Weddings Winter 2011 > Planner

Mark Joseph Cakes

A classically trained pastry chef and Culinary Institute of America grad, Mark Randazzo specializes in flavor alchemy: Think raspberry, vanilla, and pistachio fillings combined with Valrhona chocolate. His wife, Leslie, ensures each client’s vision is executed to perfection, whether it involves elaborate sculpture or minimalist buttercream beauty. From $8 per serving.

Michelle Doll Cakes

Before becoming a sugar artist at the French Culinary Institute, Doll worked as a graphic designer—evident in her signature draping and intricate detailing. She is especially renowned for her red velvet, which can arrive crowned with the current favorite—vanilla buttercream frosting with a swirl of Nutella. And to top it off, she has even proved her baking prowess on national television—she once beat Bobby Flay in a wedding-cake throwdown on the Food Network. From $9 per serving.

Momofuku Milk Bar

This foodie favorite does multitiered wedding cakes with an organic, just-baked taste. Flavors include pistachio, dulce de leche, chocolate chip, and carrot. Delivery and setup available on location. From $400 for a three-tier cake; $575 for four tiers. (good value)

Nine Cakes

Nine Cakes’ Betsy Thorleifson storms up stunning, tiered creations that are cute but still very classic—iced confections dotted with clouds of meringue are standouts. Thorleifson & Co. will gladly customize flavor pairings (e.g., almond cake layered with Pear-William ganache and vanilla-bean buttercream). From $8 per serving.

Patti Paige Baked Ideas

Paige’s memorable, colorful wedding cakes often incorporate her signature custom-designed sugar cookies; she’s also sought-after for her drool-worthy semisweet chocolate ganache and buttercream fillings. From $10 per serving.

Pieces of Cake

Cupcake Café alum Jennifer Chiang specializes in fusing Asian and Western styles. Her confections range from the popular red-velvet cake with a coconut cream-cheese filling and icing to a classic coconut-cream cake. She is also known for her decorative metallic painting and buttercream flowers. From $9 per serving.

Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

This French Culinary Institute master chef-instructor deals in cake couture. Bold, realistic sugar blossoms adorn most cakes, which have included replicas of the Plaza hotel, a Russian church, and the Taj Mahal. His cakes and icings burst with flavors like crushed vanilla bean and blood orange. Everything from the floral design to the ribbon decoration is 100 percent natural and edible. From $15 per serving.

Ruth Drennan Cakes

For Drennan, every cake is a labor of love. Known for her extraordinary sugar flowers, Drennan can re-create a bridal bouquet on a cake—think 300 multicolored roses. She specializes in traditional flavors, but clients rave about her stracciatella pound cake with chopped Valrhona dark chocolate. She suggests ordering at least six months in advance. From $10 per serving.

Sarabeth's Bakery

The uptown crowd’s favorite bakery and brunch spot also makes traditional wedding cakes, designed by Sarabeth Levine herself. Levine’s elegant creations generally involve fresh flowers and white buttercream. From $11.50 per serving.

Sarah Magid Custom Organic Cakes

Magid, an accessories designer turned baker, frosts her wedding cakes with organic whipped buttercream and tops them with whimsical adornments like custom sugar flowers and chocolate butterflies. Loyal clients obsess over Magid’s signature Goldies, an organic version of Twinkies dusted with edible gold powder. From $11 to $15 per serving. (ecofriendly)

Silk Cakes

French Culinary Institute alum Judy Lai blends Asian, American, and French elements in her cakes. Her multicultural tendencies are evinced by the filling options—buttercreams get hits of exotic flavors like yuzu, green tea, and dulce de leche; she can also whip up a jasmine-flavored chocolate ganache. As for design, it could involve anything from traditional tiers with ornate flowers to a cake replicating a sports stadium. From $7 per serving. (good value)

Soutine Bakery

This tiny bakery, which receives some of the highest accolades in the city, can turn out fondant-frosted beauties with sugar-coated fruit or live flowers, butterfly-topped chocolate ganache towers, and beyond. From $7 per serving. (good value)

Sugar Couture

Film producer turned confectionary artist Penny CM Stankiewicz culls most of her inspiration from interior design and antiques. Sugar Couture makes custom wedding cakes and groom’s cakes; but should you develop a sudden interest in the pastry arts, Stankiewicz also teaches classes at Sarah Lawrence. Her confections have made cameos on The Real Housewives of New York City, incidentally. Wedding cakes from $8 per serving.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine

This cozy bakery is a neighborhood staple for its cupcakes (the pistachio variety will make anyone a regular), which they’ll assemble into trees for a minimal charge. Conventional buttercream-frosted cakes are also available. Cupcakes are $21 per dozen; layer cakes start at $4.50 per serving. (good value)

Sweet Element

Pastry chef and French Culinary Institute graduate Jen Roberts works closely with her clients to turn their inspirations into edible cake art, decorating confections in everything from sequins to fall leaves and filling them with chocolate ganache and pistachio buttercream. An unorthodox groom’s cake could take the shape of a Red Stripe bottle, and chocoholics will love Roberts’s handmade chocolate favors. Cakes from $8 per serving.

Sweet Things Bake Shop

A side project of the Lower Eastside Girls Club, the Sweet Things Bake Shop offers homemade custom cookies and cupcakes (from $2) for any occasion, including weddings. All proceeds from the shop support Girls Club programs that teach culinary arts and business skills and provide essential services like education, job training, and health programs for Lower Manhattan girls and their families. (good value)

Sylvia Weinstock Cakes

Dubbed the “queen of cakes” by her peers, Weinstock creates elaborate, sugar-flower-studded cakes for the socialite-y crowd. She uses buttercream instead of fondant, so air-conditioning is a must to ensure your confection won’t melt. Her cakes have been scene-stealers at the weddings of Donald Trump, Michael Douglas, and even members of the Saudi royal family. Prices upon request.

William Greenberg Jr. Desserts

Since 1946, this bakery has been providing the Upper East Side with stunning kosher wedding cakes topped with homemade whipped cream, fresh flowers, and delicate icing designs. Greenberg is also up for the less traditional: He once made miniature individual wedding cakes for a client. From $8 per serving.

From the Winter 2011 New York Wedding Guide