Do Me A Flavor...

Here's the scoop on the cakity, cake. None of the exhaustively researched alternatives made me happpy. Well, at least none of the cost effective options that we could agree on made me happy. So, I tried bakeries again to see if they'd make "our flavor." If you don't remember we want mint chocolate flavored white cake. Sounds simple. It's an aesthetic thing as Mike so delicately puts it "I don't want it to look like everyone has poop on their face."

Seeing me struggling to make someone understand what I was looking for my amazing, amazing friend Megan did some research. She found the magic ingredient to make white cake taste chocolatey (pictured above). She even, bless her, sent us a recipe:

White Cake – Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes three 9-inch layers; serves 10-12
2 ¾ cps cake flour
1 ¼ cps plus 2/3 cp sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cp vegetable oil
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp sour cream
½ cp plus 1 tbsp whole milk
6 large egg whites
¼ to ½ tsp LorAnn Mint Chocolate Chip extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour three, 9-inch pans with 1 ½-inch-high sides. Sift flour, 1 ¼ cps sugar, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk oil and egg yolks in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in sour cream, then milk then extract. Whisk in dry ingredients in three additions. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until whites are stiff but not dry; fold into batter in 4 additions. Divide batter among prepared pans.
Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cakes in pans five minutes. Slide a knife around the outside edge of the cake to release it from the pan. Turn cakes out to cool completely on a metal wire rack.
NB – This cake will shrink as it cools. It makes a more European-textured cake. If you are looking for an airy, box-mix-like cake, this is not it. But this is the type of cake that will stand up to fondant and syrup/glazes without ripping.
NB – The yolks will lend a slightly yellow tone to the cake. But you can avoid that by adding a few drops of Wilton’s White Liquid Color (available at Michael’s).
NB – This is just for three layers of the same size. Your baker is going to have to modify amounts to make enough cake to fit your vision.

We tried the recipe and LOVED it! Megan and I both wish she were closer so she could just make the cake. It would be spectacular, no doubt about it! Things (and distance being what is is) as they are I've narrowed it down to two bakeries. They both offer completely custom flavors, have very artistic designs in their portfolios and have expressed creative flavor solutions.

Option A: Chocolate Pi

Pluses

• Highly Recommended (theknot, weddingwire, etc)
• Bride's Choice Award 2011
• Will Accommodate ANY Custom Flavor or Design
• Cool Name
• They did accomidate me and give me an earlier appointment for next week

Minuses

It's in Tampa

They're Expensive

They're HARD to Reach (14 emails and almost 3wks just trying to get an appointment)

Their appointments start at 4:30pm (Over the bridge in rush hour? Ugh!)

I've yet to speak to a human being

The info on their site is minimal

Option B: It's Icing On The Cake

Pluses

• Recommended by Florist/Family Friend
• Bride's Choice Award 2011/High Ratings on WeddingWire
• Will Accommodate ANY Custom Flavor or Design
• Got a quick call back & Spoke to the owner on my second try!
• Appointments M-W 10am-6p (that's more like it!)
• It's very close to our venue
• Prices are slightly lower
• She has an art background
• We already have an appointment
• Info on website and WeddingWire profile is very informative

Minuses

• Hmmmm...

Ok, so maybe it's looking pretty good for option B, but I feel weird discounting my long ago first choice. After all, getting my photographer pick was such a dream come true. Not just that, but not having at least two options to choose between seems wrong. Maybe, I'll fall in love the rest of the way with option B at the tasting Tuesday. It's possible that first impressions are wrong and I'll go with option A after all. I just hope one of them pans out because this it the last "big thing" for a while.