A New Home for MPC

Hello Blogger world! It's been a while. I've been busy creating a new home for Morgan Phillips Cakes that will take the place of this little blog that served me well for so many years. All of the pictures and posts will stay the same, but will now be found at this address: 

www.morganphillipscakes.blogspot.com

The new site will be unveiled SO SOON and I can't wait! It's been quite the labor of love and I'm pretty embarrassed to say how long it has took me to get everything just the way I wanted it. I think I'll stick to cakes in the future... 

You can now find me at www.MorganPhillipsCakes.com for all news on what I've been up to, information about ordering a cake, scheduling a tasting and more! My email will stay the same and is always the best way to reach me: mphillipscakes@gmail.com. Don't forget to 'like' me on facebook and follow on Instagram too for a day-to-day look into my virtual bakery. Wishing everyone peace, love and cake in the new year! This is only a small bit of what's to come for MPC in 2016.

Morgan Phillips Cakes on Wedding Wire

I have some exciting news to share this morning from Morgan Phillips Cakes. My business is officially listed as a vendor on Wedding Wire in the DC, Maryland and Virginia database. This is an exciting move for me considering Wedding Wire is the industry's #1 online database of all things wedding. It will serve as another outlet for me to post pictures and information of my recent work, as well as communicate with clients present and future. 

With this move I am hoping to be able to reach new clients in the DC area, as well as hear from some of my previous clients now that I have a platform for them to leave comments and reviews. It is the first of many new exciting changes that I have in the works for this wedding season to hopefully grow my business and begin bookings for the 2016 wedding season. Next on the list is rolling out a new and more professional website layout to make it even easier to find information on my cakes. I can't wait for when I'll be able to launch the new site and show off what I've been working on behind the scenes!

But until then, if you have a moment today, please click on over to my new home on Wedding Wire and check out what I have so far! ---> Morgan Phillips Cakes on Wedding Wire

To anyone planning a wedding, event or party I definitely recommend using Wedding Wire (and affiliate company Event Wire) to find local vendors and get inspiration. In addition to providing you with information on all the vendors in your locale, Wedding Wire also has all kinds of wedding planning resources for FREE. You can make a wedding website, organize information for your guests, make inspirations boards and access tons of mobile apps to make your engaged life easier. 

If I have ever had the pleasure of working with you, it would mean so much to me if you could take a few minutes and leave a review on Wedding Wire. It's been the ride of a lifetime to be a part of all of your important moments, and I've loved every part of it! Stay tuned.

Fiesta Bridal Shower Cake

A fiesta themed bridal shower is one of the best ideas I think I've ever heard for a bridal shower. I had so much fun putting this cake and cupcake combo together for bride-to-be Jill, and hope she had a great day celebrating her upcoming marriage with her friends and family! 

Jill's sister and future sister-in-law planned the shower for her and selected Margarita and Mexican Chocolate as cake flavors to match the theme. Tequila infused, lime pound cake topped with tequila buttercream and sprinkled with lime zest made for deliciously pretty cupcakes decorated with a handmade mini sugar-carnation. 

Alongside those were rich, dark chocolate cupcakes stuffed with a spicy Mexican chocolate ganache filling and topped with an espresso buttercream and a handmade sugar sombrero.

The centerpiece cake was two tiered with one tier of each flavor and decorated to match the theme with buttercream mariachi ruffles and a traditional papel picado banner out of sugar. A carnation sugar flower tops the whole design off.

And a shot at the party courtesy of Jill's future sister in law...congratulations Jill!!

Cake Tasting FAQs

Cake tastings and consults are definitely one of my favorite parts of this job. I love getting to meet with prospective brides and grooms face to face, and get a personal perspective on their wedding. So much goes into a wedding cake and although I love seeing how the final product turns out, the creative process is what is magical to me. I also think that if it were me getting married, the part of the planning process involving cake would obviously be my favorite- so I try to make this step as easy and memorable as possible for any couple I work with.

The whole process starts with an initial contact, usually followed by an email exchange to get a feel for what type of cake or desserts you're looking for, the budget you'd like to stay in and how many people you are trying to feed. Next, we'll find a date, time and location that works for us to meet. Because I currently do not have a permanent location to meet with clients, I am willing to travel anywhere within reason to meet at a location convenient to you. Typically, I let my client select a cozy coffee shop they like where we can share a cup of coffee over cake.

My clients get to select three different cake and filling combinations from my wedding cake tasting menu to sample at the consult. Your selections will be made into mini 4" cakes and brought to the appointment, to eat there, to take home and share with others or both. There will be plenty of cake to go around and get opinions if you want them (or to enjoy for breakfast the next day which comes highly recommended). 

Moving into the consult part of your tasting appointment, we will then discuss a few details and go over sketches that I will have prepared based on what you've shared with me so far about your wedding. Please feel free to send me anything that you think would help in the design process including samples of your invitations, pictures of flowers, color schemes, or Pinterest boards. The more you give me, the more accurately I can capture what you're looking for!

Following the tasting, I will hold your wedding date for 1 month to give you time to decide. Should you book with me, I will send you a contract detailing everything we discussed at the tasting and a price quote along with a larger, more detailed sketch of your cake. Once your contract is signed, you will receive a final bill with the total amount for your wedding cake due upon delivery. After that, we can chat about your wedding cake as often as you like! I'll be busy finalizing details, ordering equipment and then baking and decorating your cake. Congratulations!

Quick FAQS:

1.) How many people can I bring to the tasting?

     - Typically I meet with the bride, groom and maybe one or both of their parents. But please feel free             to bring whomever you'd like as there will be plenty of cake to go around!

2.) What is 'ganache' and how is it different from chocolate mousse?

     - Ganache is an emulsion of heavy cream and chocolate and can be various consistencies. In my cakes it serves as a luscious, truffle filling fit for a chocolate lover. Chocolate mousse is lighter and air-ier in comparison and I would say it is more of a crowd-pleaser for a wedding.

3.) How long does a tasting typically last?

    - Tastings usually last between 30-40 minutes, but I can talk with you about cake for as long as you'll let me.

4.) What is your most popular flavor for wedding cakes?

    - Hands down the vanilla bean pound cake filled with whipped cream and berries. It is perfectly suited for wedding season and widely loved by guests. I hardly do weddings without some variation of this flavor.

5.) How much does a tasting cost?

    -Tastings are $20.00 and serve as your non-refundable deposit to save your wedding date. The amount will be subtracted from your total bill, thus tastings are included in the price of your wedding cake should you end up booking with me. 

Please email me at mphillipscakes@gmail.com with any questions or to book your tasting today. 

2014 In Review

2014 was my biggest year in cakes so far with highlights including a sailboat, a cakelet dessert display, and four three tiered beauties. In 2014 I also completed my studies at the Culinary Institute of America and made the move to DC, where my virtual cake boutique is now based out of and servicing all surrounding areas for weddings and events. With such an eventful and amazing year behind me, I wanted to share a few pictures of my favorite cake moments before completely turning to focus on wedding season 2015.

                  

This royal icing adorned dummy cake from February.

 

A three tiered stack of hat box cakes.

 

 A bachelorette book cake for my writer sister in April.

        A dessert bar of cakelets- three mini layers of cake sandwiched with frosting- from June.

 

Classic three tiered wedding cake sprinkled with sugar hydrangeas from August- my busiest month of cakes this year!

  Macarons on macarons for another August wedding at the beach.

Simple southern chic for another August beach wedding.

Kicking off tastings for the 2015 wedding season with a fruit filled dessert bar coming in May.

 

A sailboat groom's cake for my new brother in law in October,

and a tiled wedding cake topped with sea otters for their wedding day to close out my 2014 season. It was an amazing year! Thanks to all the happy couples for allowing me to be a part of their wedding day, and all of my friends and family who lent a helping hand along the way!

Fall Beach Wedding

This year was a big wedding year for my family, with both of my sisters tying the knot within six months of each other. It was my absolute pleasure to make both of their wedding cakes and groom's cakes for my new bro in laws, finishing up the Phillips Family Wedding season with a classic, beautiful beach wedding cake (Credit for the pictures in this post go to Matthew Spivey with Treece Photography out of Wilmington, NC). 

                                     

                                   

My sister and her husband's beach wedding was as fun and low maintenance as she is, and together the three of us designed a cake that would pair perfectly with the relaxed vibe of their wedding. For an intimate crowd of 70, it was a three tiered, white buttercream finished cake with a mosaic tile banding detail. My sister has been a swimmer her entire life, extending her college career as a master's swimmer today. We thought the mosaic tiles were reminiscent of pool tiles as a little nod to her swimmer background, and also one of the reasons she and John met in the first place. 

       

I also custom made their cake topper out of polymer clay in the shape of two otters holding hands. Sea otters mate for life and hold hands in the ocean to keep from drifting away from their mates. A sweet story that made the perfect cake topper for this beach loving couple. In typical John and Kali fashion, everything about their wedding day was fun and original right down to their cake cutting.

       

Yep. Those are swim goggles and Fireman John is reaching under the table for a stashed fireman's hat. They decided they needed some extra protection for the epic cake smash that was about to ensue.

       

       

        

Their reception food was Mexican themed and the cake followed suit. Kali's favorite birthday cake growing up was Funfetti, so I recreated the classic with my vanilla confetti cake with champagne buttercream. The other tiers were chocolate filled with a spicy Mexican chocolate ganache and lime margarita cake filled with tequila buttercream. 

       

It was the perfect cake to end a successful 2014 wedding season. I've been busy since gearing up for next year and getting organized for the THREE months in 2015 that I am booked solid. If you're planning a 2015 wedding and have yet to find a cake decorator, email me today at mphillipscakes@gmail.com to schedule a tasting and consultation. 

Sailboat Groom's Cake

Groom's cakes are often my favorite cakes to make because of the freedom and creativity they allow. I love brainstorming ideas that can take an object or an activity that the groom enjoys and turn it into cake. My second sister to walk down the aisle this year was married in October on the beach in Oak Island, NC. Her fireman groom and my new handy brother in law had some interesting ideas for his groom's cake that ranged from hot tub to pirate ship and everything in between. We ended up landing on a sailboat cake, named the S.S. Boyette after their new last name together.

The cake itself was vanilla bean pound cake filled with whipped cream and fresh berries. It is covered completely in Italian buttercream, with only the accent decorations made from gumpaste and fondant. The sails are also edible and made from gumpaste, and although there is sadly no photographic evidence, the groom did take a large bite out of them later in the night. 

Stay tuned for more on their wedding cake complete with a surprise cake cutting stunt and flavors that incorporated their Mexican 'fiesta' themed reception. 

Psssst- There's a new facebook page in town that you should 'like'. Click HERE to spread the word about Morgan Phillips Cakes.