Tiers of joy; Wedding cake designers go all out.

Byline: Barbara M. Houle

Wedding cake designers vow to wow.

And, boy, do they ever.

With hundreds of experienced cake makers and designers in Worcester County, there's plenty of inspiration to be found.

Creations range from stunning to whimsical, as spectacular as a $6,000 majestic cake with its icing made from champagne silk rolled fondant, brush

embroidery and gum-paste cymbidium orchids, and as out of the ordinary as a replica of a Star Wars starship.

What does it take to be a wedding cake designer?

Four sought-after designers, Michelle Bohigian, Elizabeth Casey, Alina Eisenhauer and Alice Lombardi, offer insight on how they create memorable wedding cakes that are more than just dessert.

On the Rise Baking

1120 Pleasant St., Worcester

[phone]

Ontherisebaking.com

Owner/Pastry Chef: Elizabeth A. Casey, 48

Married to ... Stephen M. Casey

Children ... Stephen M. Casey Jr., 12, Sarah C., 10, Garret F., 8

Elizabeth "Betty" Casey is a pastry chef who traces her love of baking to her childhood and her Easy Bake Oven. The toy oven used an ordinary light bulb as a heat source.

Times have changed.

These days, Casey is turning out cakes big time.

Casey grew up in Worcester, one of 10 children of the late Francis and Margaret Early. She said her mother, a nurse, was a terrific cook who not only packed the kids' lunches and made meals every night, but also delivered meals to the sick and elderly in the neighborhood. "She was my mentor," Casey said.

Casey lived in California after graduating from Johnson & Wales University in Providence. She studied with a French pastry chef on the West Coast and later in Switzerland with a pastry chef from Germany. When she returned to Worcester she was pastry chef at the Worcester Country Club and Arturo's before it relocated to Westboro. She worked out of her home for 16 years before opening the Pleasant Street bakery last May.

Wedding cakes made by Casey run the gamut from an elegant ivory fondant cake with sugar creations to a jolly snowman and snowwoman cake created for a winter wedding. She says that while details are important, the flavor is equally as important. "We don't compromise," she said. "Everything is made from scratch."

She once made 400 gum-paste flowers for a Middle Eastern-themed wedding cake that cost more than $2,600. The groom used a 14-carat gold sword to cut through the five-tiered cake, which was topped with sugar flowers cascading out of a sugar vase.

Casey also did the celebration cake when Worcester native and actor Denis Leary's mother celebrated her 80th birthday. Gold stars in all sizes covered the cake. The crowning touch was gold stars shooting out of the top.

She also makes gluten-free desserts for customers and several local restaurants. She will make a gluten-free wedding cake upon request, she said.

Wedding cake prices for a multi-layered cake with butter cream frosting start at $4.50 a person; fondant, $5.50 a person. To trim a wedding budget, a bride can opt for fake tiers on her cake. Casey will make an undecorated cake that can be easily sliced in the kitchen and served to the guests. "No one knows the difference because the flavor of both cakes is identical," Casey said.

"I usually keep wedding cake orders to one a day," Casey said. "When I was younger and just starting out, I did five in a weekend. I don't remember the cakes being as big as they are now."

Genoise, a rich, light cake, is popular with Casey's clients. Adding fresh orange juice to the batter takes this extremely versatile cake to another level, Casey said. So do added fresh fruits and fruit purees.

Another favorite is a devil's food cake layered with bittersweet chocolate butter cream.

July is increasingly becoming a big month for weddings, according to Casey. If you're getting married outdoors in the heat, designers sometimes tell brides to opt for fondant over butter cream on a cake since butter cream alone has a tendency to melt off.

Casey knocked on the granite counter in her bakery when she said she never had a wedding cake disaster. She, like other designers, makes extra sugar flowers "just in case."

And, of course, there's the part about driving a cake from one place to another. "It's something you get used to doing," Casey said.

"It's a piece of cake."

Elizabeth Casey's involvement in local benefits includes numerous food and wine tastings and Taste of the Nation.

Something Sweet by Michelle

130 Hamilton St., Worcester

[phone]

somethingsweetbymichelle.com

Owner/Pastry Chef: Michelle Bohigian, 59

Married to ... Alfred Bohigian

Children ... Twins, Chris and Christina, 30

Michelle Bohigian "bawled her eyes out" when she learned she beat out hundreds of finalists to win a spot in "America's 50 Most Beautiful Wedding Cakes" in the March/April issue of Brides magazine. She was one of five designers who received a full-page spread.

The wedding cake, inspired by a silk kimono, featured champagne silk rolled fondant with brush embroidery and gum-paste cymbidium orchid vine. It serves 200 at $30 per slice.

A resident of Worcester for 25 years, Bohigian has baked since she was 14. It was a high school home economics teacher who told her she had natural talent to be a pastry chef. Bohigian has appeared in numerous magazines and newspaper articles and studied with some of the country's leading cake designers. One of her favorites is Diane Paglia of Warwick, R.I., a founder of the International Cake Exploration Societe. She studied with her for 11 years.

Bohigian has gone from baking cakes on the second floor of her home to the spacious rooms on the second floor of Struck Catering, where she has been for four years.

"I remember assembling cakes one tier at a time when I worked at home," Bohigian said. "I had to walk the cakes down 43 steps from my door to the street level. I did that for 10 years. It got pretty tricky, especially with multi-tiers."

Bohigian, who does the pastry for Struck Catering, has an assistant, Lindsay Kisiel, a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., who first interned for the designer. Jennifer Burkhart, a former student, joined her in April.

Clients learn about Bohigian by word of mouth. She has a long list of high-profile weddings to her credit. Confidentially prevents her from talking about a lot of them. "Sometimes the wedding planner tells me at the last minute who I am making a cake for. You just never know," she said, recalling a wedding in Princeton that she did early in her career. The couple lived on the West Coast, she said, and the groom made all the arrangements. He called her every day for three weeks. "My husband thought he was a Hollywood producer's assistant," Bohigian said.

The week of the wedding the groom asked Bohigian if she knew who the bride was. She said, "No, and does it matter?" It turned out that the bride was the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Burt Lancaster. "At that point in my career, it's a good thing I didn't know who she was," Bohigian joked.

Lancaster had died before his daughter's wedding, Bohigian said, but many of his Hollywood friends, including actor Tony Curtis, were guests at the wedding.

Bohigian also did the wedding cake for the highly publicized 2004 marriage between General Electric's former CEO Jack Welch and Suzy Wetlaufer, a former editor of Harvard Business Review who coauthored Welch's 2005 book, "Winning." The wedding cake was center stage in the ballroom of the couple's Beacon Hill home in Boston, Bohigian said.

High-profile wedding or not, cakes get bigger and bigger every year. "The sky's the limit. Brides want it all," she said

The cost of a cake made by Bohigian varies, depending on size and shape, labor, materials and special details. A cake for 75 people starts at $600, she said. The designer will not do more than three wedding cakes in a weekend. She said her favorite Worcester wedding sites are Mechanics Hall and Tuckerman Hall. Next on the list are the Newport mansions. Butter cream or fondant on a cake? Gum-paste flowers or edible pearls? What about the cake flavor and fillings?

Decisions about the cake are personal ones, according to Bohigian, who said pastry chefs will do almost anything. "I sketch it out, offer advice, but the bride really is the one who makes the final decision," she said.

She only makes cakes from scratch - nothing is frozen. When Bohigian has a slot open she will do cakes for special occasions such as showers, bar mitzvahs or bat mitzvahs. Her creations are by no means ordinary.

Bohigian said she has never disappointed a bride.

Not even when it meant she couldn't attend her son's wedding on the West Coast. "He (her son) couldn't change the date, and I couldn't go because I had weddings that weekend," Boghigian said.

She said she told her son, "I would never call a bride and say, `Sorry, I can't make your cake.'"

Years of planning go into making this one day so special, Bohigian said.

Michelle Bohigian is involved in many community fundraisers including the annual Taste of the Nation, a benefit to help fight hunger, and the March of Dimes Chefs for Healthy Babies benefit.

The Bean Counter 

Coffee Bar and Bakery

113 Highland St., Worcester

[phone]

288 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury

[phone]

Owner: Alice Lombardi, 43

Married to ... Domenico Lombardi

Children ... Domenico, 15; Marianna, 13

When Alice Lombardi got married in the 1980s in Syracuse, N.Y., her wedding cake was by no means ordinary or traditional. It wasn't the shape or color

that had guests gasping. It was goldfish swimming around in a fountain strategically placed under the cake . "I thought the baker was joking when he told me what he wanted to do," Lombardi said.

The baker nailed it down.

Lombardi thought about that spectacular cake when she recently sketched a similar one for a client. She explained to the couple that fish represent good fortune, luck and longevity in her culture. The couple liked the symbolic meaning, she said, and they also love to fish. Needless to say, the design is a go.

Lombardi thinks of herself as "the new kid on the block" in comparison to other local designers. Being in the same company with the designers interviewed for this story is an honor, she said.

Lombardi, studied with certified master decorators on the East Coast to learn cake artistry such as sugar paste flowers and fondant. She took over the Worcester Bean Counter in 2001. A year ago, she opened the Shrewsbury store, where all the baking is done. What began as "Mom baking brownies with the kids" has become a success story that involves her entire family.

Lombardi does 100 percent of wedding design work, meets with clients and sketches the architecture of the wedding cake. She finalizes plans with pastry chef Mara Mahoney before she takes charge. Mahoney, who interned with Lombardi, has been pastry chef for four years. Lombardi's team also features a head baker, cake decorators and other staff members.

With each client, Lombardi's goal is to learn what is important to them for their wedding. "You help them develop ideas and then bake a memory," she said. "The business is all about taste and service. I want to make clients happy. A wedding is a celebration."

Aside from advice, Lombardi offers made-from-scratch cakes in any style or shape with butter cream or fondant.

Embellishments, such as edible luster and pixie dust, are FDA approved, she said. "It's very important for people to know ingredients are safe. I want every part of the cake to be edible. I don't use preservatives."

Fillings are made with only fresh fruits and creams. Nothing is frozen, Lombardi said. Clients also can count on fresh fruit purees.

Cakes cost anywhere from $250 for two tiers to $1,600 for four tiers or more.

Hexagonal or square geometric shapes, metallics in bright colors, monograms or flowers sprouting from tops of cakes are within a bride's reach. Brides demand custom-tailored cakes with all the "bells and whistles" no matter what the cost, Lombardi said.

Each wedding cake delivery, in or out of state, is accompanied by Lombardi or the pastry chef.

"I don't take any chances. I never want a cake catastrophe." She joked about her husband being used to the "wedding cake run."

So far, cake orders in 2008 indicate a return to old-world charm with a new twist, Lombardi said. "I see a soft, fresh, young look," she said. Receptions in country clubs usually mean classic cakes, she said. Primrose and sage green are popular colors; groom's cakes are as elaborate as the wedding cake.

For years, Lombardi made her wedding cake from memory. The original cake, made at the Snowflake Pastry Shop in Syracuse, was such a hit her husband suggested she retail it. The recipe has become the Bean Counter's very popular Snowflake Cake. The filling features fresh strawberries and cream.

It's love at first bite.

Alice Lombardi volunteers at fundraisers including the Worcester Food and Wine Festival sponsored by the Worcester Jewish Community Center and the March of Dimes' "Chefs for Healthy Babies" benefit.

Sweet

305 Shrewsbury St., Worcester

[phone]

Owner/Pastry Chef: Alina Eisenhauer, 37

Married to ... Steve Eisenhauer 

Children ... Stepson, Tony, 18; son, Gianni, 5

Alina Eisenhauer didn't blink an eye when a couple recently hired her to do a cake for their summer wedding. It's no big deal that the clients ordered a replica of a Star Wars starship. "I love the challenge," she said.

What's a starship after you've built a 3-D cake in the shape of a commercial jet for a Continental Airlines pilot, anyway?

Eisenhauer, of Woodstock, worked the back of the house in restaurants before she opened Sturbridge Bread Company inside Micknucks Fresh Marketplace in Sturbridge. In 2004, the business moved to Main Street in Sturbridge and became Sturbridge Baking Company. Actor Brian Dennehy, who has a home in Woodstock, was a regular customer.

The bakery closed in January so that Eisenhauer could open Sweet, a dessert bar and in-house pastry shop, in Worcester. Sweet, at press time, was scheduled to open in May.

Eisenhauer also recently signed on to do the wedding cakes for Old Sturbridge Village.

Her inspiration comes from a variety of forms. Wedding cakes today have personality, she said. "It doesn't matter whether I do a funky nine-tiered topsy-turvy cake or an $8,000 cake inspired by the bride's gown. I interpret what the bride wants. She sets the theme."

A bride today can consider anything from ivory to pink for her choice of cake, she said. She recalled a client who wanted a robin's egg blue and brown cake with stripes and swirls everywhere. The cake was unique and whimsical, she said. "The most important thing was it tasted great. Taste is what counts."

Her cakes are made from scratch, and prices for a basic butter cream or fondant cake start at $5.50 per portion.

Eisenhauer especially likes to design groom's cakes, which are popular with many clients.

A couple on a tight budget can rent a "fake" display cake from Eisenhauer. A frosted sheet or round cake will be sliced by the caterer or kitchen staff and served to guests. Some brides choose to have the first two or three layers real and the remaining layers fake, Eisenhauer said. "There are so many options."

Eisenhauer attends seminars and trade shows and networks with top designers to keep up with trends. Cupcake wedding cakes are fun and beautiful, and increasingly popular. They can easily be coordinated with a couple's wedding color and theme, and they can be made in a wide range of flavors.

Is there stress and anxiety when delivering a cake? "I'm beyond that," Eisenhauer said. She confessed, however, that she drives the vehicle that transports the cake. "I don't trust anyone else, especially when I'm cutting it close," she said. Once at a site, a designer sometimes has only an hour to complete details before guests arrive. Cakes with supports always need to be assembled at the site, Eisenhauer said. "You also need to have more decorations than you need for last-minute replacements."

This summer, Eisenhauer will teach a course on Sicilian pastry at the Italian Culinary Center in New York. She will appear in Italian Cooking and Living magazine and her dessert pasta will be featured in the National Culinary Review, the monthly magazine of the American Culinary Federation.

Just frosting on the cake!

Alina Eisenhauer, a member of Women in Wine and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, participates in local fundraisers such as Taste of the Nation, Women in Wine and the Worcester Food and Wine Festival, sponsored by the Worcester Jewish Community Center. She will compete in Worcester's Best Chef in the fall. She has cooked for movie reviewer Gene Shallot and singer Bobby McFerrin, who gave a rendition of his song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" when he paid her the bill.

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Pastry chef Michelle Bohigian has a long list of high-profile weddings to her credit. Above, her wedding cake creation featured in "America's 50 Most Beautiful Wedding Cakes" in Brides magazine. (2) Beautiful sugar flowers, inset, are a work of art. Betty Casey, like other wedding cake designers, always has a few extra flowers on hand "just in case." (3) A wedding cake made by Betty Casey of On the Rise Baking. (4) Alina Eisenhauer's cakes can be traditional or untraditional, like the replica of a Star Wars starship she once made. (5) Alice Lombardi meets with clients and sketches the architecture of a wedding cake, then finalizes plans with pastry chef Mara Mahoney. (6) A design plan for a wedding cake is sketched out on paper by Alice Lombardi.

PHOTOG: PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM RETTIG