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Brookfield
Wedding Cakes was the Knot's 'Best of Weddings' award
winner since 2007 for the "Best Cake Bakers in the Upper Midwest" |
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LOVELY WEDDING JUST ISN'T COMPLETE
without a gorgeous wedding cake that tastes as wonderful as it looks.
Luckily, Susan Warner's creations are heaven on a plate. Her elegant
cakes can be either traditional or unique, and brides can select from
a variety of flavors. The layers can be as basic as white or chocolate;
or as unique as lemon poppy seed or carrot cake, and the delicate
fillings include chocolate buttercream, strawberry and pineapple.
Topped with sweet, fluffy icing, each slice is something to celebrate. The demand for her desserts keeps Warner quite busy. Wedding season starts the weekend after Easter, and during the summer, she sometimes bakes and decorates up to 12 stunning cakes in a weekend. And, she's been doing this for more than 25 years. "For me it's a passion, something I was always interested in," she says. "I started out doing birthday cakes for my kids, and then I took a cake decorating class." It wasn't long before she was teaching the class. That was in Florida, where she lived with her husband Tom. A few years later, they moved to Milwaukee and after setting up a special kitchen in their home, they began building a business here. That business is Brookfield Wedding Cakes, still operated out of the Warner's home in Brookfield. Tom helps bake, fill and deliver the cakes, and Susan is the artist who creates the elegant and whimsical designs out of icing that make her the go-to referral for reception sites such as the Pfister Hotel and Davian's Banquet Center. Warner cites her website, brookfieldweddingcakes.com, as a valuable resource. Many of her popular cake designs are featured on the site. "Out-of-town brides get referrals, and many pick out a cake without ever meeting me," she says. Her top-seller is the tuxedo cake, with a layer of chocolate and white cake together on each slice. Raspberry is the most requested filling. Most cakes are stacked now, without pillars, Warner says, and fresh flowers and satin ribbons are common adornments. A popular request is her present cake, which looks like a tower of colorful wrapped gifts complete with ribbons and bows. And Warner creates magic our of icing-from glittery snowflakes to roses and calla lilies. "I've have a hard time picking out a cake if I was getting married now." she says. "When I got married there weren't many choices." Warner urges brides to contact her a year or more in advance to book their wedding date at 262-781-2253. |
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Feature written by: Posted: August 18, 2016 |
Growing up in Brookfield, Susan Warner spent countless hours baking with her mother. Sometimes while mom was distracted on the phone, Warner would happily devour frosting straight from the bowl. When her children were young, Warner took cake decorating classes and learned she had a way with cakes. Thirty-four years later, she’s baked, decorated and delivered countless cakes for Wisconsin brides. In a typical week, she’ll bake more than 100 cake layers in eight different flavors, and her current favorite is a lemon with raspberry filling. Working out of her specially equipped basement kitchen, she runs Brookfield Wedding Cakes with her husband, Tom. A sweet startFrom little on, I was interested in baking. My mom always let me help, and she never threw me out of the kitchen. I could do whatever I wanted to do and make as many messes as I wanted. It was great, and we really liked cake and desserts. Professional pathMy husband signed me up for cake decorating classes. I took beginning and advanced, then the Wilton company decided I should be a teacher. I taught a lot. I’m in the Wilton Hall of Fame. That means you’ve taught over 1,000 basic students. A lifelong loveI still have a passion for it, 34 years later. I still love making the pretty cakes with the sugar flowers and the lace. I don’t want to make the Empire State Building or Eiffel Tower. I’m not into sculpture at all, but I like the pretty cakes. 
Golden flower cake decorations are very popular right now, says Susan Warner, owner and baker at Brookfield Wedding Cakes. (Photo: Calvin Mattheis / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) The Milwaukee marketExpectations are higher than ever. The nemesis for me was Martha Stewart. When she started, it changed the whole look and structure of cakes. Now it is Pinterest. But the problem, they like the designs but they don’t realize they’re mostly fondant-covered cakes. Milwaukee is pretty much a buttercream market. Current cake trend `There’s a lot of lace dresses, so there’s a lot of lace going on in cakes, either piped on in buttercream or in fondant cutouts. How things have changedWhen I went to take classes, I wanted to learn how to make a rose and a shell border. It was so pretty. You don’t really see those anymore. It’s gone to a bead border. 
Susan Warner, owner and baker of Brookfield Wedding Cakes, decorates a cake in her basement bakery in Brookfield (Photo: Calvin Mattheis / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Unusual requestsWe’ve had some that were a little bit different. I had one bride who wanted her cake to be just black. She thought I could make that out of black buttercream. I said oh no, everyone’s mouth and teeth will be black, and it won’t taste good. For certain things, you need to know when not to get involved. Flavor favoriteI’m a big fan of carrot cake, which weighs a lot. It has a lot of carrots in it, and nuts, pineapple, coconut. It’s heavy. A normal three-tier wedding cake would be 45 to 50 pounds. A carrot cake will probably be 75 pounds. There’s a lot of good stuff in there. What she can’t live withoutMy favorite piece of equipment is my sheeter. I use that to roll out all my fondant. I got that for Mother’s Day one year from my husband. It saves a lot on my arms, because rolling all that out is such a big job. My arms get a real workout. 
Susan Warner, owner and baker of Brookfield Wedding Cakes, fine-tunes the top of a cake. (Photo: Calvin Mattheis / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) How many cakes in a weekWhen you’re in wedding season, we’re probably baking 100 to 120 layers. Professional pointersPut your cake on the floor when you transport. Once the icing starts sliding down, it is hard to fix. Even when people are picking up cakes, I will follow people to their car or my husband will load it. They think a seat is flat. I had one lady who seat-belted the cake into the backseat. She got home and it had slid all over. Put a towel down, put it on the floor. |
From
the article written by: Posted: Jan. 4, 2009
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| Tough
economy forces couples to balance wedding fantasies, finances
A wedding in a recession may be the ultimate showdown of fantasy vs. reality. The "Wonderful World of Weddings & Occasions" show Sunday at Wisconsin State Fair Park offered plenty of both. For those looking to save a few bucks, one florist touted classes for make-your-own bridal bouquets while a boutique offered a free three-day honeymoon with the purchase of a bridal gown, and an Internet discount jewelry business peddled fairytale wedding necklaces for less than $35. Meanwhile, Don Doege of Keehn's Limo Coach could see his frozen breath as he stood by a shiny white limo bus parked at the curb outside the show, hoping to lure brides and grooms with $50 off all limo bookings made within two weeks. "Business is a little slower these days," Doege said. Many of the couples at the wedding show were looking forward to their big day with a budget in mind. "We've scaled back big time," said Christina Rome, a 29-year-old bride-to-be, as she and fiancé Aaron Williamson, 37, perused the booths of area businesses specializing in wedding gowns, cakes, flowers and honeymoons. "Our companies didn't give bonuses this year," Rome said. "And who wants to start off a marriage in debt?"
added Williamson. The Wauwatosa couple said they plan to pay cash
for their June wedding, now budgeted at $5,000 to $7,000, including
butterflies shipped on dry ice to be released after the ceremony.
The butterflies are a couple-hundred-dollar splurge Rome said she's
not willing to sacrifice because they're part of the theme. Couples on a budget aren't necessarily giving up on fairytale weddings. "We have to have doves," said groom-to-be Eric Ortiz, 25, of Madison. "It's for peace and love. And I want to have a helicopter to fly around in, too." Yes, he was serious, though his betrothed, Crystal Leas, 30, of Milwaukee isn't quite on board with the helicopter idea. Others will say yes to the dress, but not other big-ticket items. "I still want the dress of my dreams," said Katie Wear, 23, of Milwaukee, referring to the A-line ballroom gown she has plenty of time to find before her May 15, 2010 wedding. "That's one thing we don't want to skimp on." So her sparkly necklace and earrings may come from Wedding Accessories for Less, the new online business of Michelle Weber of Slinger. Wear also may make her own invitations and reception centerpieces, rent decorations instead of buying them, and take a class in floral arranging. While Wear and fiancé Kevin Pynaker, 29, also of Milwaukee, plan to pay most of their wedding expenses, the bride's parents will contribute their share. "She's not excessive," mother of the bride Kristen Wear said. "You have to bite the bullet because it's a onetime thing. We're not going to sacrifice what she really wants." Wear and Pynaker stopped by Kummer's in Bloom to check out the Oak Creek florist's do-it-yourself wedding packages. The bride can purchase flowers wholesale, then save the 25% to 30% labor costs if she's able to make her own bouquets after the class. About a third of the brides who made their way to the booth Sunday were interested in making their own bouquets, said owner Karen Korene. Not every bride has the natural ability to arrange flowers, though, Korene cautioned. "They need to be comfortable with it," she said. Lynn Hoffmann, 39, of South Milwaukee and Shane Bakken, 34, of Watertown got engaged over the holidays and were making their first wedding shopping foray Sunday. They stopped by the Brookfield Wedding Cakes booth, where couples found they could save 70 cents a slice by choosing a smaller tiered display cake, then buying back-up servings that are identical, but not tiered. Bakken, an ironworker, joked about also saving money by welding their own wedding rings. "It's all so new and overwhelming," Bakken
said. "I've been in weddings before, but never my own." |
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From the article written by: Posted: June 14, 2007
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Susan
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