Wedding Blog
Those of you that have been to Ann Arbor, Michigan (or even the Detroit area) may have heard about a very famous deli…
Yes, Zingerman’s. Zingerman’s is the most famous deli in Michigan, hands down. It also happens to be very close to our house! We go there a lot, and adore their fresh mozzarella, vinegar, cookies and deli food. Yum!
Almost everyone we know has asked us if we will be ordering our wedding cake from Zingerman’s. This past summer, Mr. Taffy got me a mini birthday cake from their bakery.
Isn’t it cute? (Don’t mind the cardboard circle underneath!) Mr. T supplied the cute polka dot candles. 
At this point in my life, I was 50% not into fondant. I hate to say it, but after eating my birthday cake, I don’t like it at all! The cake was great quality, don’t get me wrong. But you may have noticed in my profile that I detest eating somewhat squishy food. This was the first fondant cake that I had eaten since becoming engaged, so of course, I scrutinized it. I just can’t get over my texture issues when it comes to fondant, and from what I hear, I am not the only one. Even normal, non texture-challenged people don’t love it! Lovely as it looks, it just isn’t for us.
I should mention another thing… cake is not our main priority within our budget. The design of the cake was high on our list, but we would rather hire an awesome photographer than the most expensive bakery in town. And unfortunately, Zingerman’s is just that - their wedding cakes start at $6.00 a person, and go wayyy up from there. It would have been a dream to go through Zingerman’s, but we just couldn’t fit it into our budget.
Enter Gwen’s Cake Decorating!
She does most of the wedding cakes for our venue, and was highly recommended by the coordinator there. (Zingerman’s was as well.) She runs her business out of her home, which means less overhead costs are transferred to the customer! Our cake, including delivery and set up, will be less than one third of the cost of a cake from Zingerman’s!
I met with Gwen in August, and she had prepared a small cake made with different flavors for me and my friend Bhavna to taste. Because Mr. T couldn’t make it, she sent me home with cake for him to try, too! The cake was delicious and fresh (she never freezes), and she offers many different flavor and filling options. Instead of freezing the top tier of the cake, which totally freaks me out (not only do I hate squishy food, I only refrigerate and freeze things in glass- I have a plastic phobia!), she gives you a free anniversary cake one year later. Also, she only works with buttercream frosting, freshly made.
Let’s rewind a little and take a look at our wedding cake inspiration: (I gave you a sneak peek with our save the dates!)
I scanned this from In Style Weddings, Spring 2008 issue
We love this design!!! We are going to have three tiers instead of two. We were a bit worried that the design would not translate in buttercream as well as it does in fondant, but after seeing Gwen’s work I am confidant that she can create a similar look with icing that won’t make me freak out. 
Here are some of her samples incorporating a smooth look with lines and dots in buttercream (sorry, these are small images!):
We think that she will do a lovely job! In fact, we liked the cake tasting so much that I ordered Mr. Taffy’s birthday cake from her in October! (Shh, we also used this as an excuse to try another filling flavor!)
Oh, and just because I’m a dorky designer, I had to throw in a funny design coincidence - this ceramic ring holder that I hand painted five years ago matches our cake design!
Crazy!
Did you have a hard time finding a cake within your budget? (And don’t even get me started on those cake cutting fees!!!)
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Share this post: Easy as… Cake (A Tale of Two Bakers)
I agree about fondant, it is almond paste usually= pretty to look at but nasty to taste. Buttercream is so much better.
On a side note, Mr. Peep and I got a 3 month cheese of the month subscription from Zingerman’s for the holidays last year. One of the best gifts ever!! He’s going to be so jealous you live so close!
Yea Zingerman’s!!!!!!
Every time we’re in Ann Arbor, we always have lunch there. Delish!
oooooohhhh! zingerman’s! how i love that place. it’s a MUST STOP for me whenever i’m back in a2! the georgia reubans [#18 nosher] are the only thing i get, sans pickle. i’m much too happy with that to try anything else. lol.
i do like their bakeshop but even those prices are a bit spendy so i’m not shocked at all about their wedding cakes. and i do not like fondant at all either! buttercream is definitely the way to go.
I have to agree with you about the fondant. For me, buttercream tastes so much better. I know fondant is way *better* to use for cake decorating, but…. it just tastes too squishy.
We decided that since we’re not huge cake people, we’d are going to do cream puff instead. A friend of mine who’s a baker at Cakelove in DC volunteered to make them. We’re really excited about our alternative “cake”!
Had to comment because I’m an Ann Arborite. Whoo Zingerman’s!
I’m an Ann Arborite too! And we just went to our first cake tasting…with Gwen! It was delish.
But since I’m a huge comparison shopper, I’m going to check out the Jefferson Market Cakery and Manchester Bakery.
Miss Taffy–what flavors are you thinking for your cake? We got to try the bavarian cream and raspberry filling in a vanilla cake.
Yay ZIngerman’s!! LOVE their sandwiches and bread. Yum!
And I am sad to admit, that although married already, I don’t really know what Fondant is. I do know our cake was amazingly delicious and that was more important to me than anything else!! And the off-premise bakery made was included in the price of our venue.
Mr. J and I love Zingermans– he’s the one who introduced me to it. In fact, when we first started dating, he brought me a Zingermans coffee cake in the hatbox. I was SO charmed– he won me over bigtime. And I still have that hatbox
My cake isn’t going to have fondant either; I don’t mind the texture so much, I hate the taste though.
You should try Cake Nouveau on Fourth Street Next to Tea Haus and by the Coop.
Wow. Their cakes are to die for! My friend works at Tea Haus and gorges on the day olds they bring over. It’s also a small business. You may want to check out her prices (she’s been on the Food Network and everything!)
But Zingerman’s, of course, is top shelf stuff (I loooove their sourdough!)
miss taffy, i am sure your cake will turn out beautifully, but after seeing the inspiration cake you printed out for your baker, i had to share this post iust saw on cakewrecks… http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/12/wedding-wrecks.html
hilarious! but again, i am certain your cake will be beautiful! and i agree, fondant, while lovely looking, tastes like playdoh
totally random, just had to mention I love the dish that your birthday cake is on! I have those plates too!
We have the same cake inspiration! I just sent that same picture to our baker, I love it!
Fondant is gross! We are lucky enough to have a catering company great pastry chef. I still wanted to shop around a little bit - but delivery fees were out of control! I was already paying a delivery fee for the caterers so decided to have them make the cake, too.
@Miss Peep Toe: @Miss Powder Puff: @Tea: @Laura: @Banana: @Mrs. Jasmine: Yay, Zingerman’s! Everything there is so good. Mr. Taffy always gets the sourcream coffee cake, Mrs. Jasmine! So yummy.
@boothbride: I am so happy with Gwen. We had the same flavors at our tasting. For Mr. T’s birthday, we did the bavarian creme, and the chocolate bavarian creme. We loved them both, and I really like the raspberry filling too. I like the idea of having one tier lemon cake with raspberry filling or fresh strawberries for the filling. Yum!
@Catty: That’s a great (and tasty) idea!
@GracieLou: I love that site!!! Hopefully ours won’t make it on there!
@Angiepie28: Their shop is really cute, but I have heard mixed reviews on the boards here. I planned on shopping around, but I liked Gwen’s cake and prices so much that I sent my deposit the next day!
@Nicole: I love these plates! We bought an extra set last Christmas for a New Years party, I’m glad that we have more in case I break any!
@goesbyma: Yay! Mr. Taffy and I both fell in love with it at first sight. Are you doing fondant?
@Banana: Fondant is a type of icing that is rolled out in a big sheet and draped over the cake. It is really smooth and pretty, but has a weird gummy / chewy texture.
Had to chime in with my love for Zingerman’s as well I’m a Salinian ;), close enough right?
Another ex-Ann Arborite here! I misssss Zingermann’s! I can’t wait to drag my fiance there when we visit my parents over Christmas!
We have our tasting with Gwen in a week and a half, she was recommended by our caterer (Vassel’s Main Street). I’m so excited! Also, she seems to be doing pretty well for herself for a home based business
Fondant doesn’t actually have to be gross… My aunt is making my wedding cake and we experimented with flavors a few months back and the one we’re going with was amazing…
To go with the grand marnier soaked cake, we kneaded orange extract and some Patron Citronge into the fondant and it tasted FABULOUS!! My mom still has some in the freezer and I definitely defrosted some when I was home for Turkey Day to make sure I still loved it!
The problem is that lots of places don’t add flavoring to their fondant and inexperienced decorators don’t roll the fondant thin enough!
YOu should become Latina for your wedding day and convince a couple of friends to be your “Madrina” and “Padrino”. What is their job? They are basically like your regular best man and maid of honor AND THEY HAVE to pay for the cake.
I was worried about how smooth about baker could get the buttercream frosting since the image I sent her for what I wanted was done in fondant but it turned out great. Most good baker can achiever a very close version with buttercream and it tasted soooo much better.
@GoBlueBride: Yes, close enough! And even closer to Gwen! She lives in Saline.
@historybride: I agree, it seems like a lot of different venues and caterers recommend her! Have fun at the tasting!
@SmallTownBride: To be honest, I was so freaked out by the texture that I don’t remember the taste! Maybe if it was rolled very thin the texture wouldn’t bother me.
@ileana: Sounds good to me!
@Sarah: Thanks, it’s good to hear that your fondant-to-buttercream cake turned out well!
@LeighAnn: Oh, sorry, I meant the “close enough” reply to go to you! I’m still waking up lol.
@GoBlueBride: Have a safe trip back to Ann Arbor!
My best friend used Zingerman’s Cake for their wedding a couple of years ago and I couldn’t get over how delicious the samples at their tasting were. However, she was a little disappointed by the cake on the actual day–it got surprisingly dry. Even though I adore Zingerman’s in all other ways, for upwards from $6/person, I think you can do better.
Wow! Your inspiration cake is almost the same exact design as our inspiration cake (except ours was three tiers and all white instead of having black on it)! We didn’t like fondant either, so we got butter cream icing and it looked as smooth as fondant without tasting gross! I can send you a picture of our wedding cake if you want. We were really happy with how it turned out!
@miss teaberry: ooh, I would love to see a picture of your cake! Can you send it via private message? We thought about doing it white on white, but we are already using black as an accent so we are running with it. I’ll bet it looked really pretty white on white!
Sure…I’ll try to send pics now!
For a cake within our budget, we’re thinking about foregoing the white tiered ‘wedding’ cake in favor of a series of chocolately cakes with our initials stenciled on in cocoa power a la Martha Stewart. The baker won’t charge the typical wedding fee, but rather price them as regular old cakes!
[...] Easy as… Cake (A Tale of Two Bakers) by Miss Taffy [...]
Awww, as an employee at Zingerman’s its always nice to hear some Z-love. Best place to work hands down. Miss Taffy, its so wonderful getting to see your wedding plans unfold. I saw that you are getting married at the Union, which has been my little-girl-dream venue for years.
I can’t wait to see more!
I am madly in love with Zingerman’s!!!!! I am getting married in Michigan, about an hour and a half from Ann Arbor, but I can’t imagine getting my cake anywhere else! Zingerman’s always has the best quality ingredients and I have never had anything they made that I didn’t like. In order to save money, I am going to get a smaller cake from them and the rest in sheet cake, which they sell for the much more affordable $2.50 a person.
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Mrs. Taffy, Ann Arbor
Age and Occupation: 28, Color and Materials Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Automotive Designer
Engagement Date: May 9, 2008
Wedding Date: May 2009
Blogging Since: September 14, 2008
Venue: University of Michigan Union
About Me: I’m a girl who is crazy about Mr. Taffy, sewing, dancing, almost all types of sweets, and our cute pet canaries. I dislike touching fuzzy fabric of any kind, eating somewhat squishy food, and Michigan winters. Mr. Taffy and I are having a blast planning our Ann Arbor wedding, and cannot wait to share our day with friends and family.
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