Wedding cakes have a reputation for being pretty to look at but sometimes not so good to eat. Not so with Pastries by Randolph, which has been serving customers for 15 years.
“Really, we can do almost anything anyone wants for wedding cakes,” he said Mark Randolph, one of the owners who also does some of the baking.
The pastry shop can make almost any kind of cake, although there are some orders they won’t fill. “There are certain elaborate designs that we simply don’t do because they are so time consuming and expensive and they take away time from serving our other customers,” said Randolph. “If a bride wants that kind of cake, we refer her to someone who does only wedding cakes.”
Those requests are unusual, though, and Pastries by Randolph usually ends up fulfilling bridal requests. “We can give you almost any flavor or flavor combination that you want,” Randolph said, and most customers today want several. “You might have one tier with raspberry and lemon and another with raspberry and hazelnut,” he said. “Some people want the cake to be soaked in liquor and some people want liquor filling.”
Those who come into purchase a wedding cake get three free samples. “We will make three different types of cake and let the customer take it home to try so that they can decide what suits them the best,” he said.
He works with brides, mothers of the bride and grooms. “Sometimes it’s funny to watch because they really get into it in the store if they can’t agree on the kind of cake,” Randolph said.
The cost of the cake is substantially increased by decorations. “We did one cake with sugar doves flying off the top and little silver balls all around it. That took forever and cost thousands of dollars. We don’t do those cakes anymore because of the time involved,” he said.
For most people, though, plan on $350 to feed 100 guests. “That’s a general rule but we can always work with the customer to make sure that they get what they want,” he said.