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Dreams
come true
JollyBe’s
baker, Ruth Seidler, combines art school training with culinary
arts for spectacular cakes
By
Rebecca Migdal
for The Brooklyn
Bride
Is
it food or is it art?
One JollyBe cake resembles exquisitely painted, fine bone
china with a crown of delicate porcelain flower petals in
the shape of a chrysanthemum. On another, Northwest Indian
carvings come to life in brilliant, jewel-like colors; on
yet another, mythical creatures from a Greek vase curl around
the cake’s smooth curves. The meticulously crafted confections
seem almost too precious to be eaten.
The casual observer might be excused for assuming that more
care has been given to appearance, than to flavor, texture
and the quality of the ingredients, but any question about
the ultimate purpose of these consumable works of art will
evaporate in one delicious nibble.
Take, for example, the double chocolate cake with peppermint
buttercream icing. It might have been made to resemble a Seurat
painting or a Persian palace urn; either way, it tastes like
heaven: light and rich with perfectly flavored minty frosting
that’s not sugary sweet.
Then there’s the almond cake filled with almond “dacquoise”
(a crunchy, chewy meringue laced with ground nuts) and apricot
preserves, frosted with almond buttercream. It looks fabulous
trimmed in gold leaf and traced with Renaissance florals,
with a cascade of sugar posies on top. Nonetheless, the promise
of its delectable interior makes it worth the anguish of cutting
into the gleaming perfection of its icing.
A woman who sampled the dessert at a tasting party was overheard
gushing, “I don’t even like almonds, but this is
the most delicious cake I’ve ever tasted.”
And then there’s the lemon cake with its filling of raspberry-black
currant puree, coated with lemon buttercream. The tower of
layers might be mistaken for an antique Majolica ceramic fountain
embellished with scenic painted cartouches, except that it’s
topped with a fondant sunflower, rather than a gushing spray
of water. The flavor? It tingles with tartness and zing, doing
a little flamenco dance on the tongue.
And these are just some of the nearly endless flavor combinations
available in JollyBe Bakery’s splendid, hand-painted
cakes. Others include hazelnut, espresso or devil’s food
cake; orange curd, marzipan or stabilized whipped cream with
fresh fruit fillings; and for icing, rolled fondant, ganache
or meringue.
But it doesn’t stop there. Whatever your cake fantasy
may be, Ruth Seidler is the baker whose mission is to make
it a reality.
Three years ago, when Seidler launched her small specialty
bakery, named JollyBe in honor of her three sons, Josh, Oliver
and Benjamin, she already knew she had really hit on something
with her beautifully painted and decorated cakes. What had
begun as a fun way to create a unique gift for a friend or
relative, had become a calling. An artist with a Masters degree
in art conservation, Seidler had worked at major museums restoring
aging paintings. As word-of-mouth spread about her fabulous
confections, she turned from repairing and preserving antiques
to creating edible art meant to be enjoyed in the moment.
Seidler’s cakes may be best devoured shortly after baking,
but the memories they sweeten will last a lifetime. They’re
sure to play a central role at the table of any wedding feast
or birthday bash, and to live on in the photo albums of her
clients. .
JollyBe Bakery
is located in Park Slope. For more information, call designer
Ruth Seidler at (718) 965-1651, e-mail jollybebakery@gmail.com
or visit the Web site, www.jollybebakery.com.
A three-tiered cake, serving 65 guests, is approximately $750.
Cakes should be ordered at least two months in advance; rush
orders are occasionally accepted.
May
13, 2006 edition |. Read
more about Brooklyn Weddings
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