Crumb and Get It!
A wedding day would not be complete without the cake – the timeless photo opportunity, the ceremonial cutting, feeding your forever person a piece. It is an age-old tradition that has stood the test of time. Today, couples do not only desire a cake with bold, fresh flavours and an elegant look, they envision a cake that is personal to them and completely integrated to their overall wedding vision. Melbourne Wedding & Bride’s Hannah McDonald sits down with Erica Noto, owner and patisserie chef of Cocoa & Crumbs, to discuss her own process, new cake trends and a piece of advice for couples who can’t wait to say, ‘I dough’.
From making biscuits and pastries alongside her Nonna, Erica Noto fell in love with baking at a young age. It was then, she realised, she could see herself creating baked masterpieces as a career. After completing a patisserie course directly after high school, Noto landed a job at her local bakery. “Here I gained more skills and felt more of a passion to start my own business, Cocoa & Crumbs,” she says. “I fell in love with the process of talking to my customers who would describe their dream cake and turn this dream into a reality for their special day! The reactions of every customer seeing their dream cake, whether for their wedding or birthday, are so beautiful and always inspiring me to do more.”
Sweet Science
The art of creating the perfect wedding cake is characterised by the expert balance of flavours and the foregrounding of quality ingredients. “I truly believe that the flavour and quality of the cake itself are just as important as the overall design and finish of the cake,” Noto expands. She also stresses the importance of variety, offering a menu “ranging from lemon mud cake with white chocolate ganache and lemon curd to a marble mud cake with Oreo ganache.” To ensure freshness, she “steers towards making all sauces and curds from scratch, which are then paired with a moist mud cake and chocolate ganache.”
The precise science of wedding cakes is not only determined by the ingredients within the cake but also depends on the social atmosphere of the couple and their wedding. Noto explains, “when creating a wedding cake, it’s such a special process of getting the vibe of the couple’s wedding and incorporating aspects of their decorations and/or wedding dress into their cake. This allows for their wedding cake to be unique to them and tie into the reception nicely.”
Behind the Batter
Like anything, designing a wedding cake is a process that involves one step at a time. Noto reveals her critical first act. “I always begin by gathering as much information about their wedding, such as the venue, number of guests, allergies and preferred flavour. By gathering this information, it gives me an insight into the couple’s overall vision of their wedding.” From here, she nails down the specifics. “Each wedding cake can be customised to suit the couple’s theme, colours or incorporate personal references. Once I understand their design, I can either recreate their preferred design or design a cake specifically tailored to them,” she explains.
Noto asserts that when it comes to baking, organisation is everything. “At the start of each week, I organise my baking list for all my orders. By preparing all these components before stacking the cake it ensures a secure internal structure, as they have time to set. From here, each cake is stacked and decorated based on the couple’s chosen design.” For freshness, she assures one simple rule. “Each wedding cake is baked and decorated as close to their date as possible to ensure that the cake remains fresh and flavoursome for their special day,” she promises.
Fresh Fron-Tiers
Like any aspect of a wedding, the cake is a fixture of the big day that is continually subject to trends coming in and out of style. This year, Noto has noticed a volume of specific requests. “There are a few designs that have become popular as wedding cakes due to their simplistic yet effective overall design. These designs include a white pearl sprinkle cake where the sprinkles are cascading down the top of each tier. Also, the design with a white fondant finish and white fondant drape
cascading from the top to the bottom of the cake. Both designs are simplistic, yet eye-catching, and can have multiple variations to the overall finish,” she says.
If wanting to stray from the crowd, Noto details how one couple’s unique vision stole the show. “A customer requested a cake where there were ‘floating’ flowers cascading down around the tiered cake. This cake came to life at the venue as each delicate flower was assembled on the cake. As the room was very minimalistic in decoration, it allowed space for this cake to have its own moment,” she recalls.
Slice of Advice
Although the wedding cake is an important detail that ties the event together, Noto advises a distinct order of operations. “I highly recommend that couples should first secure their venue and date for their wedding. This ensures that when they enquire about their wedding cake, I can check my availability and if the venue is within my delivery vicinity. As there are peak times for wedding season, these periods can become fully booked very fast,” she cautions.
In terms of changes, Noto discusses how this affects the process. She says, “I always advise for my customers to allow ample time to make any changes or requests to their wedding cake. This is to ensure that there is enough time to make these changes and order any additional decorations within the timeframe. If this change is too close to their date, it may not be fulfilled. Upon securing their order, I also advise that any changes may result in an additional cost.”