Wedding cake a labor of love

Bride Jill Collins said she's having an unconventional wedding and the cake is no exception. Collins and her fiancZ Dale Frazer designed the cake themselves.

"We sat down together and talked about what symbolized us," Collins said. "The first layer is a gift box. My fiancZ is a geologist, so the second layer is a mountain. We're very outdoorsy people so the mountain includes a ledge with a tent and campfire. We also put a railroad track around the mountain and a car with gold in it.

"I'm obsessed with Disneyland and Dale proposed to me there, in front of the castle by the wishing well, so the next layer is a castle with a moat and drawbridge," she said. "We're both Pisces, so the cake topper is two goldfish. One represents the bride, the other the groom."

Fortunately Sue Streck, owner of Sweet Sensations, is a custom cake decorator and baker who enjoys a challenge. She said the cake took about 90 hours to complete, not counting the night's sleep she lost worrying about it.

Everything on the cake is edible, created from a number of special materials including a stiff frosting called fondant and gum paste, a material that dries hard. Chocolate rocks were used for the mining element and she hand-sculpted all of the extras, including the fish, frog and many of the rocks, from fondant, gum paste, or a combination of the two. She declined to say how much the cake cost, but said she doesn't make much money on these creations. It's a labor of love.

"Right now, girls are choosing cakes that are either very simple and elegant, or very wacky," she said. "I told her to design whatever she wanted, but I'd need two months advance notice."

She said creating this kind of cake is like building a house. Size, materials, design and the details of how it will go together all must be considered.

For this cake, the flavors and sauces involved are almost as complex as the outside decoration.

"The first layer is cheesecake, which will be served with a red raspberry sauce," she said. "The next layer is red velvet with a cream cheese filling. The castle is fresh apple that will be served with a caramel sauce and the top is white lemon, which will be served with raspberry sauce and lemon rind."

The couple, who enjoys time in the Sierra near Lake Tahoe, is from Rocklin, Calif. They were wed at Sierra Golf Ranch at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Originally from Fallon, Streck opened her shop in Carson City on Dec. 1. She has been in the business for 26 years.