Culinary / A basketball and tube socks spill out of a gym bag. A Louis Vuitton purse rests on top of a matching suitcase. A family of three drawn on an Etch-A-Sketch smiles at you. This isn’t a montage of objects in a household, but the edible handiwork of three successful Oahu special-occasion cake designers. With the popularity of cake reality shows such as Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss and Amazing Wedding Cakes, the sweet monuments have been gaining a strong foothold in the public’s consciousness, and “the wedding cake has become a more important part of the reception than it once was,” said Aloha Cakery founder Kathy Mahone. With Hawaii as a destination wedding spot, these bakers have got their hands full of cake. And it all looks pretty and tastes delicious.

THE BAKERS

Rick Reichart of cakelava, who has been doing cake work for nearly 20 years, worked in L.A. and Seattle before moving to Hawaii with his locally born wife, Sasha. He was recently invited to participate in an episode of Food Network Challenge. While the Reicharts can’t reveal what happened just yet, keep an eye out for the episode to air in April.

Abigail “Abi” Langlas, a Hilo native who has been working with cakes for 19 years, is the founder of Cake Works and the former pastry chef for Honolulu Coffee Company. She trained as a pastry chef in England and worked for three years in France.

Kathy Mahone of Aloha Cakery, a Kailua native, has been making cakes since 1992. She started making cakes for mostly family. After she and her family moved to Maryland in 1999, Mahone taught Wilton cake decorating classes for four years, then worked at Fancy Cakes by Leslie for eight years. “It was Leslie who encouraged me to work on my own and not work for other people,” Mahone said. She moved back to Hawaii a few years ago and Mahone started Aloha Cakery, hoping to focus on both cakes and a full bakery. In 2009, she decided to dedicate herself to Aloha Cakery full time.

THE UN-GLITZ AND GLAMOUR

Even with massive cake projects that can take up to 50 hours to complete, each cake designer works solo. Mahone and Langlas sometimes have assistants, but that still doesn’t cut down on the 10- to 12-hour days, often seven days a week. While the bakers have developed their own recipes for fondants, frostings, filling and more (and keep those recipes guarded!), all three avoid shortening and prefer to use butter for better quality cakes. A common value these bakers also share is to use all edible ingredients.

“We don’t do fake cakes. We want people to eat them,” said Sasha Reichart, who handles the business side of cakelava.

“I usually find a way to duplicate [things] in sugar. I’ve used a ribbon base, but I’ll suggest a fondant ribbon. Many [clients] are thankful for more edible products. But they don’t know what you can do,” said Mahone. However, sometimes budget restrictions will determine if an inedible piece makes it into a cake. Langlas shared an experience of baking a cake that looked like a ’59 Cadillac El Dorado for Hawaii Automobile: “It was four feet long, probably my biggest project. It took least 40 hours. I could have made windshield out of sugar, but because of a lack of money, I used plexiglass.”

The heat and humidity of Hawaii, coupled with the popularity of outdoor weddings here, make high-level cake decorating here different from many parts of the mainland. Langlas noted that fondant can get sticky and Sasha Reichart said that it’s harder to pour melted sugar over cakes.

CAKE TRENDS

Aside from cameras, sushi plates and other off-the-wall requests, another trend that Langlas has noticed among her clientele is the popularity of red velvet cake. She also noted the variety of tools that have become available in the past couple of years, such as “more food-grade silicone molds, which are good for gum paste and fondants.” She spoke of “edible little things, pretty things,” like luster dust, that have come on the market in past two years that have helped elevate cake decorating to a new level.

Sasha Reichart noted that for cavelava clientele, “damask isn’t as popular as it was a couple of years ago. The trends right now have to do with individualizing, especially with weddings. Here in Hawaii, because of the different cultures, there are a lot of requests for cakes that are more about the couple as collaborative unit. It’s not just about the bride. The culture of the groom interesting, too. This includes ethnic backgrounds and where they have traveled.”

As clients fly in from all over the world to get married or hold special celebrations here, the variation of trends on the island is great. Damask is still a popular cake request for Mahone, along with “pearls, ribbon work, pretty traditional things right now.”

However, Mahone said, “I was a Wilton instructor, which is more traditional. The borders on top and bottom–those are all gone. You never see that unless someone has a retro wedding. You see a lot more fondant because of the shows. Fondant is one of the recipes is forever changing, you’re always trying to make it better.” She’d like to introduce clients to more of her sugar flowers and work more on elaborate piping and caulking designs.

TO ASPIRING CAKE DECORATORS

Because people want to emulate the cake glory they see on TV, a candyland of special-occasion cake decorators has popped up. The bakers, however, emphasize that like with any craft, one needs time to develop one’s skills. “You can’t jump to the grill before you learn salads,” said Sasha Reichart. “You have to learn how to stack a cake, have your icing, have everything working before getting into crazy shapes…an artistic background is also essential,” she continued. Mahone talked about the time element, as well. “If you have a family, it’s going to be a sacrifice. Now my kids are older. I waited until I had the time to do it,” she said. Mahone also emphasized the importance of networking in starting one’s own business: “I had to get myself out there. The Wedding Cafe was huge in helping me. You should also get to know caterers, hotel managers. But all of that takes time.” Langlas summed it up simply: “Never say no to a challenge and make it work. Make it happen.”