I Do The Details

Happy Friday all, welcome to Featured Friday Edition #7 YIPPY!!..wow number 7. Doesn’t the time just fly? Well I have been out of town on business all week, but that doesn’t mean I slacked on my Friday post one bit. Instead I have something yummy for you today.. Dessert Works bakery in Norwood, MA! And I have to add I wanted a piece of cake the WHOLE time I was working on this post..

Finding a good bakery is key to your big day. The bakery you choose must not only design amazing creations but also be true cake baking experts. From the smooth yet flexible fondant bow, right down to the lush raspberry filing, every bite must be superb. You wouldn’t want your guests to tell people how dry your cake was or that the frosting was too hard. And that happens all the time sadly. After reading this article, if you are in MA, visit Dessert Works and ask for Sara Potvin their Design Consultant for Wedding & Specialty Cakes. Now..on with the show!!!

Dessert Works was founded in 2001 by Chef Kristen Repa and her husband, Leonardo Savona. Kristen started her career in the industry over 15 years ago. She has worked as Executive Pastry Chef for The Catered Affair, as an apprentice chef at The Ritz Carlton Boston, and as a cake decorator for Konditor Meister. She also trained at Gerstner, the world renowned pastry shop in Vienna, Austria. Dessert Works began as a small shop in Medfield, Massachusetts and quickly outgrew its space due to Kristen’s reputation for outstanding desserts and beautifully artistic designs.

In 2004, Dessert Works was relocated to a larger facility in Norwood, Massachusetts to meet demand. Kristen and Leonardo are extremely passionate about their work. They strive to provide outstanding customer service and to create cakes and desserts that not only look beautiful, but also taste delicious. They take great pride in every cake they create, from the small birthday cake to the 5 tier wedding cake.

As I said previously, when you visit the bakery, make sure to ask for Sara and tell her Trista said hello.. Sara and I have been friends since middle school. She is sweet as pie and is there to assist you with all your wedding cake needs. Her job is to meet with the couples (mainly the bride) to host tasting and design consultation appointments in the bakery’s bridal suite. She will handle all the details of your cake, right up until the point it is baked and decorated in the kitchen. How fun is her job!! I asked sara what does she LOVE about her job? She replied, “I love meeting with my brides! This is the happiest time in their life, so they are always so full of life when they come in to meet with us. Not to mention the fact that everyone loves cake, so the fact that they get to try a bunch of delicious cake usually makes them even more excited!” she also mentioned that she loves how each bride is uniquely different, and enjoys helping them create the wedding cake of their dreams! Now Sara did not get paid to say this.. but she actually LOVES the work environment as well. Everyone that works there is so friendly and they are all extremely passionate about what they are doing. Sara, can I have a job there? This place sounds fabulous..from the delicious cakes right down to superb customer service! Which is SO incredibly important when you are planning your big day- CUSTOMER SERVICE makes the planning experience delightful vs. a train wreck.

Now let’s chat designs..being around SO many amazing creations I am sure it’s not easy to pick just one. BUT I had to find out what is Sara’s favorite design. She replied, “To me personally, simpler is better. We have one design that I have seen done in many different colors, and it’s always just as beautiful. It features a rolled chocolate band with a scrolling lace design on the band, and a simple top bouquet of rolled chocolate flowers. (see below) That is the top contender for my favorite design here.”

I have to agree this cake is stunning and simple, perfect-o. Dessert Works is always up for a challenge though, if your budget allows, they will design you the 5 Tier eye extravaganze you are picturing. And if your budget doesn’t allow for such an extreme design, they will work to make sure that no matter what budget you are working with that by the time you see the finished product, sara will have to pull your jaw up off the ground.

Something that I think is extra special are grooms cakes. Let’s face it..the bride designs the main cake and maybe gets the filling input from the groom, but that’s all. Mainly because if we left it up to the groom we’d end up with baseball stadiums, cars, giant beer bottles and god knows what else. Now if YOU the bride want a giant beer bottle, thats your choice..but if not, request a grooms cake. Sara said they gets ALOT of grooms cake requests at the bakery. They have created convertibles, fire engines, a cigar box, an ambulance and a tuxedo cake, just to name a few! Recently a couple came into the bakery that are huge Lionel Richie fans and requested a cake to look like the clay bust of Lionel’s head from his music video “Hello.” What a unique request! And the cake came out fantastic, check it out below.

Wondering about the cakes ingredients? I was..Generally, the one area they will not allow requests or adjustments is with flavors and recipes. They use all natural products, real butter and premium produce. All of their products are made from scratch, right in their own facility. They offer 17 different flavors to choose from, with the addition of gluten free and dairy free flavors as well. The reason they don’t stray from these ingredients is because they are their own recipes and using them means they then maintain their integrity. When you change recipes you don’t know how the ingredients will react, and you wouldn’t want they cake collapsing or baking unevenly. RIGHT? Thought so.. They want to ensure that all their couples are happy, but also have to keep in mind the structural integrity of the product and that the taste of the product they are producing is representing the bakery.

Lastly, I had asked Sara what is 1 final thing you would want people to know about Dessert Works. She replied, “With any wedding cake 3 tiers or larger we provide a complimentary Honeymoon Cake. The Honeymoon Cake is essentially a mini replica of your wedding cake design and is our alternative to the saving the top tier for your anniversary tradition. It is delivered with your wedding cake in its own acrylic box so that you can put it right in the freezer to save for your first anniversary.”

Thank you for spending your friday with me and if you’re in interested in Dessert Works for your cake, please see their information below.

Call 781-769-1133 x 208 or email: cake.dessertworks@hotmail.com. For more information, check out their website (http://dessertworks.net) and blog (http://dessertworks.blogspot.com).