Vendor Profile: Sugar Flower Cake Shop in NYC
Note from Brian Buonassissi:
I’ve always known the importance of networking in the event industry. Blame it on my semi-introverted personality; I’m just not great at those things. However, when I do go to meetings, I’m always so glad I went. I meet fantastic individuals and usually always gain a nugget or two out of the content. A few months back, I went to a networking lunch in NYC and met Amy Noelle from Sugar Flower Cake Shop. She brought her iPad and started showing off some of her work. I was blown away. The creativity was the first thing to catch my eye. With each image, I saw the attention to detail and the uniqueness she brought to each cake. Then she started sharing about how she used as many locally grown ingredients she could find and that nothing was fondant (I’ve never been a fan of fondant). Her signature is the sugar flowers. They look so intricate and some could actually pass for real flowers! Needless to say, she’s one of a kind. I ended up hiring her to make my wife’s birthday cake and she nailed it! The design was awesome and the taste was unbelievable. When I find someone of Amy’s caliber, I have to share it with the rest of you!! Enjoy.
Tara’s birthday cake from Sugar Flower Cake Shop. Awesome!
When an outdoorsy couple tied the knot at the Central Park Zoo in New York City, Sugar Flower Cake Shop created a massive, six-tier cake, and offered it up on slices from a tree.
When another groom proposed in front of NYC’s Alice in Wonderland statue, they created a “toppling” fantasy cake.
How about a cake that looks like a Monet or a Dutch Master’s painting?
Whatever you need for your wedding or special occasion, the Sugar Flower Cake Shop can build it … your imagination is the only limit! And the best part? No gross fondant! It’s all make from local and sustainable ingredients iced in delicious buttercream. Sign up for one of their cake tasting parties to mix and match all of their different flavor combinations. SO much fun!
Have you ever thought of learning to decorate cakes yourself? You’re in luck! New York City natives can sign up for a multitude of decorating classes at Sugar Flower Cake Shop, including classes for sugar peony making, sugar rose making, advanced piping techniques, and even a special three-hour carved Jack-O’-Lantern Cake class in time for Halloween. Not in NYC but still interested in learning some cake decorating skills? Check out their cake decorating videos for some professional training.
And now an introduction to the owner of Sugar Flower Cake Shop, Amy Noelle:
In 2005, Amy Noelle didn’t envision herself founding one of New York’s most innovative food businesses. She didn’t think she’d be hiring staff, indoctrinating hundreds with her techniques, or seeing her creation featured in The New York Times.
The baker was no stranger to accomplishment. Growing up, she’d been one of the country’s most fiercely competitive—and highly awarded—baton twirlers. After college, she became an actuary, then a math teacher. Her life was quiet: she lived in the Hudson Valley, and raised fruit and vegetables—albeit in a dress and heels. “I got milk from the local dairy, and everything else from my soil,” she says.
But life would not stay peaceful for long. Driving her tractor, Amy was struck by an idea. Why make overly sweet cakes from pre-made mix, when you can get explosive flavor from scratch? she thought. So she learned how to bake well. She developed her recipes, then opened Sugar Flower Cake Shop, which designs custom wedding cakes using local ingredients, tasty buttercream, and an impressive range of sugar sculpting talents.
Before long, Amy was demonstrating her cakes in Martha Stewart’s test kitchen, and at Macy’s. Later, she opened her first cake studio in NYC’s fashion district—an ideal spot for her vivid, “couture”-style cakes. Still later, a Sugar Flower cake appeared in The New York Times. Word spread, and business boomed.
Now, Amy and her staff have baked hundreds of wedding cakes … and counting. They also lead lively sugar flower and cake-making classes in the cake studio, plus online video learning sessions.
Amy is glad she made the leap. “Running a business gives me enormous energy. I can’t imagine life now without this daily challenge,” she says.
Contact the Sugar Flower Cake Shop:
Phone – 212/993-6441
Web – http://www.sugarflowercakeshop.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/SugarFlowerCakeShop
Twitter – http://twitter.com/SugarFlowerShop
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/SugarFlowerCake
Instagram – http://instagram.com/sugarflowercakeshop