general perception out there is that one does not bake from scratch anymore, and a using a mix is the just the norm. So, I thought it would a good idea to discuss "what's in your cake".

• First of all, I DO NOT USE MIXES! I personally find the taste unappealing. I taste one, I taste them all. They all seem to have the same "chemical" taste. It's like going to a "certain" popular coffee shop here in town, all their muffins taste the same, and I know they use a mix. I like the fact that I KNOW what goes into my cakes not having to decipher all the weird "lingo" on the back of the box. Another reason I don't use mixes is that they are too soft and fluffy. I find a cake, made from scratch is more sturdier and less likely to fall apart when it comes to decorating, whether it be carving a cake or stacking it for a wedding cake. The majority of my recipes have been handed down from my grandmother who was a pastry chef in the Canadian navy during World War II.

• Secondly, I use 100% butter, flour, sugar, fresh eggs, Dutch cocoa, buttermilk, no artificial flavorings ( I use Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean paste for my cakes).  All my fillings are made fresh from scratch. We do not use sleeve fillings. These are pre-cooked fillings are found in a sleeve that you just squeeze out. Any cooked filling that is found packaged and sitting on a store shelf has got to be filled with preservatives to be prevent it from going bad. While we are on the topic of fillings, did you know that all the raspberries we use are locally grown. By that I mean, they come straight from MY GARDEN! During the summer months, I go out and hand-pick the raspberries myself to make all my raspberry fillings. Then at the end of summer, I freeze my bountiful supply and continue to use them during the winter months so I can continue to use fruit that is local and hasn't been sprayed by pesticides. I had a strawberry patch too, but the squirrels always beat me to it leaving me with no fruit, so I have resorted to getting my strawberries from local supplier. 

• To answer those who wonder when we bake our cakes, we bake them fresh just for your event.  We do not pre-bake, ice and freeze our cakes in advance. I remember attending a friend's wedding some years ago and one of his cousin's heard I did cakes. He also worked for a local grocery store chain. I won't name "names", but he told me he worked in the "cake plant". He told me all the cakes were baked in this huge warehouse, iced, frozen and then shipped to all parts of the province. Yummm... sounds appealing.  All our cakes are made to order for each individual client.

So there you have it! So if you have ANY questions regarding your cake, please do not hesitate to ask!