Sweet Fancy: Morfey's Makes a Fine Wedding Cake in Seattle

When it came time to get married, I didn't have a single wedding cake.

No, I had five.

My favorite one, of course, was the one my dear SpyMom made: a three tiered pink confection which was sort of like my soul, interpreted in wedding cake form. Here's a picture of it:

But my second favorite, which was obtained from a retail baker, was from Morfey's Cakes in Seattle. It was a three-tiered confection, frosted in Tiffany blue and piped with a delicate white. It was lovely, and it was delicious.

So it should come as no surprise that they are one of about six places in Seattle which I frequently suggest  to couples asking for wedding cake advice.

The Morfey's Cake, it should be said, is not an incredibly fussy affair. If you're looking for a cake with lighted effects or molded fondant to resemble the building where you met, this is probably not where you want to go (there is definitely a time and place for these cakes, of course!).

But if you're looking for a solidly good, fluffy, old-school cake with a light, almost whipped-texture type frosting, you're in the right place.

I love their simple, homey decorating style too--it looks like something that a home baker could aspire to, but, you know, it's better than you could probably do at home (no offense). And, it doesn't hurt that when you walk into their baking space in the shadow of the Space Needle in lower Queen Anne, it smells like you are walking into a cake being baked--that is to say, sort of like how I would imagine heaven to be.

When Mr. Spy and I attended a wedding this weekend, for the lovely Kim and Andy, we were delighted to see that they had obtained their special-day cake from delicious Morfey's. This baby had three tiers of awesome: Kim, who emailed me from Paris, where she was eating a croissant on her honeymoon (lucky girl!) says that "The top 2 tiers were coconut cake with white mocha filling, the bottom was chocolate with chocolate mousse filling, then buttercream frosting on the outside!" 

I didn't get to try both types, but can attest to the deliciousness of the coconut cake. (I took tasting very seriously)

So, this is all to say--if you're looking for a wedding cake in Seattle, definitely put Morfey's on your list for a tasting.

For more information, visit morfeyscake.com.

CakeSpy Undercover: How To Elope to Las Vegas and Still Have Wedding Cake

When our friend Megan (who you may know from her ultra-awesome website, Not Martha) recently decided to run away and get married to her boyfriend of 10+ years, we applauded the decision, but with one major reservation: What about the cake? Well, luckily Megan was on the case, and found out some of the secrets of how to have your cake and eat it too while eloping--because no matter how small the wedding, there should always be cake. Here's the report:

We ran off to get married in Vegas and I was afraid we were going to miss out on the cake part of the day until somebody tipped me off to the existence of Freed's Bakery. They made wedding cakes, cupcakes, cookies, Italian pastries and, much to my delight, sell individual slices of wedding-y cake. There are two locations and I was so distracted by our crazy taxi driver that I cannot remember which one we ended up at. We got our slices of cake to go while our taxi driver was nice enough to wait for us and the bakery included plates, forks and napkins for us. I can highly recommend getting the cake to go and finding a romantic spot to eat it. We had dinner plans later so we ate our cake at the Bellagio at a comfy little table in a hallway which overlooked the pool.

There were a few flavors of cake slices to choose from including carrot cake and a chocolate cake but we ended up two slices of vanilla cake with strawberries, one with buttercream frosting and the other with whipped cream frosting. Both were delicious, and I think this is the best buttercream I have tasted so far. I'm not usually a fan of buttercream as I find it alternately too sweet or gritty or slimy, but this was fantastic. It was whipped light and had a nice balance of butter and sweetness.

We ate our cake near the Jean-Philippe pastry shop in the Bellagio which is amazing. There is a floor to ceiling chocolate fountain that has dark, milk and white chocolate cascading down from pool to pool. (Sadly, it's behind some clear plastic walls so you cannot sneak a taste.) We returned later in the week to try something from Jean-Philippe and split an incredible vanilla and hazelnut eclaire. The plastic utensils at Jean-Philippe had a reflective silver finish which was a lovely touch.

Congratulations again to Megan and Scott!

Update on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 by Cakespy

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Arriba!: Mini Mexican Wedding Cakes

Pop Quiz! Would you rather eat:

A. a Snowball
B. a Russian Tea Cake
C. a Mini Mexican Wedding Cake

Well, in truth you’d be eating the same thing: all of the above are slight variations on a small, gorgeously crumbly, nut-buttery round cookie finished off with a dusting of sweet powdered sugar. But what a difference a name makes. While there’s nothing wrong per se with a Snowball or Russian Tea Cake, you’ve got to admit that eating a Mini Mexican Wedding Cake sounds like the most fun. Traditionally made only for weddings or special occasions, they’re now an everyday treat thanks to Montlake Mousse, whose 16-ounce containers of the ambrosial treats (freshly made, preservative free) are now available in various Metropolitan Market locations.

But watch out: they have a fiesta-in-your-mouth inducing reaction which naturally makes it impossible to eat just one.

Available at Metropolitan Market; for locations, visit metropolitan-market.com.

Cakespy note: Not in the Seattle area? We also found a great recipe for Mexican Wedding Cakes, thanks to Cooks.com!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
2 sticks butter
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 c. chopped nuts
Soften butter, cream with flour. Blend in sugar. Add nuts. Form balls the size of walnuts. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Yield 4 to 5 dozen.