Tasting

To set up a tasting, I usually set up some vanilla cake, chocolate cake and marble cake with vanilla buttercream and chocolate butter cream.
In the past I have used an 8” square pan. I have tilted the pan to one side and filled it half full (about 1 cup) of vanilla cake batter. While still tilted, I started pouring 1 cup of chocolate cake batter into the other side of the pan and leveled out the pan. this should give you an 8” square which is half vanilla and half chocolate.
Next, I took a skewer and zig zagged it through the vanilla and chocolate, but only about 1 1/2 inches through the center of the pan. Voila! You have vanilla cake, marble cake, and chocolate cake all in the same pan.
Bake, and chill, fill with vanilla butt ercream, and chocolate and you will have a 6 different cake samples.
Sometimes, I will cut the ‘dome’, off a cake and ice that. That way I don’t have to do a special baking of three different flavors. If I have different flavors on hand, I use it plus I will sometimes add a different filling, like strawberry buttercream or lemon filling.
I cut the cake squares about 1/2 inch square.

Be smart…limit the tasting to two or three people. Last week I had 5 come in all together! It was quite a surprise!
I charge $25.00 for a tasting and should the bride and groom choose me as their baker, I credit it towards their wedding cake.
This is just the way I do it. It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong. I have heard it done several different ways.
It usually takes 45 minutes to an hour.
Remember to be compensated for your time!
Good Luck!

-- Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.

Thanks Tokazodo
Really I appreciate your tips.
I’ll be adopting writh now….

-- Fabiana, Texas, http://www.sweet-heaven.com

hello Sweetheaven!! I’m from El Salvador, Central America :) Here is very different from another places, I can give some ideas about my cakes..I have like 50 fillings that I really love but here are some: Chocolate cake with a caramel-chocolate fillings it’s really one of my favorite. You just have to melt the caramel with chocolate bittersweet and let it cool the you can fill the cake with that.
Here we like the buttercream so I used others filling like strawberry with cream, caramel with almonds, cappuccino and a lot of mousses.
Well, nice to meet you…
Bye bye

-- Karen de Perez- www.facebook.com/vainillayco

Hi Karen_duran thanks for your advice. I’m from Argentina – Buenos Aires and let me know you I have other filling too… like a “chocomilk” (mix of dulce de leche with nutella), peach with cream, dulce de leche with merengue pieces…. some day we can share recipe !!!! thanks… and I’ ll trying wirh melting the caramel with chocolate bittersweet… i promise…

-- Fabiana, Texas, http://www.sweet-heaven.com

I bake cupcakes in my most popular flavors….usually about 4. I always ask the couple what they like or don’t like that way it helps me prepare. I frost the cupcakes in different frostings that compliment the cupcke flavors and on a separate platter I arrange various filling samples. It is so easy and the brides love the presentation. I present them on white platters. I always bake cupcake and freeze my extras for consultations. When it time to set up I bring them out of the freezer a couple hours to defrost and their ready :)I always tell the brides they can custom match any cake flavor, frosting and filling and they really see to enjoy that. I say about 2-3 ppl are good for consultations, anything more I would charge extra

Thanks Normita for your coment…. I appreciate your help

-- Fabiana, Texas, http://www.sweet-heaven.com

Que rico se oye el chocomilk que preparas..lo malo es que aqui en El Salvador la Nutella tiene un costo elevado..pero igual lo tomaremos en cuenta…
Feliz dia

-- Karen de Perez- www.facebook.com/vainillayco

que bueno que te guste la idea Karen… se me ocurre que le podrias agregar chocolate derretido al dulce de leche…. probalo y me contás…

Glad you like the idea Karen … I can think of that you could add to melted chocolate to dulce de leche …. Try it, and let me know

-- Fabiana, Texas, http://www.sweet-heaven.com

Siiii…esa combinacion de dulce de leche con chocolate derretido es la receta que te mencione antes…es uno de mis favoritos. Encontre que se llama Bariloche asi que en mi menu es uno de los que mas vendo…
Tengo poco en este negocio..he empezado este anio y aunque tengo poco tiempo he logrado hacer cosas que nunca pense hacer jaja
Asi que aun voy aprendiendo a hacer varias cositas….

Esta es mi pagina en Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/vainillayco

-- Karen de Perez- www.facebook.com/vainillayco

Si? Pero ya tenes muchos likes en tu fb y veo que muchas tortas para novios….yo no he tenido ninguna boda todavia…tenes algun consejo para mi?

-- Fabiana, Texas, http://www.sweet-heaven.com

tomorrow I have my first appoitment for tasting test…. my client choice straberry flavor cake… so tomorrow i will write about that….

-- Fabiana, Texas, http://www.sweet-heaven.com

A suggestion from my friend who actually runs a very successful cake shop near London, is to always have some tasters, sliced up and frozen. When she makes up her mix in a particular flavour – she bakes extra and slices up and freezes in packs of two. When she knows she has people arriving to discuss a wedding cake, she gets the selection from the freezer – for them to take home. They are defrosted by this time. They discuss all the further details of the cake and then can make a decision on the interior of the cake without being under pressure, at home – and let her know. The freezing works particularly well, because it means that she always has all of her top flavours available. She would normally only do this for wedding cakes and large orders though.

-- Karen MacFadyen - London UK - http://www.facebook.com/cakecoachonline http://www.cakecoachonline.com

Hi Karen in my last tastng i included a litle pieces like you mentioned and was excellent. They was sorprised by thevariety of flavor….really work

Thanks
Fabiana

-- Fabiana, Texas, http://www.sweet-heaven.com