Trish and I headed over to Sin Desserts yesterday in the cold and freezing rain... it was worth the trip! Jennifer as it turns out, is adorable and friendly... artistic and funky... business minded and balanced- all rolled into one terrific package. That's a tall order for one little cake lady- but she pulls it off with confidence. And let me just say that the smell of baking yumminess in the background is more than a little distracting, but we did our best.Jennifer has a fairly new business, although she is definitely not new to pastry arts...
She's a JW grad who worked as a pastry chef for a restaurant while inventing and creating marvelous cakes for family and friends. In 2005 she started advertising on the knot- and her business was born. By 2007 she had secured her fabulous space on Allen's Ave and has been cooking up a storm ever since.
She won Best of RI "Best Wedding Cakes", in RI monthly last year and it was easy to smell why... MMMM!
What does every good cake need? "sinful" ingredients of course....
Jennifer says she creates many simple, elegant cakes for weddings. She thinks most brides want something traditional and tasty-ful, but occasionally she gets to let her hair down and do something a little more edgy...
She really enjoys baking "grooms cakes" for the rehearsal dinner. Grooms cakes are typically a little more fun and personalized. She's done a guitar with Metallica, a couch potato, Yankee Stadium, & the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars to name a few "man-cakes".
She's also working on perfecting a Guinness - flavored cake which she tells us doesn't taste quite like beer, it's just that the beer really brings out and deepens the chocolate flavor it's combined with. Beer and chocolate? How could you go wrong?
I would HIGHLY suggest doing a grooms cake for your sweetie! What a fun surprise and a way to make the groom feel involved and special, AWWWH. Also, who doesn't want another excuse for more cake? Be creative, what are his favorite things? Hobbies? The possibilities are endless!
Here's Jennifer's helper Carrie, she's making Red Velvet cupcakes for some bridal shows they'll be attending this weekend. Kind of makes me wish I was going!
Here's Trish, isn't she a good little interviewer? She has it all over Katie Couric!
She even managed to learn some secrets about Jennifer...
... she has a cake tattoo! I was saying how great her logo and branding concept is and how many cool things you could do with the idea of "sin and wicked"- I said you should definitely have a tattoo- guess she had the idea first, because here it is... a little devil cake. Fun! Jennifer said this was a gift to herself after she survived her first year in business.
With so many cakes and so many scenarios... it must make for some phenomenal experience and also some disasters... hey, anytime you are working with fondant or butter cream you can expect some interesting outcomes right?
The enemy of cake and frosting? Heat and humidity! Note to self: never order a butter cream cake in July! Jennifer told us about a few harrowing experiences with dripping colors and melting butter cream...
Her biggest cake triumph though? The Billy Joel cake! Jennifer created a NY skyline cake for a swanky part in Newport with a NY NY theme. They had even hired Billy Joel as the entertainer. The cake had the river, bridge, buildings with individually painted windows and lights, all in black and white with a big silver moon shimmering over the top. Unfortunately the cake was so big and complex that she had to assemble it on site, and never got a proper photo of it!
Jennifer is a busy lady, and most of her clients book her at least 6 months in advance. She had 5 cakes in the works while we were visiting.
Jennifer also has intern, who appears to be "painting" teddy bears with chocolate in this photo...
They also do a lot of wedding shower, baby shower, and birthday cakes for all ages.
How cute are these favors? Jennifer admitted that she is actually more of a cookie person than a cake person! And her favorite cake flavor? Chocolate chip- guess that's the cookie girl in her.
Jennifer told us a little bit about the design process that starts with a discussion and some sketches that she does for the bride...
And how did she come up with that terrific name for her business?
" I really came up with the name from going out with my girlfriends for dinner etc... they'd say things like, I had the most delicious dessert, but it was so BAD. Tasty, sweets were always associated with being BAD. Like eating cake was some kind of sin... that's why I went with that name."
What is it about cake that everyone can relate to?
"Cake is universal! Cake is what you celebrate with." says Jennifer.
I couldn't have said it better! Hurray for Cake!
Or give her a call: 401.369.8427
or email her: jennifer@eatwicked.com
There's always a reason for cake!
Thanks Jennifer, we had an absolute blast meeting you, and our office being so close to yours could be really dangerous. Call us if you need someone to test your latest recipes!