Meet Our Second Baker, Elisabeth from But A Dream Custom Cakes

Our second contender for the “Wubbabration” Cake Bake is Elisabeth Palatiello, owner of But A Dream Custom Cakes in Guilford, Connecticut. Elisabeth makes beautiful custom cakes for all occasions. All of her cakes are flavored with love and designed with heart. Each individual works of art, make her heart sing. She won’t sleep until they are each perfect in their own way.  Elisabeth, takes as much pride on the inside of the cake, as she does on the outside. Her art pieces have been featured on American Idol, Cake Masters, Cake Central Magazine, and many more! 

We sat down and did a Q&A with Elisabeth, here is what she had to say! 

• What was your inspiration for the “Wubbabration” Cake Bake?

My inspiration for this cake came from the newborn photography trend I’ve been seeing on social media. The babies are often swaddled in impossibly luxurious blankets and snuggled into gorgeous, rustic baskets in these sweet photographs. I wanted to play with that idea in creating this cake, making the WubbaNub the star of the show!

• How do you design your cakes?

Whenever I am making a cake that I want to appear to be some object other than a cake, I find that texture is the key to fooling the eye. The texture of a wicker basket and knitted blanket gave me that opportunity for complete realism. While this cake was in the works, a visitor to the kitchen almost picked the cake up by the handles to move it believing it was actually a basket sitting on the worktable! Thank goodness she stopped in time!

• What were the biggest challenges in creating your cake?

My biggest challenge of the cake was creating the basket texture. I wanted complete realism so I wound up creating it piece by piece in white fondant. After completing that task I painted it with a combination of brown gel food color and vodka to give it lots of color variation like real wicker.

• Do you have any baking tips you can share? 

My biggest tip for anyone wanting to make a special cake is to give yourself time! Specialty cakes take much more time than the home baker realizes. There are elements that need to chill, elements that need to dry, elements that you might need to rework. And most importantly, if you are feeling frustrated at any point…. Step Away From The Cake. Sometimes a good night’s sleep or a walk around the block is all you need to find your way back to your happy place and create something amazing!

• What made you want to open a bakery?

I have enjoyed baking my entire life. As a kid, my siblings and I often got in the kitchen and made a mess, sometimes resulting in something resembling a cake. After leaving my fashion design career in NYC and moving to CT, I began baking again, this time it was birthday cakes for my kids. The skills I had learned while studying design and working in the Garment Center translated easily to cake. Color, texture, proportion and design trends apply to cakes as much as it does to clothing. More and more people began asking me to make their children’s birthday cakes. That’s when I realized that I could make a business out of it. So about six years ago I made the leap and started But A Dream Custom Cakes. 

• What do you enjoy most about owning your own custom cake business?  

The thing I love the most about what I do is that it is a business built on happiness and sharing! People come to me only when they have something to celebrate…new baby, new marriage, milestone birthdays and retirements, all happy gatherings for friends and family. I get to hear all about the plans and details for the event, weave my design into it and deliver a delicious centerpiece to my customer. I’m sure most cake bakers would agree with me, it is very satisfying to know that your work will be remembered and talked about for years to come by the guests at the event.

 

“Thank you for including me in WubbaNub’s 20th Birthday Celebration! Wishing you 20 more!” -Elisabeth Palatiello

 

 

 

 

We cannot wait for you to see Elisabeth’s work! Remember all the cakes will be unveiled on Friday, and we promise you will not want to miss it!