Cakes By Season

By Instyle
Updated Mar 02, 2013 @ 1:15 am
Credit: Wendell T. Webber

Cakes By Season

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Colette Foley

Credit: Anna Williams

Nothing says winter quite like snow and ice. This four-tier cake is whimsical but elegant at the same time, says Foley. Pearlescent appliqués punctuate the crisscross impressions on this fondant-covered delight.

Cake by

Colette Foley

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Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Credit: Ron Ben-Israel

This cake's crystal embellishments are not only elegant, they're edible too-they're made from molded sugar.

Ron Ben-Israel

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Masse's Pastries

Credit: Todd Rafalovich Photography

The henna-inspired piping add a subtle nod to India, while keeping the color palette subdued.

Masse's Pastries

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Heavenly Cheesecakes & Chocolates

Credit: www.MichaelsPhotography.cc

This decadent stacked cheesecake is topped with whipped cream icing, frosted snowflakes and real pine cones.

Cake by

Heavenly Cheesecakes & Chocolates

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Confetti Cakes

Credit: Confetti Cakes

This cold weather confection is dark without being somber, thanks to whimsical and airy sugar flowers.

Cake by

Confetti Cakes

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Butterfly Cakes

Credit: Suzy Clement

Pearl piping isn't the only jewelry motif on this classic cake, it also takes inspiration from Tiffany & Co.'s robin's egg blue boxes wrapped with a simple white bow.

Cake by

Butterfly Cakes

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Cakework

Credit: Julie Mikos

This whimsical design was covered in hand-rolled white chocolate pearls that were dusted with opalescent powder for a snowball effect.

Cake by

Cakework

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Town & Country Market

Credit: Suzy Clement

These billowing tiers of snow white hydrangeas are a light counterpoint to geometric layers of cake.

Cake by Town & Country Market; Washington, 206-842-0112.

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Christine Dahl Pastries

Credit: Christine Dahl Pastries

Hand-piped fiddlehead ferns create a tapestry-like covering on this winter blue cake.

Cake by

Christine Dahl Pastries

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April Reed Cake Design

Credit: April Reed Cake Design

For a non-traditional yet delicious cake-covering, this ganache-topped pillar was dotted with hand-made truffles.

Cake by

April Reed Cake Design

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Wedding Cakes by Jim Smeal

Credit: Liz Banfield

Blue hand-piped scrollwork adds an icy touch to this winter wedding cake.

Cake by

Jim Smeal

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Cakegirls

Credit: Cakegirls

This cool, mod design is fit for a fashion-forward couple.

Cake by

Cakegirls.

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Cakes to Remember

Credit: Cakes to Remember

Well-placed sugar tulips look just like the real thing!

Cake by

Cakes to Remember

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Sweet Melissa Patisserie

Credit: Anna Williams

I wanted this cake to be fresh and sophisticated," says Archana Rao of Sweet Melissa Patisserie in Brooklyn, N.Y. "It's very Carrie Bradshaw with the oversize bloom." The lifelike peony curled around this three-tier cake is simple yet oh-so-chic.

Cake by

Sweet Melissa Patisserie

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Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Credit: Courtesy of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Give a chic white cake a burst of color with bright blooms in different hues.

Cake by

Ron Ben-Israel

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Petal Crafts

Credit: Kaye Hartman

White fondant, green fondant ribbon and gumpaste hellebores dress up this two-tier confection of sour cream pound cake with blood orange buttercream filling.

Cake by

Petal Crafts

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Confetti Cakes

Credit: Jose Picayo

Before launching Confetti Cakes, New York City baker Elisa Strauss designed textiles for Polo Ralph Lauren, which might explain her inspiration for this four-tier delight: a swatch of floral-patterned fabric. The cake, iced in chocolate and vanilla rolled fondant and decorated with flowers and twigs of royal icing, also features a sugar-dough border.

Cake by

Confetti Cakes

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Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Credit: Lisa Shin

Contrasting colors carry a theme and add instant drama. The inside of this tuxedo cake alternates chocolate and vanilla layers with raspberry cream. Faux "wrought iron" lends an air of importance, says cake designer Ron Ben-Israel.

Cake by

Ron Ben-Israel

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Colette's Cakes

Credit: Jose Picayo

New York City cake-maker Colette Peters, whose clients include Sting and Whoopi Goldberg (as well as President Bush and Bill Clinton), says the idea for this old-fashioned design-covered in rolled fondant and accented with royal-icing bluebells and cattails made of sugar dough-arose from etchings of 19th-century pastries she'd seen in books.

Cake by

Colette's Cakes

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Elegant Cheese Cakes

Credit: Jose Picayo

Susan Morgan's California bakery may be called Elegant Cheese Cakes, but this confection is all about white chocolate, from the fondant icing and handcrafted ferns to the pink dogwoods and blue forget-me-nots. "I love placing a surprise on top," says the designer of the cake's crowning achievement: a tiny chocolate bird's nest.

Cake by

Elegant Cheese Cakes

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Cheryl Kleinman Cakes

Credit: Jose Picayo

"I think the carefree movement of a butterfly evokes springtime and brings the feeling of fantasy to mind," says Cheryl Kleinman of Brooklyn, N.Y., who covered this four-tier tower with rolled fondant and accented it with dainty butterflies crafted from sugar paste. To make the creatures lifelike, Kleinman embossed their wings with tiny veins, then added a sugary shimmer.

Cakes by

Cheryl Kleinman Cakes

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Cakeline

Credit: Cakeline

Fuchsia and neon orange daisies line this cheery cake, fit for a garden party wedding.

Cake by

Cakeline.

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Lovin Sullivan Cakes

Credit: Lovin Sullivan Cakes

For a seasonal cake topper, a bride and groom were replaced with a couple of songbirds.

Cake by

Lovin Sullivan Cakes.

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Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Credit: Courtesy of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Butterflies lend a beautiful touch to this floral fantasy.

Cake by

Ron Ben-Israel

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Carrie's Cakes

Credit: Pepper Nix Photography

Cascading gum paste daisies make an fuss-free statement on this pale pink cake.

Cake by

Carrie's Cakes.

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Montclair Baking

Credit: Montclair Baking

A pair of ladybugs are not only a whimsical embellishment, they're also good luck charms.

Cake by

Montclair Baking

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Sedona Cake Couture

Credit: Sedona Cake Couture

The intricate lace details (inspired by the bride's gown) and hand-piped monogram on this cake are enhanced with vibrant pink and fuschia flowers that matched the bride's bouquet.

Cake by

Sedona Cake Couture

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Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Credit: Courtesy of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Spice up a simple white cake with titled layers, alternating shapes and colorful spring blooms.

Cake by

Ron Ben-Israel

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Sweet Melissa Patisserie

Credit: Anna Williams

The cheery paisley pattern is a fashion-forward take on the season's colorful blooms.

Cake by

Sweet Melissa Patisserie

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Cakegirls

Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo

For this confection, Brenda and Mary Maher of Cakegirls created a baroque arrangement of shells on a simple monochromatic cake iced with fondant, since its thick consistency stands up better than buttercream to warm weather. The Mahers made these intricate treasures by pressing fondant into molds of actual scallop, clam and snail shells; faint lines of peach-colored iridescent powder add detail to each mollusk.

Cake by

Cakegirls

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Confetti Cakes

Credit: Monica Buck

This three hexagonal tier confection is dressed up with rolled, pale cantaloupe-colored fondant, white dots of royal icing and a cascade of individually applied sugar-dough orchids.

Insider Tip: These are sugar flowers, but fresh dendrobium orchids are an excellent choice for cakes because they aren't quick to wilt.

Cake by

Confetti Cakes

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Cakegirls

Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo

For an elegant take on the bamboo torches and huts found at tropical locales, the Mahers rendered this minimalist interpretation by hand-shaping dozens of fondant reeds in varying lengths. The bakers then notched the stalks and affixed them in alternating directions to tiers of two different heights.

Cake by

Cakegirls

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Ruth Drennan for Tracy Reese

Credit: Wendell T. Webber

Adored for her feminine silhouettes and touchable textures, the N.Y.C. designer dreamed up this three-tier culinary masterpiece, inspired by a frothy watercolor-print dress, dubbed Pastel Garden with Flower, from her collection. "Their cake is the couple's moment to show their style, what their taste is. It's something everybody can enjoy," Reese says.

Cake by

Ruth Drennan Cakes

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