We are Closed!

Hi Friend and loyal customers! Confectionery Cake Shop has closed its doors this week (Sept 1st 2013) after three wonderful years of serving delicious cake and cupcake creations to the metro Twin Cities area and southern MN areas! I have always been a small shop and primarily work alone, so since my husband and I are expecting our first family member to join us very shortly, I have decided to be a full time parent. If I may recommend a wonderful shop or four to help you with your local cake needs, please do not hesitate to contact: The Perfect Day Cakes in Owatonna, Cake Walk in Northfield, Queen of Cakes in Edina, and Cocoa & Fig in Minneapolis. Thank you once again for your support and enjoy your day!

A Surprise 70th Birthday to Remember!

  Before Marian walked into the lobby of the Paradise Center for the Arts in historic downtown Faribault, she had no idea there were over 100 of her closest friends and relatives waiting on the other side of the door. SURPRISE!

Now, turning 70 is quite the accomplishment and boy oh boy were they ready to party! After visiting at the Paradise, they made their way over to the Loft at the Bachrach Building across the street for an even larger party. A three tiered cake greeted guests in the lobby where they could pick up their place seating assignment cards. The tables were covered in beautiful linens, fine china, elaborate silverware and each plate had a small birds nest with a chocolate dipped apple to take home. The centerpieces (created by local wedding floral shop ‘bloom’) were branches filled with fresh cut white roses, the birthday girls favorite flower. The dessert table was filled with chocolate covered pretzels, malted milk balls, red velvet cupcakes, spice cakes, german chocolate cupcakes decorated with the fine details in chocolate and fondant. The tiered cake, was a white cake with a fresh coconut filling, iced in coconut buttercream. Happy Birthday and oh yes, SURPRISE!!

Sprinkle a little Joy on your Holiday Treats!

There’s something so special about baking together during the holidays. Whether you’re baking up a favorite cookie recipe, sugar cookies or a really fun gingerbread house, I bet your kitchen is filling up your home with the familiar scents of comfort and joy. To make your holidays extra special this year, try topping your sugar cookies or cupcakes with the new line of gourmet sprinkles from Confectionery Cake Shop! They’re perfect for dressing up your already sweet treats and adding an extra touch of goodness to them!

They come an a variety of options, from jumbo red and green sprinkles to teeny tiny white nonpareils and each package is only $2.95! Where can you pick up these lovely little decorative candies? You can shop for them at Sweet Spot Candies in historic downtown Faribault, MN or you can pre-order them by emailing confectionerycakes@gmail.com. Shipping is an option… look for the etsy posting soon!

Twin Cities Marathon Day!

If the shoe fits, eat it!

When Father Erik Lundgren woke up on the morning of October 7th, he laced up his running shoes and headed up the Twin Cities Marathon. This day was special.. not only because it was his first marathon, it was also his birthday.. and not just any birthday, his 30th. Running races are a great way to do something healthy, while others get to support you! In fact, so many ‘others’ supported Fr Erik in this run that he was able to raise well over $20,000 for our local Catholic Elementary School, Divine Mercy Catholic School. Talk about a good cause! To celebrate, we gathered with Fr Erik after the 5pm mass to enjoy cake from Confectionery Cake Shop and Ice Cream from Sweet Spot Candies! He received his very own cake, which was a replica of the shoe that he ran the marathon with.. and an edible gold medal for finishing the race, draped across it. Over 150 folks shared in his excitement and enjoyed a raspberry filled white cupcake or a slice of tuxedo cake with fresh raspberry filling. Turning 30 is just the beginning, Fr Erik! Enjoy!

 

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The Minnesota Bride Magazine 2012 Awards

Tami, Allison and myself – enjoying a sweet treat from Cocoa & Fig!

Nothing could be more exciting to me than getting all of the finest Minnesota Wedding businesses together in one room – and if Minnesota Bride Magazine is hosting it, it’s sure to be one major party! Hosting the event this year was the brand new addition to the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. We walked in to be surrounded by beautiful flower displays by our new friends at Wisteria Design Studio, a gorgeous dessert display from one of my most adored bakeries Cocoa & Fig, a delightful spread of fine chocolates from Sweets Bakeshop and lots of wonderful generous samples from Fabulous Catering and a few other top catering companies in the Twin Cities, like Create Catering, Chowgirls and more! As we headed to the banquet room to see who won the ‘Best Of’ awards in each category, I was happy to cheer on our friends at Graddy Photography for winning Best Photography for their 2nd year in a row and the Basilica of St. Mary for winning Best Ceremony location (I might be partial since that is where I got married). Also cheering on D’Amico & Sons as I’m a big fan of their wonderful food. So yes, the food was great, the atmosphere was swanky and the weather was wonderful, but my favorite part had to be meeting some really passionate business owners as we all support each other. What a cool industry to be a part of. All the nominees were cheered for as well as all of the winners. I can’t wait to attend this party each year and hopefully someday, Confectionery Cake Shop will be up there in lights! 

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Wedding Season is Here!

At Confectionery Cake Shop, wedding season is the most exciting time of year in the kitchen. The wedding industry is so much fun, from meeting with newly engaged couples, designing their wedding cake to completing their cake or cupcakes for their guests at their reception. With sites like Pinterest for inspiration, designing a theme for your wedding can be fun and exciting. Here are a couple of pictures from recent weddings, from birch trees to daisies and tropical orchids – sugar and fondant flowers are in!

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OH BABY! It’s a GIRL!

3 dozen cupcakes and a 6" cake

Okay, is there anything more fun than a baby shower? I mean there are little tiny dresses, books and toys to be gifted, lovely snacks and some total girl time with your friends and family! This shower was a special one for me because it was for a good friend who is expecting her first! The invitations came in the mail and were the inspiration for this cake and cupcake display. The rest of the inspiration came from the gals who were planning it. When I take a cake order, I don’t just ask what you want and write it down… I ask what overall look will be in the room, how you plan to have guests enjoy the cake (cutting it on plates with forks or just napkins for cupcakes?) and what flavors you’d like. For this cake, red velvet was a must have, cupcakes for the guests and a cute 6″ cake for the mom-to-be to take home and share with dad-to-be!  The cupcakes were decorated with a variety of pink fondant flowers to match the cake. The stand is something you can either rent for the afternoon or order-to-keep through us! With a cute cupcakes and cake display, your shower will be even more special and memorable!

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Inside A Creative Ad Agency

Carmichael Lynch Cake

If you haven’t seen the inside of an advertising agency, you are missing out. It’s one of the coolest work environments… I know this because I used to work at one, this one – Carmichael Lynch in downtown Minneapolis. It’s a creative atmosphere. That means, when you walk into the lobby, you can sit on the swing while you wait. When you head to the conference rooms, they’re not just numbered, they are given first names, like “Elton”. Energy runs high and the open work environment helps that. They’ve worked on big clients, like Jack Links Beef Jerky, Porche, American Standard, Harley Davidson Motorcycles and so much more. Their mission, as stated on their new website is this: Carmichael Lynch has a history of creating powerful emotional connections to brands. In creating these connections we do more than make our clients’ brands top of mind for their target. We create a lasting bond between brands and people.
When it came time for them to release a new logo this past Monday, they called Confectionery Cake Shop to bring them cake – at 9:30am. Yes, at an ad agency, you can eat cake for breakfast. The cake was a custom cutout of the new logo, the letters ‘CL’ in a funky new shape that just feels organic, full of movement, fun and forward thinking. It will easily live in print, online and of course, in cake.

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We won the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Award 2012!

Photography by Graddy Photography

{Faribault,MN} – January 23, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Confectionery Cake Shop has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Wedding Cake!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Confectionery Cake Shop was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Confectionery Cake Shop is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Confectionery Cake Shop for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Confectionery Cake Shop is one of the very best Wedding Cake professionals within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit http://www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

Meet Minnesota’s Best Wedding Photographers!

You don’t always need an award to prove that you’re the very best, but if you ask Graddy Photography to show you a couple of awards, they will certainly be able to. Even though they were recently awarded the MN Bride Magazine‘s Best Photographer of 2011, Justin & Chrissy Graddy definitely don’t let it go to their head. They are personable and down to earth photographers whom I met at a friends wedding a few weeks ago. The photos from that wedding turned out so beautiful so when it came time for a few product cake shots for an upcoming ad that will run in the Faribault Daily News‘ Wedding Journal as well as Girlfriend Magazine‘s February issue, I knew who to call.

When I walked in, I was graciously greeted and given a tour. Their studio is converted from an old theater in the heart of New Prague. It has a small town feel, but was a wonderland modern equipment, hip and stylish backdrops, vintage furniture, and creative props. The entry area had a gallery with some of the finest photography in the Twin Cities and Minnesota, okay fine, the Universe.

I often joke that I treat my cakes as if they are people and Graddy’s also seemed to treat them in the same way, having them rest on stools, benches and couches. They were gentle with the cakes and knew how to handle them so they wouldn’t become damaged. The shoot went smoothly and the portraits turned out fantastic. It was a stress-free experience for me, which is what we all hope to feel when it comes to hiring a photographer.

Keep an eye out for Graddy Photography. If you’re planning on getting married in 2013, I suggest calling them now as they will book up fast. When you see their portfolio, it’s no wonder brides want them to capture their wedding on camera. You can find a link to their website to the right of this post in my preferred vendor links list. Enjoy!

* The best way you can support local wedding vendors like us is to please take a moment to vote for us for ‘MN Brides 2012 Best of“. You need to vote for at least six vendors for your vote to count, but you do not need to fill out the whole form. Cakes are listed in the #40s. Thanks!