Birthday Cake – The Ocelots' Den

Is Bigger Better? Sharing the Secrets of Tall Cakes

By Julia on 7 July, 2021

IMHO, Tall cakes are epic! If I need to make a small cake or any cake for personal events, I make tall cakes. (I may also overbake for my personal events). This is when I experiment the most and test out new techniques and ideas. I don’t want any cake-tastropes for my clients.

What is a Tall Cake?

A tall cake is simply what it seems. A TALL cake! Depending on the size of the cake, the height may look more proportional or taller. For my menu purposes, my cakes have a simplified definition.

My Standard cakes are all 2-layers. And my Tall Cakes are 4-Layers. All of my cake layers are baked to the same dimensions. I am more than happy to create a custom number of layers. (My pricing menu has pricing for 2-layer, 3-layer, and 4-layer cakes). If you want 5+ layers I can certainly accommodate!

No More Leaning Towers!

I’m going to get on my soapbox again and emphasize the importance of structure in tall cakes! Tall cakes are essentially a more modern version of a tiered cake, but they have the same diameter. The structural integrity can be compromised from the weight of the cakes. This can lead to leaning, collapsing, or squished fillings. (Which is NOT ideal). To prevent this, I insert dowels, or straws, and depending on the size of the cake, I may include a cake board.

Any way you stack it, you can’t go wrong with cake! I like the drama of the added elevation, but maybe you’re a no-drama mama. (And that’s great too!)

Mix ‘n’ Match

I don’t have the prices listed on my menu (because there are nearly infinite possibilities for options), but you can mix standard cakes with tall cakes for a modern surprise!

Call me up, if you want a Mix ‘N’ Match cake! (By call me, I definitely mean text or email me). I am obsessed, but haven’t had a reason to bake one yet!!

Baked Goods | Cake | Wedding | Weddings

Naked Cakes: Brazen, Beautiful, or Boring?

By Julia on 16 June, 2021

At this point in my wedding cake series, I’m sure it isn’t a surprise that given the choice I choose cake over frosting. IMHO, naked cakes are the perfect balance between frosting and cake. However, it may surprise you that I will always veer towards suggesting a Fully Frosted or Nearly Nude cake. And not just because I enjoy their alliterative names.

While I adore the look of a naked cake, and the balance is my favorite, a truly naked cake is more challenging to make. I know this may seem unrealistic. There is less icing—fewer materials. There aren’t countless swipes to make the icing smooth. On the other hand, the layers need to be baked to perfection to get crisp lines. The cake crumb needs to be intact for an even-ish color. That cute crumb that comes through can literally tear the cake if the icing isn’t the perfect consistency.

I suppose you could say, I have a love/hate relationship with naked cakes. I’ve had TWO naked cakes topple over. It was HEARTBREAKING! (Luckily they were cakes for experimenting… and many lessons were learned to prevent this from happening again). A nice chilled outer coating of frosting is firm enough that I don’t worry about the cake slipping or sliding or turning into a leaning tower.

The final concern I have for naked cakes is they can dry out. The frosting on a cake insulates the cake and seals the moisture into the cake. Most bridal cakes are made days ahead of the wedding. Naked cakes have more opportunities for the cake to be out and exposed. Don’t worry though, if you have your heart set on a naked cake, there are ways to compensate and mitigate the risk of having a dry cake.

A simple syrup brushed between the layers can infuse more flavor (if it is an infused syrup) but it can add that moisture you may have lost. Additionally, hopefully, your baker (like me) can plan to bake your cake closer to your event. Currently, I only bake ONE wedding cake a week. I plan ahead of time and for naked cakes especially to bake the day before the wedding.

Nearly Nude

A Nearly Nude cake has the lightest layer of frosting. It still looks very much like a naked cake, yet is more forgiving. It seals in more of that coveted moisture. It is easy to handle (which is important for tiered cakes). This cake is the Goldilocks of cakes. 😸 This cake style is also commonly called Nearly Naked and Semi-Naked.

At the Den

If you choose to work with me, I am happy to answer any additional questions about these cakes. My bias is purely for what I like to eat & what is easiest for me to make. I am over-the-moon excited to make ANY cake. I provide information, answer questions, and then create YOUR dream cake!!! Whether it is for a wedding (LOVE), Birthday (LOVE), Celebrations (LOVE), Just Because (LOVE). I feel immense joy bringing cake dreams to life and infusing my love into these creations.

Baked Goods | Cake | Wedding | Weddings

Layering in the Flavor

By Julia on 2 June, 2021

It’s time to dispel some confusion. Layers versus Tiers. One of the things I love the most in creating treats for my clients is truly customizing their visions.

What is a Cake Layer?

Let’s get down to basics. The Cake layer is basically the bread of making a cake. If we are thinking of sandwiches as an analogy for cake making. A sheet cake is an open face sandwich. (One layer of cake/ bread + /frosting/toppings. A Layer Cake is a traditional Sandwich with at least 2 pieces of bread + any number of toppings.

All of my cakes are 2-inch layers of cake. Whether they are 1,2,3, or 4 layers of cake. This creates a nice uniform size. Cakes can have thicker or thinner layers of cake, but I use this standard measurement so each cake is baked the same and I can achieve consistent results.

Between each layer of cake there is at a minimum a layer of frosting. It can be the same frosting as on the outside of the cake, a different color of the same frosting, or a different flavor all together.

Additionally, fillings can be added. Fruit, nuts, candy, caramel, chocolate etc. I pipe a dam of icing around the edge (to seal in the topping) and then fill the inside with extra delicious flavors.

Tiers are when you have smaller cakes stacked on top of larger cakes. We’ll get into tiers more in future posts.

The Process of Ordering a Custom Cake

Here are some of the first questions I will ask.

What is the event? (birthday, Wedding, Celebration, Anniversary)
How many people are you anticipating at your event? (So I can guide the sizing)
What flavors would you like to include? (Cake, Frosting, Filling, Toppers)
Are there any dietary concerns?

Once I have those more basic questions, I can hone in and figure how best to scale the cake for the size of the event.

Size is often the biggest question. Cakes of various different shapes can feed the same number of people.

Sheet Cakes are typically one layer
My standard Cakes have two layers
Tall Cakes have 3-4 layers (in my bakery)

So let’s say you have 20 guests at your party. Here are some examples of cake suggestions I would offer.

Wedding (Smaller Slices are served at weddings)
- A 2 Tier Cake with a 6-inch layer and a 4-inch layer (serves 20)
- A three-layer 6-inch cake (serves 21)
Other Celebrations
- a 10-inch two-layer Cake (serves 21)
- an 8-inch three-layer Cake (serves 21)
- a 2 tier cake with a 6-inch layer and an 8-inch layer (serves 22)

The more people the more options available. Especially with tiered cakes. You Can mix and match the height of the layers for more drama or an eclectic vibe.

Once the basic choices are selected. I can create a customized quote for any additional design elements (cake toppers, fresh fruit, sugar flowers, etc.) I am also happy to sketch up some scaled drawings if you need some help visualizing different cake sizes.

Baked Goods | Birthdays | Cake

How to bake a Cake for a Lover of Macabre

By Julia on 14 April, 2018

Nevermore

It’s my Sister-in-Law’s birthday this month! She loves Crows and Ravens (and birds in general). I wanted to make her a special petite cake to honor her.

I rolled out some black fondant and went to town cutting out feathers. I embossed and shaped each one by hand. After I applied them to the cake I gave them a simple paint job using black shimmery luster dust.

I also dusted the white buttercream once it had crusted. I liked that it gave the appearance of birch bark.