Wedding Wednesdays: The Cake

Mom, Dad, The Boy, Kait, & Heather all came to town this past weekend. It was awesome.

And kinda exhausting.

But also quite productive. We did all sorts of "wedding checklist" things - like picking out tuxes and bridesmaid dresses and shopping for shoes and tasting cake.

So much cake.

We tried three different Northwest Arkansas bakeries - all of which have their own strengths, weaknesses, and reputations.

We haven't made a final decision yet, but we've at least narrowed the list...somewhat. You'll have to wait til closer to the wedding for the final reveal. Til then, here's a breakdown of the options.

Briar Rose Bakery

Who They Are:

• Briar Rose is a sweet little family owned and operated bakery in Farmington. Their location is half the charm (a precious little cottage that looks like it jumped off the pages of a fairy tale), but their claim to fame is their fabulously yummy baked goods: breads, pastries, and cakes. I wrote about them in one of my “Fayetteville Favorites” posts. They’re definitely a “must see” if in town. 

What We Tried:

• Cake: White, Chocolate, Strawberry, Lemon, & Carrot
• Fillings: Raspberry, Strawberry, & Lemon Curd
• Frostings: White, Chocolate, & Strawberry Buttercream

What We Liked:

• I loved the white and lemon cakes - light, moist, and just enough flavor. The lemon curd filling was by far my favorite and was yummy on my two favorite cakes. The strawberry filling was also excellent. 
• The buttercreams are what Briar Rose is known for - and they live up to their reputation. They were creamy and rich and just lovely. The strawberry was my favorite...unfortunately it doesn't come in "white."

What We Didn't

• The chocolate cake left us wanting more from the flavor, and we're all super picky about carrot cake...so that was a no. I liked the strawberry, but I was alone in that (I did find out later, however, that Momma just doesn't like strawberry cake...so that was a lost battle before it began).

Overall Thoughts:

• As I expected, their selection was delicious. The staff was very kind, despite being in the middle of a crazy weekend, and we really enjoyed our time. The price for what you get, however, is a bit high. Their cakes don't seem to serve as many folks, and are just priced higher than the market. If you're willing to pay for it, however, you can't really go wrong with a Briar Rose cake. 

Rick's Bakery

Who They Are:

• Rick’s is a Fayetteville classic. This place has been around for over 20 years and has received numerous people’s choice awards. They’re a full service bakery and deli, but they’re known for their wedding cakes – and for obvious reasons. They crank out some pretty amazing stuff (like this…and this…and this). Since I’ve lived in Fayetteville, most of my celebratory cakes have been from Rick’s – they’re also covered in that Favorites post referenced above.

What We Tried:

• Cake: White, Chocolate, Almond, Strawberry, Apple Spice, Italian Cream
• Fillings: Vanilla, Chocolate, Raspberry, Strawberry-Lemon, Key Lime, Amaretto, Almond, Peanut Butter
• Frostings: Chocolate and Vanilla Buttercream and Cream Cheese

What We Liked:

• As always, Rick's cake was lovely. They have some of the best chocolate cake around. And their fillings...mmm. Yummy. But I mean with flavors like key lime and amaretto, what else would you expect?

What We Didn't:

• The buttercream is, in a word, icky. I don't like Rick's buttercream...never have. It has a funny taste that I can't quite identify. It's peppery or something (Kait says it tastes like metal). The chocolate is a little better, but only because the chocolate masks the weird taste. 
• I had high hopes for the cream cheese icing, and while I didn't hate it, I wasn't blown away either.

Overall Thoughts:

• I love Rick's cake. I love Rick's fillings. I love their decorating prowess. I can't eat their buttercream. I'm pretty sure that's a bit of a deal breaker...

Chuck's Cake Shoppe

Who They Are:

• I know the least about Chuck's. I do know that they've been around for a while. And that they always come up in conversations about cake. Oh! And that they've made several cakes for President Clinton. But that's kinda it. They're located close to downtown Fayetteville in a cute little building, and they're by far the most laid back place we tried. We just walked in, said we wanted to try cake, and they brought us out a plate - all decorated and cute with little buttercream lables (if you can see in the photo below).

What We Tried:

• Cake: Wedding White, Chocolate, Yellow, Lemon, and Strawberry
• Fillings: Raspberry, Lemon, and Strawberry
• Frostings: Vanilla and Chocolate Buttercream

What We Liked:

• The white cake was a delightful surprise. I've never had Chuck's cake before, so I honestly didn't know what to expect - and I was wow-ed. Dense, but light, and wonderful flavor. The yellow cake was also quite good, as were all of the fillings (with lemon being my favorite, again).

What We Didn't:

• The chocolate cake here also left something to be desired...just doesn't pack that same chocolate punch as Rick's did. The lemon cake was NOT good. I didn't even finish my bite. And while the buttercream wasn't bad, it just didn't blow me away like Briar Rose. 

Overall Thoughts:

• Chuck's is still a contender. Their cake was super yummy, and the buttercream was light and creamy. Their prices were much more reasonable than Briar Rose, giving them a significant leg up, but their decorating skills aren't quite on par with Rick's. All in all, they probably fall out as a close second to BR. 

That's about it for cakes so far. There's one other place we're going to try - one of Mrs. Erin's friends. Til then, we'll probably still be recovering from the sugar coma that occurred post tastings.

If you have any suggestions that I've missed (other than Shelby Lynn's...), let me know! We might could summon the energy to try one more place.

Happy Wednesday!