As part of the 2022 Ohio State Fair, we conceived, designed, and created a wedding cake based on the Creative Arts theme, "Back to Wonderland"! Our cake design included multiple nods to Lewis Carrol's classic book, the animated Disney movie, and the 2010 remake while maintaining an elegant, "wedding" feel.
We entered our cake in the advanced Wedding Theme - Alice in Wonderland category and competed against other amazing cake artists from all over Ohio!
All the cake entries were judged on the following guidelines:
• Overall Appearance (40%) Attractive, appropriate for occasion, artistically executed design, good proportion, balance, pleasing color selection and use, of well-executed cake coverings. Appropriate, appealing, and non-distracting entry bases or substrates are also a consideration.
• Techniques (35%) Difficulty of skills demonstrated uniformity and precision of workmanship. • Originality (25%) Creative, unique, clever adaptation of another idea (i.e., borders, flowers, writing, ruffles, icing, beads, gum paste, fondant, figure, piping, flow-in, etc.).
Simply Decadent won 3rd Place!
The Key to My Heart!
The cake featured a custom molded chocolate topper with an ornate, silver key and a heart shaped door with the familiar door knob from the animated movie!
A Very Important Date!
In keeping with the theme, the center of the cake featured a gravity defying top hat sculped from chocolate ganache and covered in our marshmallow fondant. A molded, hand painted pocket watch completes the design.
The "Unbirthday Cake"
The Hat and the top two tiers form an illusion of an upside-down cake. This was designed to be reminiscent of the "unbirthday cake" the Mad Hatter presents to Alice in the animated film.
"This is our dream"
Both the front and back panels of the cake feature hand painted (with food coloring), and customized illustrations alongside quotes from the books or movies. On this panel, we took a traditional Alice in Wonderland scene and incorporated a "proposer", down on one knee.
A Cascade of Color
In the animated movie, the Queen of Heart's Card Guard was interrupted by Alice as they were painting white roses red. This is represented on the cake by an ombré cascade of hand-sculpted gum paste roses adorning the upper tiers of the cake.
MAD-ly in Love!
This cake allowed us to fully explore our creative sides while also testing our technical abilities in fondant, gum paste, and chocolate. We love the result and hope you do as well!
Check out the video above to see a small portion of the steps that went into the creation of this cake!
Want to see "MAD-ly in Love" for yourself? We will have it on display at our bakery after the completion of the Ohio State Fair!
About
Simply Decadent is a premier dessert bakery located in Bellbrook, Ohio. Founded in 2017 by three amazing women, Simply Decadent has established itself as a destination for fresh baked, great tasting, beautiful desserts that are customized to the client. While any dessert is within reach, Simply Decadent focuses on Birthday cakes, Wedding cakes, Special Occasion Cakes, Cupcakes, Cookies, and various Dessert Bars! Combining personalized service with years of experience, the owners of Simply Decadent treat your special events like their own. To learn more about owners Jackie, Adonica, and Debby, and the history of Simply Decadent, click here.
Have a question? Contact us here!