For those of you who do your tasting like this, do you do only one set of fillings for all the people who come? I mean the groom might not want to "double dip" with the bride's mom. I usually do plain cakes but I give a plate of fillings for each person. For those of you who do it the other way... has it ever been weird for the customers if more than just the bride and groom come?
I provide about 12 plastic spoons for them to use. I've only done it 3 times this way, but it's not been an issue.
Another way to do it is to make each one their own. You can put it all on a small platter or a plate and use a small cookie scoop for the fillings and cut smaller pieces of cake. Each gets their own so there's no double dipping involved. I think I can going to try it this way for my next tasting.. much easier than decorating even cupcakes.
What a neat idea! I have a TON of rammekins at home, and I'll bet that they would work for just that. I could even go to the store and grab a couple of those butter/cheese spreaders (the short stubby ones) to go with each one.
No weddings yet 
but I will get there one day! Most of my cakes are birthdays, with the occasional bridal/baby shower thrown in there. I do, however have a bachelor party coming up next weekend, so I am expanding a little 
.
Thanks as always for the tips Debi.
I give each guest their own cakes and their own frostings. I tell my brides they can have up to 2 guests (example, groom and her mom)
indydebi- That's a great idea when they want so many options! The picture is cute! I would make a suggestion.... use a small cookie cutter the make the cake samples uniform and interesting. You could use different shapes for each flavor too. This would really add to your presentation and wouldn't waste much cake at all.
Thanks for sharing!
indydebi- That's a great idea when they want so many options! The picture is cute! I would make a suggestion.... use a small cookie cutter the make the cake samples uniform and interesting. You could use different shapes for each flavor too. This would really add to your presentation and wouldn't waste much cake at all.
Thanks for sharing!
Cookie cutter is a great idea! Usually the cake squares are more uniform, but I had just enough orange-cake-batter for a small round pan instead of a square pan. Good tip!
Oh, here's a tip for serving fondant. A lot of brides have never seen it or tasted it so what I do is use one of my molds...say a seashell and make an impression with my fondant and serve it on the side of their plate.
For those of you who do your tasting like this, do you do only one set of fillings for all the people who come? I mean the groom might not want to "double dip" with the bride's mom. I usually do plain cakes but I give a plate of fillings for each person. For those of you who do it the other way... has it ever been weird for the customers if more than just the bride and groom come?
I provide about 12 plastic spoons for them to use. I've only done it 3 times this way, but it's not been an issue.
One spoon per sample cup is how I do it too. There is no double dipping. They take the spoon and put some on there plate and put the spoon back, just like you would in a buffet line. Here's the other thread with a pic.
http://forum.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=587351&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=15
When I serve fondant to the bride, I wrap it in Press'N'Seal to keep it fresh. I usually just roll out a thin piece (I think a chunk would be a bit of a turn off and isn't true to how it is on the cake) and cut a small circle of it, but I like the idea of impressing a shape or pattern on it.
SweetArt. On the picture from that link you posted( awesome setup by the way ) What are those holders you have with the heart shape attached ? Very cute !Where did you get those? Thanks !
Here's a picture of what I did for my tasting today.. I got a great response from it too. It was really easy as most of the fillings are just flavored SMBC. It was really easy to make small batches and I had to make 2 cakes with enough left over to do another tasting. They loved being able to try tons of different combinations and I sent them home with a box with more of everything they had sampled so they could have others sample as well.
edited to re-size the picture
Thanks Debi.. it was my smallest cookie scoop. I think it's 1 oz. I also printed out a map of what it all was. I'll post a picture of it.
They had so much fun taking bits of this and that and combining them. It allowed them to get a nice scope of what is available and to try out things they never would have thought of. This is how I will do all of my tastings from now on.
SweetArt. On the picture from that link you posted( awesome setup by the way ) What are those holders you have with the heart shape attached ? Very cute !Where did you get those? Thanks !
I got them here. http://www.rosemarycompany.com/1715.html
jkalman that is so chic. Love it!
SweetArt.. Thanks much ..they are adorable !jkalman
.. I also love your display ! It looks tastey to !
What wonderful ideas! We are getting ready to move our shop from a 1500sqft building to 12000 sqft and had planned on making a seperate room just for wedding consults, now my head is just spinning with more ideas! I used to sleep before I found Cake Central. LOL 
here's the promised pics of how I set this up. Nothing fancy ... but so far, 3 out of 3 brides have loved it.
Thanks to all the CC'ers who talked about how they do their samplings this way!
Great set up. What does dreamscicle taste like?
here's the promised pics of how I set this up. Nothing fancy ... but so far, 3 out of 3 brides have loved it.
Thanks to all the CC'ers who talked about how they do their samplings this way!
Great set up. What does dreamscicle taste like?
A creamy orange. If you make a cream cheese icing and add some concentrated orange flavoring (I used the McCormick's that you find on the grocery shelf). A dreamsicle is/was an ice cream bar when I was a kid. The taste takes me back to my backyard tire swing on the big apple tree!
OHHHH... Nothing better then the dreamsicle off the ice cream truck on a hot summer day ! I can hear that ice cream truck music playing now !
here's the promised pics of how I set this up. Nothing fancy ... but so far, 3 out of 3 brides have loved it.
Thanks to all the CC'ers who talked about how they do their samplings this way!
Great set up. What does dreamscicle taste like?
A creamy orange. If you make a cream cheese icing and add some concentrated orange flavoring (I used the McCormick's that you find on the grocery shelf). A dreamsicle is/was an ice cream bar when I was a kid. The taste takes me back to my backyard tire swing on the big apple tree!
Sounds yummy! Thanks.
Thanks so much JK and Indy for your example photos. these are very impressive. I will have to try it for my next tasting.
I do the same thing with mini cupcakes and the different frostings/fillings. I make a bunch of mini cupcakes when I have leftover batter and freeze them. I like the idea of using the placecards for the different flavors. Makes it look very professional.
Another way to do it is to make each one their own. You can put it all on a small platter or a plate and use a small cookie scoop for the fillings and cut smaller pieces of cake. Each gets their own so there's no double dipping involved. I think I can going to try it this way for my next tasting.. much easier than decorating even cupcakes.
Jkalman, I think we might be twins separated at birth. I just had my first tasting last night and that's exactly what I did. I really liked how the cookie scoop looked.
Dreamsicle...... how much concentrated orange flavoring do you add?
One of these days, you guys will remember that I'm a "until it looks right" cook. Seriously, I've no idea. Depends on how much icing is in the bowl. I pretty much just pour a few drops at a time .... maybe a small capful at a time .... maybe a 1/2 tsp at a time .... "until it tastes right". When it tastes like a dreamsicle bar, then you've got it! 
Yeah, yeah, I know ... my girls are always telling me, "mom, you need to measure this stuff and write it down!!!"
Someday ....
As a hobbyist I have never had enough business to try this, but If I had someone who asked me if I could do a tasting for her I would do so and this gives me a great way to do it. Thanks Indydebbie. I can also see what the other person was talking about each person having a portion. I wonder if you knew that you were going to have several people in on the tasting if you couldn't possibly figure out a way that they could each have a little tray of the filliings and a little cup of the icings and see which combo they might like. each person could try what you recommended and then make up their own combos and suggest the others try that also. How long do you put aside for a tasting and consultation with the bride, Indydebbie? or anyone else that does this professionally?
I only permitted a max of 4 people at the tasting. And no, I was not going to make up 4 containers of raspberry filling, 4 containers of banana creme filling, etc. No one had a problem with "family style" tastings.
I could get thru an appt in an hour, and that included tasting the food and planning the menu for the catering part, too. The key to expediency is being organized, knowing what info you need and knowing how to extract the info.
I do something similar, I keep mini cupcakes in the freezer and always have extra frostings/fillings that I put in disposable piping bags. When I have a tasting I just pull out the mini's and the fillings/frostings and let them mix and match to find the combos they like best. I've gotten a very good response from that, they love getting to design their own flavor like that.
I know that there are tips that you can put on the filling bags that they could just stick into the cake and squeeze a little in and put the icing on and you are ready to go. I know that you would have to have one for every filling and wipe the ends off of the tubes before handing it to someone else so the filling doesn't get corrupted, or you can do that part yourself as they tell you what they want to try. Thanks for yet another great idea.
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