Swank Cake Design

Our Latest Display Cake

2011-09-08T14:41:00.002-04:00

Say hi to the newest addition to our showroom. We call this display cake "Christine," and she is adorned with elegant lace appliqués, topped with sweet & delicate gumpaste flowers, and finished off with a gorgeous pink fondant bow.

Swank Cake Design

Wedding Cake Bakery Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

September is our new favorite month

2010-08-19T11:21:00.003-04:00

A photo of one of our new favorite cakes is featured in the Sweet Life Series, "A Baker's Dozen" 2011 Calendar. There is a short bio about Wayne as well. All can be found on the September page in the calendar. Thank you to Norman Davis, Zane Beg, and Dianna Lopez for selecting our work, and congratulations to all the other cake decorators who were featured.

Chuck•

Swank Cake Design•

Wedding Cake Bakery Raleigh North Carolina•

http://www.swankcakedesign.com/

Swank Cake Design appears on TLC’s “ULTIMATE CAKE OFF”

2010-01-27T09:25:00.005-05:00

Wayne Steinkopf and Chuck Hamilton, from Swank Cake Design, will appear on the new TLC competition series ULTIMATE CAKE OFF in an episode airing February 8, 2010 at 10 PM ET/PT.

In the episode, the Blue team, lead by Wayne, faces off against two other teams in a challenge to create an edible masterpiece in hopes of winning $10,000 and to have their cakes featured at a marquee event. For this episode, the cake is in competition to be featured at the 2009 AKC Agility Invitational.

With only nine hours, the competitors must make cakes that are at least five feet tall and are creative enough to win the taste of the client and the ultimate prize. To add to the pressure, the contestants also face two mini-challenges – a skills test and a taste test – that could give one team the ultimate advantage: being able to sit out another team for 30 minutes.

Chef, author, and entertainer George Duran hosts the series, which airs Mondays at 10p on TLC. Joining George are judges Margaret Braun, an acclaimed sugar artist based in New York, and Leigh Grode, owner of Los Angeles’ Cake Divas bakery.

Update - Our episode is titled "Top Dog," and the description is as follows: "Master cake builders compete to build the most impressive cake for the American Kennel Club's prestigious Agility Invitational, and take home $10,000."

Sweet Ashley's Team - TLC's Ulimate Cake Off

2009-09-16T23:01:00.012-04:00

Swank Cake's head decorator, Wayne Steinkopf, helped assist Ashley Vicos in the season finale of TLC's Ultimate Cake Off...

Tune in to TLC on October 19th at 10:00pm (EST) to watch Ashley and her team build an extreme cake for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' Zing Zang Zoom (new red tour). Can they create the ultimate cake and win the $10,000 prize?

The above photo features Sweet Ashley's Team: (from left to right) Alexis Sturgeon, Debbie Barronton, Ashley Vicos, and Wayne Steinkopf.

Ashley remarks in her latest article in Modern Baking, "if you like drama and nail-biters, you won't want to miss this episode." I'm going to add an exclamation point to that: !

Chuck
Swank Cake Design
Wedding Cake Bakery, North Carolina, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill.

When a Cake Makes a Long Journey

2009-06-03T18:54:00.005-04:00

You've heard the horror stories, now for the reality: What does a Wedding Cake look like after riding in the car for 2 hours while fully assembled?

Not too shabby! (click to enlarge)

This elegant little number made a trip to Badin Lake, NC over the weekend. The drive would normally take 90 minutes but I got a little lost (oops). When I arrived, I was very pleased with the condition and color of the hydrangeas that were waiting for me on the cake table. The flowers practically put themselves on the cake.

The reception was at the Old North State Club, which is an absolutely gorgeous spot. There's beautiful lake scenery all around with a helping of Uwharrie Mountain Range mixed in. Consider having your next event here, you won't be disappointed. We can even deliver the cake now that I know the way ;)

Chuck
wedding cakes raleigh durham
Swank Cake Design

Hit Hard by Wedding Season...

2009-05-28T18:57:00.006-04:00

... but that's a good thing! The colorful cake above was designed by a bride whose passion is graphic design (can you tell?). We were able to execute it in cake form quite well... and we love the colors, to say the least.

Next, is the wedding cake for the happy couple who got engaged at the Sydney Opera House (see previous post, below). This elegant cake made its way up 21 floors (not without help, mind you) to be at Raleigh's Capital City Club for the reception.

There was an ice sculpture at the event, too: the Sydney Opera House, not to be left out.

Jenny's cake decoration (above) was intricate, yet it was a refreshing project to take on. The navy blue damask design was a first for us and we hope there will be many more like it. The stenciling technique Wayne has been using lately really takes the cake to a whole new level of sophistication (hee hee, I wrote "takes the cake"*)...

Lastly, we have a simple and lovely wedding cake that graced the cake table of the Hill Ballroom at the Carolina Inn, last Saturday. Everything for the reception looked grand. We hope that Amber and Travis had a wonderful wedding day in Tarheel country.

Congratulations and best wishes, to all our Wedding cake couples!!

*I apologize for using that dreadful cake pun. I try to avoid writing things like "icing on the cake" or "let them eat cake." That one just sort of appeared and then I noticed it later.

Chuck
raleigh wedding cakes
Swank Cake Design

Yay, a Color!

2009-05-10T11:04:00.000-04:00

We've done so many white and ivory cakes lately; so it's refreshing to make a light green cake. It really made for a colorful cake table.

Congratulations Renata and Justin!

Chuck
raleigh wedding cakes
Swank Cake Design