Post from the pros - Quality Cake Company
Welcome back to a post from the pros, our insider’s look into all things wedding and bridal. This month we got chatting to Izzy from Quality Cake Company to find out more about what goes on behind the scenes when deciding on that all important wedding cake. Because cutting the cake is one of the most iconic wedding traditions next to saying ‘I do’ right?
Read all about it in our interview below,
Tell us your story, how did Quality Cake Company Start?
Back in 2011 my partner Angie decided to do something fun and began an evening class to learn to make sugar flowers and cake decorations. Skills she then began to teach me in her free time. It quickly turned into a hobby and our family and friends all received a birthday cake (whether they wanted one or not) which gave us a chance to refine our skills. As the years passed people continued to tell us how amazing our cakes were, we thought it was just people being polite. Around the same time, cake decorating became trendy, thanks to The Great British Bake off and American shows such as Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes. We began to realise that our skills were good and quite a bit better than many other home bakers.With the help of my Dad, we built a website, created a Facebook page, and Quality Cake Company was born.
In the summer of 2016 Angie was made redundant from her current full-time job. Lisa, Angie’s sister, was no longer enjoying her role at work and my job had also changed into something I did not like. Between the three of us, we decided it was feasible to turn this passion and skill into a viable business.Angie, ever the keen business mind, searched local cake businesses for sale. There were two! One was in South Birmingham, and the other in Tamworth.
To cut a long story short, in January 2017 we made an offer on a company that had been established in Tamworth for 30 years; Jackies’ Cake Kitchen. Jackie had decided to retire and put the business up for sale. Angie and Lisa’s parents, who owned card and party shops in Cornwall, pitched in to help get us going, and in the summer of 2017, we got the keys. Quality Cake Company turned from a small home business into a shop selling cakes, sugarcraft supplies, balloons, partyware and had a full diary of cakes, overnight!
In 2020 we merged with Celebration Cakes. Two strong companies in the area came together and we continue to progress and learn new skills to be the best cake company in the area.
How long have you been designing wedding cakes and what do you enjoy most about your job?
We have been making wedding cakes for about five years. As with all our cakes, we work hard to create something of excellent quality. The best bit is when you step back and look, and think, wow I created that! It also means the world to us that a couple chooses us to be part of their most special and important day. Finally, when we get a 5-star review from customers telling us how much they loved it, it makes everyday worth it!
What are your favourite cake trends at present?
The chocolate drip cake is always a winner for party cakes, they always look indulgent and suit all occasions.
Wedding cakes, which are tall, elegant and sophisticated, are very fashionable. With textures such as ruffles or additional elements such as gold leaf to give it a contemporary, luxury look, they often have minimal decoration and are well executed.
The other cake trend which is creeping in includes illusion spacer tiers or artificial tiers made of metal or plastic filled with flowers, lights or left clear to create an illusion of floating. It gives a new dimension to the traditional wedding cake and makes it truly eye-catching and photo worthy.
What flavour cakes do you make? Do you offer bespoke flavours?
We currently offer twenty-four flavours, vanilla is the most popular for party cakes as it suits everyone and for wedding cakes, it is light lemon! Other popular ones include orange chocolate, toffee caramel fudge, and raspberry ripple.
Have you ever designed a cake that was made of something else? Or is there something you would love to see made into a wedding cake? (I’ve heard of people have ‘cakes’ made from cheese/pork pies etc so I’m curious!)
We have only ever made our cakes out of cake. I would not know how to make a pork pie *chuckle*. People do search for alternatives to wedding cakes such as brownie stacks, or doughnut towers. But that is not our thing, we stick to cakes, we know what we are doing with sponge and icing and most people want a cake as it is traditional and considered good luck to share with your guests.
We often make cakes that look like other things such as Henry hoovers, steak pies or Doctor Marten Boots for birthdays. But this does not happen often for wedding cakes.
Is there a favourite wedding cake you have made for a client?
We liked the three giant fondant fancies we made recently, and we are willing to bet they would have made a great talking piece. Reveal cakes are always fun, it looks simple and elegant at the front, but walk round the back and you will see a hidden design, such as Disney, Lego or Marvel.
Often though, it is a classic cake, with pretty textures, maybe a slight shimmer or glitter covering, or a sugar bow that looks timeless and beautiful. It makes us proud to be able to create something that the couple will remember forever.
What is the most unusual or interesting request you’ve had for a wedding cake?
Often it is the themed cakes that cause a raised eyebrow! We have made a cake with Minions on. Ones with a beach theme with seashells, dolphins, and edible sand. One that looks like a stack of books for avid readers. Suitcases, for those with the travel bug. Steampunk ones, tractor themed and quite a few Star Wars are also on the list!
Do you have any favourite venues that you have worked with?
There are just so many! We have delivered to over 90 different venues across the Midlands and Staffordshire. We are the preferred supplier for some, and we have a great relationship with these venues.
These are our top 20:
- Moxhull Hall
- New Hall Hotel and Spa
- Lea Marston Hotel and Spa
- Coton House
- The School House
- Mythe Barn
- Shustoke Barn
- The Castle Hotel
- Swinfen Hall
- Drayton Manor Hotel
- Thorpe Gardens
- Bilston Brook Wedding Barn
- Moor Hall Hotel
- Alrewas Hayes
- Fairlawns Hotel and Spa
- The Belfry
- Grimscote Manor Hotel
- Hoar Cross Hall
- The Globe Inn
- The George Hotel
On average how much time in advance would you recommend a customer to contact you to prepare a cake for their wedding?
We say as much time as possible. There will be a limit to how many cakes we can make each week, so popular weekends in June, July and August will fill up quicker. We suggest around 9 months to 1 year is ideal, we can often accommodate last-minute requests and are happy to take bookings up to two years in advance.
What are the most common questions (and answers) you are asked by your clients?
- Can I have different flavours for each tier? Yes absolutely, this will probably be the largest and most expensive cake you ever order, so why not indulge in different flavours too!
- Which venues do you cover? We are happy to travel up to thirty miles. We would love to visit venues all over the country, but cakes are super fragile and do not like being in the car. So, we have to have a limit to ensure they are delivered in perfect condition.
- How much is a cake? This is indeterminable. It will depend on the size of each tier, how many tiers, the flavours, and the overall decoration. We are happy to quote any design for free, but as every single cake is different, we simply cannot have set prices otherwise we would have 100,000+ combinations.
- I don’t like fruit cake; can I have sponge cake?
Yes! Ninety-nine percent of our wedding cakes are sponge cake. Long gone are the days of the traditional fruit cake, sponge cakes are more adaptable and much preferred by most people.
- I’ve seen this two-tier cake that I like, I have 150 guests. Will that be ok? In short, no! As a rule of thumb, wedding cake portions are slightly smaller than party portions. But a small two-tier cake simply cannot be cut up small enough for that number of people. If you want to serve all your guests at your wedding, talk to us first about the sizes we recommend. Remember we can adapt designs to make them larger, smaller, more tiers etc, ask us questions, we are happy to help.
What advice would you give to your clients for their wedding day?
Think about your overall theme and apply it to your décor and your cake.Is your venue a beautiful hotel? A grand stately home? A beautiful, converted barn?Our advice is to consider your venue and styling and apply that to the design of your cake.For example, converted barns with wooden décor, simple flowers, homemade decorations and stationery, with beautiful country views, look stunning with a rustic semi-naked cake with fresh flowers.
Getting married in a luxury hotel or grand stately home? Choose things with a touch of elegance, hints of gold and luxe stationery. A semi-naked cake might be trendy, but unlikely to match the flock wallpaper or grand chandeliers and it will look strangely out of place. These venues look beautiful with elegant, tiered cakes with lots of textures and design elements that stand out and look luxurious.
And lastly, what’s your favourite cake?
Gosh, this is far too hard! We have made so many beautiful cakes that are all special in their own way. We enjoy fun novelty sculpted cakes as they get the best reaction and are so much fun to make. Wedding cakes, it would be my own wedding cake. It was six tiers, with a watercolour rainbow cascaded down the front. It consisted of different height tiers and different shapes. It had a spacer tier and gold leaf and white flowers. It was a real statement!
Thank you so much to Izzy and Quality Cake Company for answering all our burning questions- now who’s for cake?!