Cookie Jar Baking | Baking Tips, Tricks, and More

From Consultation to Cake Cutting: Your step-by-step guide for ordering a wedding cake

eric@thewriteon.com (Eric Carriere) — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 14:14:07 GMT

"Smooth" doesn't just describe our buttercream, but applies to our wedding cake ordering process too!

How to Order Your Dream Wedding Cake: A Step-by-Step Guide

Planning your wedding cake should be as delightful as tasting it. Below we outline a suggested timeline for a smooth wedding cake ordering and creation process. We would be happy to walk you through these steps during an initial consultation, but this guide can help you with a general plan and being able to visualize how the wedding cake part of your special day will come together.

*The time frames mentioned are suggestions. We have worked with longer and shorter time frames. Shorter time frames ultimately depend on availability and the scope of your design.

Step 1: Order your wedding cake tasting kit (6 months until your wedding day!)

Begin the process with a little fun! Enjoying a cake tasting kit can make for a perfect date night. A tasting kit allows you to explore our gourmet cake flavours and fillings. Wedding tasting kits start at $50 and include four delectable flavours with slices to share with your partner or bridal party. This experience helps you select the perfect flavour combination that aligns with your wedding theme and personal preferences.

Step 2: Review Your Wedding Theme and Design - Share your vision with us (5.5 months until your wedding day!)

Share your wedding details, including the date, venue, guest count, and any specific design inspirations. Whether you're envisioning a floral, minimalist, or unconventional cake, we will collaborate with you to create a design that complements your overall wedding aesthetic or maybe even offer design suggestions or flavour combos you haven't thought of yet. This step also allows us to plan and customize the order to you.

Step 3: Finalize Event Details (5 months until your wedding day!)

We'll coordinate all the specifics of your big day, ensuring seamless integration with your wedding schedule and venue. If needed, we can liaise with your wedding vendors to verify all details, providing you with peace of mind. We mention this below, but we also encourage that we do the wedding cake delivery (we even have a "cake safe" to do so) for a smooth safe delivery.

Step 4: Secure Your Booking (5 months until your wedding day!)

To confirm your order, a 50% deposit is required. This secures your date and allows us to begin preparations. Final payment is due one week before your event. We recommend placing your order several months to half a year in advance, especially during the busy summer season, as we operate on a first-come, first-served basis.

*Booking suggestion:* Add a custom treat table alongside your wedding cake display!

Having a variety of smaller handheld treats alongside your wedding cake adds a fun, personal, and memorable element to your celebration. We can add colour/theme coordinated treats like custom sugar cookies, cupcakes, our famous french macarons, or cake pops to your display. Treat tables are great for offering flexibility in the scale of your cake and meeting different dietary needs of guests.

Step 5: Cake Creation (Weeks ahead of your wedding...countdown is on!)

Once planning is complete, our bakers will craft your cake with meticulous attention to detail, ensuring it not only tastes exceptional but also serves as a stunning focal point at your reception.

Step 6: Pickup or Delivery (The day has finally arrived!)

Choose between picking up your cake at our Belleville bakery or opting for delivery. We offer delivery within Belleville for $5 and to Prince Edward County for $40–$100, depending on the size and location. We offer extra secure delivery via the 'cake safe' pictured in the video in the link below. This cake safe is a unique contraption that keeps your cake in place during road transit. This is one less thing for you to worry about on the big day and allows us to add any final details right on site for the freshest display at your reception.

Video: Check out delivery with a cake safe!

Please contact us for delivery options to other surrounding areas.

Ready to Order Your Dream Wedding Cake?

Start putting those wedding cake ideas into action! If you follow this timeline, this would mean our Christmastime brides would be getting in touch this week! Review other tips and details on our wedding cake creation process across our site to learn more. For inquiries, feel free to contact us by email, DM us on Instagram at @cookiejarbaking, or call us at 613-696-5830. We look forward to creating a cake that makes your special day even sweeter.

What Are the Different Types of Buttercream?

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 14:52:13 GMT

8 Types of Buttercream You'll Want to Try

Buttercream is arguably one of the most easily-recognizable dessert ingredients in the world.

Sweet, rich, and creamy, this unique frosting is a combination of whipped butter and sugar at its most basic. However, there are many different types of buttercream, each with a different base and slightly different ingredients.

In this post, we'll explore the different popular options available and provide some advice on when to use them.

What's the Difference Between Buttercream and Frosting?

Before we get started, there's one thing we should get out of the way — the confusion around buttercream and frosting. Buttercream is a type of frosting, but not all frosting is considered buttercream. The main difference is in the ingredients.

Buttercream, as the name suggests, is typically made by adding powdered sugar to butter (or vice-versa) then whipping it until one attains the desired consistency. Some buttercream recipes may call for additional ingredients such as milk, cream, or shortening. It's among the most popular and versatile types of frosting, and its taste and consistency both largely depend on how you make it — this is part of the reason there are so many variations.

With that said, buttercream is typically softer, creamier, and richer than other types of frosting, which tend to be considerably sweeter.

The other types of frosting include:

Whipped: Light and airy, whipped frosting (or whipped cream frosting) is best paired with fruity flavors like those found in berry cakes or strawberry shortcake. It's typically made immediately before serving, and should be consumed as soon as possible.
Fondant: Fondant is essentially a paste made from sugar, water, and a type of gelatin or shortening. It comes in three distinct forms:
Rolled Fondant has a dough-like consistency, and may be used to cover a cake or cut into shapes or strips for decoration.
Pour Fondant is creamier than the other styles, and may be used as a glaze or a filling.
Sculpting or Gumpaste Fondant starts out similar to rolled fondant, but eventually hardens. This makes it ideal for creating larger and more intricate cake decorations.
Ganache: With a rich flavor and a liquid consistency, ganache is often used as a topping for cheesecakes, cupcakes, or eclairs. It can also serve as a filling for pastries, a dessert dip, or even a dessert on its own.
Royal Icing: Typically made from egg whites and icing sugar, royal icing is most commonly found on Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses. It's hard, smooth, and easy to make.

Depending on who you ask, cream cheese frosting may be considered a style of buttercream or its own type of frosting.

Common Characteristics of Buttercream

Generally, each style of buttercream shares the following in common:

A smooth, creamy texture.
A sweet, but not overpowering taste.
Soft while still retaining its consistency.
Should always be served at room temperature.

The Eight Types of Buttercream

American Buttercream

Overview

Colloquially known as traditional or simple buttercream, American buttercream is made by creaming together powdered sugar and butter along with milk or heavy cream. You can also add vanilla extract, shortening, or additional flavors if so desired, but this isn't strictly necessary.

American Buttercream is quite versatile, and can be used for anything from piping simple decorations onto cakes or cupcakes to making flavored icing.

Characteristics of American Buttercream

The easiest style of buttercream to make.
Sweeter than other types of buttercream.
Surface tends to harden into a crust when exposed to the air.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Overview

Commonly used in professional pastry kitchens, Swiss Meringue Buttercream has all the versatility of American Buttercream with a lighter texture and a subtler taste. It tends to be more challenging to make than American Buttercream, as it requires the cook to use a double boiler to heat a mixture of egg whites and sugar, then beat the mixture into a meringue before adding butter and other flavoring.

Characteristics of Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Less sweet than other styles of buttercream.
Silky, smooth texture and an ivory color.
Relatively soft, light, and fluffy.

German Buttercream

Overview

Also known as Creme Mousseline, German Buttercream combines whipped custard and butter into a rich, creamy frosting. It tends to be less stable than other variations of buttercream, and as a result isn't well-suited for making decorations. If you need a bit of added stability, you can use a thicker custard base.

German Buttercream is best used in rich desserts such as chocolate cakes.

Characteristics of German Buttercream

Pale yellow color, creamy and smooth texture.
Buttery, slightly sweet flavor.
Incredibly soft, and tends to melt at room temperature.

French Buttercream

Overview

French Buttercream is similar to both Swiss and Italian Meringue Buttercream in terms of how it's made, the main difference being that it uses egg yolks instead of egg whites. It's often confused with French Meringue Buttercream, which uses egg whites.

French Buttercream is an excellent alternative to a custard base for fruit tarts.

Characteristics of French Buttercream

Slight yellow tint with a thick, silky and creamy texture.
One of the richest buttercreams, and mildly sweet.
Easy to spread and well-suited for piping.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Overview

Italian Meringue Buttercream is very similar to Swiss Buttercream, using identical ingredients but in different proportions. Unfortunately, it's also notoriously difficult to make, as it requires a baker to boil sugar syrup to a very specific temperature then steam it into egg whites. At the same time, its durability makes it well-suited for decorating cakes.

Characteristics of Italian Meringue Buttercream

Incredibly stable but also extremely difficult to make.
Light and creamy texture with a mild sweetness.
Pale white color.

Russian Buttercream

Overview

Russian Buttercream is arguably the least common style of buttercream, made with whipped butter and sweetened condensed milk. The end result is almost more akin to whipped frosting than buttercream. It's somewhat less versatile than other buttercreams, though some might argue that its unique taste more than makes up for it.

As frosting, Russian Buttercream is best made and used on the same day, though it can also serve as an excellent filling for layer cake.

Characteristics of Russian Buttercream

Incredibly light, with a texture similar to thick whipped cream.
Strong milk flavor.
Bright white hue.

Korean Buttercream

Overview

The recipe for Korean Buttercream comes from a rather unusual source — YouTube, specifically the channel G.G. Cakraft . The process for making it is identical to that of making Italian Meringue Buttercream, save that it uses cold butter instead of room temperature butter. The end result is a completely novel and unique buttercream style, one that can be used to make positively stunning decorations.

Characteristics of Korean Buttercream

Glossy consistency, rich texture.
Highly stable and heat-resistant.
Nearly transparent color.

Ermine Buttercream

Overview

Also known as flour buttercream, boiled milk icing, or cooked frosting, Ermine Buttercream is typically used as an eggless alternative to Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It's most commonly found on red velvet cake. Ermine Buttercream is made by cooking a flour and sugar mixture, cooling it, then whipping it with butter.

Characteristics of Ermine Buttercream

Smooth and creamy texture.
Rich taste, similar to that of cream cheese frosting.
Soft and pipeable.

Why We Use Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Every type of buttercream has its strengths and weaknesses, and each is versatile in its own way. However, for Cookie Jar, it's Swiss Meringue that truly stands out. Because of how it's made, Swiss Meringue Buttercream has many of the same advantages as Italian Meringue but is also far simpler to make:

It remains stable at room temperature.
It's soft and easy to spread.
It has a much longer shelf life than many other types of buttercream.
It has less sugar than some other types of buttercream, meaning you can add subtler flavors without worrying about them being overpowered.
In spite of its softness, it holds shapes fairly well, making it well-suited for simple decorations.
It's incredibly versatile, and can be used as icing, frosting, or filling depending on the recipe.

Interested in trying our Swiss Meringue Buttercream? We don't blame you. Place an order today or stop by our shop and see why people say our buttercream is to die for.

7 Popular Cake Trends to Follow in 2023

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 19:30:50 GMT

Cake trends are never sitting still. Some cake designs may stay popular longer than others, but we’re always seeing new trends become popular while other design options fade away.

Cookie Jar has already seen new trends gain popularity for weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations within the past few months. We take cake and bakery orders from Belleville, Prince Edward County, and surrounding areas for a wide range of events — and new cake trends are already taking shape in the area.

Ready to explore the latest cake trends already shaping 2023? We’ve got you covered.

1. Delicious Sheet Pan Cakes

Sheet pan cakes provide a level of simplicity that’s rapidly gaining popularity. However, instead of focusing intensely on its design, it’s all about flavour.

Don’t worry, sheet pan cakes can certainly still look incredible with artistic designs, but they’re emerging as an economical alternative to more intricate and tiered cakes. Guests will appreciate and remember how the cake tastes while you make the cake a smaller chunk of your event budget.

All types of events are starting to go the sheet pan route, from weddings expecting plenty of guests, to corporate events, to birthday parties of all ages.

2. Cakes with Simplicity and Elegance

The past few years have seen the rise of more complex designs, like the prominence of boho designs. However, we see more interest in minimalistic, elegant designs.

This type of design uses carefully chosen complementary colours and minimal decorative elements. You might also see them referred to as minimalist cakes, but this trend focuses on sophisticated designs.

There are a few unique characteristics of a minimalist and elegant cake design, including:

Convey a sense of class and beauty
Not overly decorated
Generally round, although not a strict requirement
Strong focus on flavour
Typically only two or three carefully selected colours

This cake trend for 2023 isn’t necessarily limited to weddings — anything from corporate events to birthday parties might opt for this design to complement the overall decor.

3. Multicolour Cakes that Make a Statement

White cakes are still in-demand, but multicoloured cakes that break from tradition are one of the significant cake trends 2023. People are now choosing designs that stand out rather than blend with the rest of the decor. For example, a bold teal or green cake that contrasts with the rest of the event.

You may also see traditional colours used creatively for an intentionally loud design. For example, black, white, and gold aren’t necessarily a new colour palette but making gold or black the dominant colour breaks tradition.

Our customers choose multicolour cakes for a range of events. They’re well-suited for less-formal events and birthday parties, but an expertly designed multicolour cake can be an excellent choice for weddings and formal occasions.

4. Floral Designs Now with Edible Flowers

One of the major cake trends we highlighted last year was creative floral designs , which are still in motion. However, the floral cake trend in 2023 has now evolved to include edible flowers. A specialized type of gum paste is used to craft realistic flowers that go well beyond the traditional icing flowers.

Edible flowers add a new spin to floral designs by making the impressive design part of the desert, and they even taste great. Of course, some customers will still choose the standard floral route without edible flowers, but including them in the design is rapidly gaining popularity.

It’s worth noting that the vital characteristic of this trend is the focus on artistic design. Lacklustre edible flowers won’t give the impression you might want, but expertly crafted edible flowers are an excellent addition to floral designs.

5. Dominant Black Cakes

All-black cakes, or at least primarily black, are one of the significant cake trends 2023, gaining momentum alongside multicoloured cakes. This bold option stands out in any environment, and its unexpectedness can complement the mood and decor of your event.

However, be aware that black cakes can be messy to eat due to the significant amount of black dye involved in the design. Therefore, you may want to warn guests and provide more napkins and wipes than usual.

If you want your cake to make a strong statement, a black cake will undoubtedly stand out.

6. Multiple Bespoke Cakes Over Large Multi-Tiered Cakes

You’ll still see multi-tiered cakes, but a new alternative has become a growing cake trend for 2023 - a selection of bespoke cakes to accommodate everyone at your event.

This trend is most commonly found at weddings, where multi-tiered cakes have been the go-to for years, but it can apply to any event with an extensive guest roster.

Some couples now order a cutting cake for the big moment while also ordering various individual cakes for guests. Going this route provides a broader range of flavour options and accommodates specific dietary requirements, such as gluten-free, vegan, and low-carb.

Additionally, you don’t need to restrict your dessert options to cakes. You can offer a variety of baked goods, such as:

Cupcakes
Cookies
Macarons
Brownies
Donuts

We’re seeing more couples go this route instead of a single, large cake to offer guests plenty of options. It can also be more economical, depending on your order.

7. Custom Cake Toppers

From our perspective, writing directly on cakes has primarily run its course. Instead, custom cake toppers are leading the way.

Some people choose a funny or witty cake topper — others opt for a work of art. Fortunately, the range of toppers available only seems to keep growing. You’ll be able to find the perfect option for your event.

Instead of writing ‘Happy Birthday’ again, you can find a cake topper that cleverly conveys the same message and is artistically designed.

Additionally, the topper can serve as a memento instead of icing that will only live in pictures. Newlyweds usually keep their ‘bride and groom’ toppers — now, all events can adopt the same tradition.

Try the Latest Cake Trends at Cookie Jar Bakery

Fashion, interior design, and even automobiles have new trends emerge while others fade away. Cakes are no exception — what was in style last year might not be in style today—having a trending cake design at your event can significantly improve the decor.

Cookie Jar is always on top of the latest cake design trends while also being aware of what our customers in Belleville and surrounding areas prefer. So we know what’s popular — and we know how to bake and design it.

Ready to order your next cake? Contact Cookie Jar today to place your order, or drop by our store to get started.

Top Wedding Cake Trends in 2022 You Need to Know

eric@thewriteon.com (Eric Carriere) — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 16:16:08 GMT

Wedding cakes are a key part of most weddings. Your cake will take center stage at the reception and may even warrant its own photo session.

Cutting the cake also creates a fantastic memory — and pictures — for new couples to appreciate for years and decades into their marriage. Did you give your new spouse a careful bite or shove it in their face?

Wedding cake trends change every year. Some trends may last for a few years, while others fade as the year ends. So the cake design you pick may reflect the year you got married, depending on your choice when you order a wedding cake.

Ready to explore the top wedding cake trends in 2022 to help you decide on your future cake’s design? Let’s look at what brides and grooms are choosing this year.

The Wedding Cake Must Taste Incredible

One key trend that isn’t design-specific is the added emphasis on an amazing-tasting wedding cake. In the past, the cake’s design was the sole focus, and the taste wasn’t all that important (as long as it wasn’t disgusting).

Now, couples care much more about having an amazing tasting cake that guests will remember. Cake tastings are now a core part of the process, and picking the flavour is just as important as the design.

So as you learn more about top wedding cake trends in 2022, remember that it’s not enough for it to look amazing — it also needs to taste amazing.

Floral Cakes to Match Your Colour Theme

Floral cakes may be traditional, but they continue to be a popular wedding cake trend even today. Some couples choose pressed floral or floral designs made out of icing. However, using flowers as an accent is one of the most popular cake trends incorporating floral elements.

Remember, work with your Belleville wedding cake artist to coordinate the floral colours to match the overall colour scheme of your wedding. For example, you may want to use whites and neutrals or opt for brighter colours that call attention to the flowers.

Smaller Artistic Cakes with a Dessert Table

One of the dominant new cake trends in 2022 is the pivot away from traditional massive, tiered cakes and instead opting for a smaller artistic cake with a dessert table for guests.

This change is primarily a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a single large cake may facilitate the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, a couples-only artistic cake combined with a dessert table with plenty of options plays an essential role in minimizing the spread of the virus.

The dessert table can have cake bites, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and any other desserts you wish to provide. Going with a dessert table gives guests more options and makes it easier to satisfy dietary restrictions.

This trend isn’t only a response to COVID-19, however. Couples are also moving away from the traditional multi-tier cake in favour of an artistic, well-designed cake that makes better use of their budget. But, of course, delicious desserts are still available for guests, and couples can enjoy a work of art on the newlywed’s table.

The Return of Pastels

There’s something about pastels that makes them fade in and out of style. This ebb and flow aren’t only true with wedding cakes; you can also see the constant change in fashion, interior design, and even hair colours.

This year, pastels are in style in a big way. You can combine a pastel colour palette with many other trends on this list to create a truly unique look. Some couples and wedding planners will pick pastel versions of the overall colour palette. For example, if the wedding colours are blue and white, the wedding cake may have a prominent pastel blue if the wedding colours are blue and white.

Explore Seasonal Cake Designs

Letting the season guide your cake design is an emerging cake trend that gives you a starting point to build on. This trend is especially prominent in outdoor weddings, where nature itself is part of your wedding colour palette. Here’s how the season can influence your design:

Summer: Vibrant, bright colours are a hallmark of summer for most regions. Incorporate these colours with your cake design. Additionally, florals and other nature-inspired elements should be considered.
Autumn: Leaves are changing colours as the world prepares for winter, creating a unique colour palette in nature. Embrace strong colours with shades of brown as an accent.
Winter: Winter weddings may not be as common as in other seasons, but they do happen. A winter wedding is a perfect time to embrace white cakes with an artistic design, like our example above.
Spring: Spring is a time of renewal and warmer weather, making it a popular wedding season. A Spring-inspired cake will lean heavily on floral elements and may include leaves, vines, or other greenery.

Bold and Colourful Wedding Cakes

Break away from traditional designs with a bold colour palette. Your wedding cake will certainly make a statement, but it can still contribute to a romantic atmosphere, like our above example. The blue is striking and accented by a strong brown, an unusual colour combination that still works.

Colourful wedding cakes that use strong colours have grown in popularity in 2022. Couples that opt for a bold design may also break away from other aspects of a traditional wedding. So if you want to get married and make a statement that you’re not going to follow the usual wedding traditions, bold colours are the way to go.

Boho Cakes Continue to Make an Impression

Boho design has permeated nearly every element of fashion, design, and wedding themes. Short for Bohemian, overall boho design embraces natural elements, such as features, earthy floral patterns, and neutral tones.

When it comes to wedding cake artistry, a boho wedding cake will embrace a neutral yet natural colour palette, have natural accents such as feathers or pinecones, and have white or off-white frosting.

Which 2022 Wedding Cake Trend is Perfect for You?

Now that you know popular wedding cake design trends for 2022, which one is right for you and your future spouse?

You’ll need to consider other aspects of the wedding to ensure your future cake matches and contributes to the romantic atmosphere. For example, should you choose a season-inspired design or soft pastels with a floral pattern? Or are you more into that classic Boho wedding cake style?

A wedding cake artist can help you design the perfect cake for your wedding. We’ll help you pick a unique design for you and your spouse while still being trendy and memorable.

Ready to get started? Contact a wedding cake artist today to discover how we can create your perfect cake for your Belleville, Quinte West, or Prince Edward County wedding.