I Dream of Cake for my 500th post

When I realized yesterday night that this would be the 500th post of At Home with Kim Vallée, I started a search for the perfect cake to represent what my brand stands for: stylish, unique, modern, lively and entertaining. I found my match at I Dream of Cake in San Francisco.

Cake Gallery

When you walk into this appointment-only shop you are surrounded by the cream of the cream in cake decorations.

People did not nickname I Dream of Cake the Cake Gallery for nothing. The retail space is designed as a gallery. Naturally, every cake is made to order. With an art degree, the cake designer Shinmin Li refers to her cake creations as commissioning a piece of edible art. When I look at her cake creations, I must agree with Shinmin.

It took me a while to create my board due to abundance of fabulous cake designs on her Web site. Her Wedding cakes are incredible and so the rest of I Dream of Cake creations. People commission cakes for all occasions from kid birthday cakes to sweet 16, bar mitzvahs, christenings up to anniversaries.

Design Philosophy

If you wish to know more about the creative process of Shinmin Li, I encourage you to watch a series of short videos on Chow. You will see how Shinmin Li is passionate about her work. As a segment of the regular series called Obsessives on Chow, the videos concentrate on the heights to which a wedding cake baker will go.

I encourage you to check out her Haute Couture cake gallery, the Fine Art section and the Luxuries. A pure pleasure for the eyes! Strangely, it seems that the corporate world is not as adventurous in their design. That is where her cake creations are less impressive. But it is due to the theme not the execution.

How much a cake costs?

Wedding cakes range from $10-$25 per serving. Smaller wedding cakes start at $600. Custom cakes start at $400. Since these cakes are labor intensive, plan well ahead.

Be prepared before you go to the first appointment. Any cake maker needs to know as much as possible about the event and your taste. Try at least to imagine the mood and feel of the event or what party style you are aiming for. You need to have a accurate estimate of the number of portions. The more a cake maker knows, the easier it is to satisfy your request.

I Dream of Cake does not only strive for the best in style, they care a lot about the taste. Shinmin Li believes that eating the cake is 50% of the pleasures. It breaks her heart when people do not eat the cake because they are afraid of cutting it. If you order an elaborate and expensive cake like those, you probably hire a high end catering team. These professionals should know how to properly cut the cakes even if it is an unusual cake shape.

Sourcing:
Watch: Let’s Get Married, Let’s Have Cake by Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith on Chow
Learn more: I Dream of Cake

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