Brides and grooms, remember this lesson of love: It’s what’s on the inside that counts. And oh does that ever refer to wedding cakes.
Kim Sperl’s cakes are not only a sight to behold, but inside she’s known for filling them with orange-ginger cream cheese, peanut butter buttercream or passion fruit ganache. There’s mango or raspberry cream cheese, caramel, pistachio, hazelnut, Irish cream and almond, too. And even more than that (visit www.bellaedolce.com for the complete flavor list). Makes you want to propose all over again, doesn’t it?

 

Piece of cake
Sperl, a pastry chef whose business Bella e Dolce is located in Cheboygan, caters her cakes to weddings around the north region. “Most people just refer to me as the ‘cake lady,’” she noted.
She started the business in the mid-1980s to explore an interest in cooking and baking. Once her son was grown, she sought a new career path and eventually graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. The family moved up to Northern Michigan and turned the summer cottage into a full-time residence, and Bella e Dolce took off from there.
“Since then we’ve grown into a three-person business and specialize in custom wedding cakes and pastries,” Sperl said. “My European training was a perfect match for all the beautiful Northern Michigan wedding venues, so I can understand why it’s a popular wedding destination.”
Sperl said her business is known for high-end wedding cakes, classic French pastries and one-of-a-kind novelty cakes — plus the fact that “everything is made from scratch.” Many cakes are hand-painted to match a bride’s dress or wedding theme, and Sperl can make any flower decoration from sugarpaste to match the bride’s floral bouquet.
“We’ve made a groom’s cake that looks like a pontoon boat and a wedding cake that looked like the Round Island lighthouse,” she said.
Brides and grooms are seeking something unique in their wedding cakes, “so each cake is as individual as the couples that order them,” she said. “We try to design cakes that fit the wedding theme as well as the personalities of the couple. This season, rolled fondant is still very popular, as are cupcake wedding cakes.”
Aside from creating the cake for the wedding day, Sperl said she also often gets orders for wedding favors for guests, such as handmade French chocolate truffles that are boxed and tied with ribbon, or decorated sugar cookies wrapped in cellophane bags and also tied with ribbon.
It’s all in the details for Bella e Dolce.
“We place a hand-painted signature sugar ladybug on every wedding cake symbolizing good luck. One day, a mother of the bride came in to check over the reception room to make sure all was in order. She took a look at the cake and saw the ladybug. Thinking it was a real bug, she picked it off and threw it on the floor,” Sperl recalled. “I guess our sugar art can get a little too realistic sometimes.”

Chef Julie Adams, Julienne Tomatoes, Petoskey, 439-9250
Bill Warner, New York Cakes of Atwood, (231) 676-0073
Gretel Stackler, Amazing Cakes, Charlevoix, 547-7470

· Fresh flowers, particularly on a white cake. Give the florist and baker at least two weeks notice so there’s time to order.
­· Sculpted flowers made from fondant, gum paste, marzipan, spun sugar, buttercream or other edible materials.
­· French dots, Cornnelli lace, scrolls and ribbons made from icing. Fabric bows and ribbons also can accent the bride’s dress.
· Cakes shaped like presents, fabric, castles, landscape, fruit or any number of creative designs.
Source: www.wisegeek.com