Weddings Summer 2009 > Planner

Mark Joseph Cakes

A classically trained pastry chef and Culinary Institute of America grad, Mark Randazzo specializes in flavor alchemy; think of raspberry, vanilla, and pistachio fillings combined with Valrhona chocolate. His wife, Leslie, ensures that clients get what they ordered-whether it’s the couple’s trademark metallic frostings on a pistachio cake or a straight-up vanilla beauty. From $10 to $18 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. Doll is especially renowned for her red-velvet concoction, crowned with vanilla buttercream and Heath-bar frosting. She has even proved her baking aplomb on television-she beat Bobby Flay in a wedding-cake throwdown on the Food Network. From $9 to $15 a serving.

Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro

Payard’s bakery makes wedding cakes that are customized to match a couple’s personal aesthetic. There are four fillings for the classic tiered cakes, including Opéra (almond génoise soaked in espresso syrup layered with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache) and Sacher (chocolate ganache and raspberry preserve), for $10 per serving.

Pieces of Cake

Cupcake Café alum Jennifer Chiang specializes in fusing Asian and Western styles. Her confections range from the immensely 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 on cakes. From $8 a 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 replications of an Art Deco building, a Russian church, and the Taj Mahal. His cakes and icing burst with flavors like crushed vanilla bean and blood orange ($12 to $15 per serving). Everything from the floral design to the ribbon decoration is 100-percent natural and edible.

Ruth Drennan Cakes

For Ruth 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 carrot cake with cream-cheese or buttercream frosting. 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 does gorgeous, traditional wedding cakes designed by Sarabeth Levine herself. Her elegant creations generally use fresh flowers and white buttercream. It’s best to order six weeks in advance. From $11.50 per slice.

Sarah Magid Custom Organic Cakes

After eight years living the jet-set life of a shoe and jewelry designer, Magid now stays closer to home for her small cake business. Loyal clients recognize her signature Goldies, an organic version of Twinkies dusted with edible gold powder. She frosts her wedding cakes with whipped buttercream icing. From $11 to $15 per slice.

Soutine Bakery

A tiny, understated bakery that receives some of the highest accolades in the city, Soutine turns out sophisticated, refined wedding cakes. Soutine can make any cake a picture, from fondant-frosted beauties with sugar-coated fruit to chocolate ganache with butterflies on top ($7.50 per serving with less expensive options available).

Sugar Sweet Sunshine

This cozy bakery is becoming a neighborhood staple for their cupcakes (the pistachio variety will make anyone a regular), which they’ll assemble into cute trees for a minimal charge. Conventional buttercream-frosted cakes are also available. Cupcakes are $18 per dozen; layer cakes start at $5 per serving.

Sweet Chick Boutique PatisserieSweet Chick Boutique Patisserie

Pastry chef Hsing Chen enjoys working directly with clients to create unique designs that bring joy to every occasion. Her masterful pastry artistry ensures that every cake is not just a delicious dessert, but also a centerpiece for every event. From $10 per serving.

The Sweet Things Bake Shop

A side-project of the Lower East Side Girls Club, the Sweet Things Bake Shop offers homemade custom cookies and cupcakes (from $3) for any occasion, including weddings. For couples with a social conscience, all proceeds from the shop support Girls Club programs that teach youth culinary arts and business skills, as well as provide much-needed services like education, job training, and health care for girls and their families living in lower Manhattan.

Sylvia Weinstock Cakes

Dubbed the "Queen of Cakes" by her peers, Weinstock creates elaborate, sugar-flower-studded cakes that many socialites wouldn’t do without. She uses buttercream instead of fondant, so air-conditioning is a must to ensure it won’t melt. Her cakes have been stars at the weddings of Donald Trump, Michael Douglas, and even members of the Saudi royal family. From $17 per serving.

Wendykromer.com

Choose a simple cake and embellish it yourself with Wendy Kromer’s beautiful sugar decorations (cherry and dogwood blossoms) or cake sets (like the wild-strawberry cake kit). You can order in bulk or smaller quantities, depending on what you envision.

William Greenberg Jr. Desserts

Since 1946, this bakery has been providing the Upper East Side with stunning kosher white 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 $8.50 per serving.

From the Winter 2008 New York Wedding Guide