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Q: What size cake should I order?
A: An 8-inch round cake serves 10-12 and a 9-inch round, 12-14 servings. A 10-inch round cake provides 18-20 servings. An 11-inch round serves 25-35. A 12-inch round cake provides between 35-50 servings. A 9x13 rectangular cake (a quarter sheet cake) provides 20-30 servings, an 11x15 (almost a half-sheet cake) serves 40-60 and a 12x18 half sheet serves as many as 80. Take into consideration whether or not this is the only dessert served, or if other things will be offered to your guests when trying to decide on a size.
The cost of your cake is determined by the type of decoration and the number of servings. You may prefer to have cupcakes for the children on your guest list - our large size cupcakes with a swirl of buttercream and edible glitter are $2 each. Smaller size cupcakes are also available.
Q: What's on the inside of your cakes?
A: Our cakes have three layers of cake with two layers of buttercream filling. The buttercream fillings can be different flavors or the same flavor. The cake is about 3.5 to 4 inches high.
Q: Do you offer cupcakes?
A: We offer cupcakes in a variety of flavors. Our cupcakes can be topped with our delicious meringue buttercream, cream cheese frosting or coated in a dark, shiny chocolate ganache and decorated with sugar or buttercream flowers, sprinkles in different colors and themes, or custom decorated. Some of designs have been "gold medal" cupcakes for a beloved ice skating coach; farm animal cupcakes for a barnyard birthday party, and seasonal cupcakes for St Patrick's Day, Easter, Graduations, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukkah, Christmas and New Year's Eve. Cupcakes are popular for weddings, and we offer our custom-made wrought iron cupcake stand for display. Cost on our large cupcakes (also known as Texas size or Jumbo) ranges from $2-$3.50 depending on the level of decoration.
Q: How soon should I place an order?
A: Generally, orders should be placed a week in advance. We try to accommodate last minute requests, but cannot always guarantee our availability, especially during busy times. Because we bake to order, we limit the amount of work we take on to ensure our full attention to detail for every client. Weddings book an average of 3-6 months in advance.
Q: What about pricing? (See below for wedding cake pricing)
A: We take pride in using the only best ingredients - imported dark, white and milk chocolates, fresh eggs, King Arthur flours, unsalted butter (never vegetable shortening!), real fruit purees, Swiss fondant - and our pricing reflects this high quality of the ingredients that go into our cakes.
A good guideline to use is approximately $3/person for a buttercream finished cake and $4/person for a fondant design. (Costs on some fondant designs may be higher based on the amount of detail work.) Topsy-turvy styles start at $5.50/person. Cupcakes range from $2 to $3.50. Cookies start at $3 per cookie and can be higher if the cookies are individually packaged and tied. Cheesecake lollipops are $14/dz.
Q: What's the most popular cake flavor?
A: It varies by season - chocolate combinations are most popular in the fall/winter and white with passionfruit buttercream is a frequent choice in the spring/summer. Spice cake with caramel buttercream is fantastic in the autumn!
Q: What's the average cost of a wedding cake?
A: The price of a wedding cake is determined by the way it is decorated. Handmade gum paste flowers are more expensive than fresh flowers, for example. The typical size of a wedding cake serves 80, 100 or 130 people. The average cost is $5 to $5.50 per serving (prices range from $4 to $10 per person). False tiers (styrofoam) can be added for a larger presentation.
Delivery and set up ranges from $25 to $50 based on distance (south of Boston is higher). Wedding cake delivery is free to Andover, North Andover, North Reading, and Tewksbury.
There is a $200 deposit required for the cupcake stands. The deposit is returned to you when the stands are brought back to us within 3 days of the event, or a deduction of $10/day is taken from the deposit. A fee of $50 is assessed for us to return to the venue and pick them up. Your deposit is returned after the stands are received.
Q: Our wedding costs are skyrocketing... how can I stay on budget for my wedding cake?
A: With a large guest list, you may want to consider a beautifully decorated display cake for 80, 100 or 130 people and have a utility cake (also called a kitchen cake or sheet cake) to serve the remaining guests. A kitchen cake is never seen by the guests, so it doesn't require the same decoration as the display cake (after all, when the cake is cut and plated, no one can really tell which part of the cake that particular slice came from!). It makes it possible for the staff to start serving your cake to your guests faster (it takes time to deconstruct, cut and plate a tiered cake) so your guests are not likely to notice a delay. With this option, your display cake must be sized to serve a minimum of 80 guests. In some foreign countries, it is standard practice to use a "dummy cake" for the traditional photos (the dummy cake has an area cut out in the back for a piece of real cake to hide so the bride and groom can cut a piece of cake to feed each other) and serve all the guests from a kitchen cake!
Q: Where is I Dream of Jeanne Cakes located?
A: The production kitchen is located at 1000 Technology Park Drive, Billerica. This is not a retail location - everything is baked to order. When you place your order, we will make arrangements for pick up in Andover or Billerica. Delivery for orders to the Merrimack Valley can be arranged with a delivery charge of $10-$25.
Q: How can I make an appointment?
A: One-hour private consultations are complimentary for orders over $400; otherwise a consultation fee of $25 applies. Private consultations are for two people only. Please call or email to arrange a mutually convenient time during the day (Mondays or Tuesdays) or evening (Monday through Friday). Weekend appointments are subject to our wedding schedule. We ask that you email a list of 3-4 flavors to taste one week prior to your appointment so we can prepare those flavors for you or you may purchase a sample box of 9 cupcakes ($20) at a later date.
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