82-Lancuter Farming, Saturday, Juna 11, 1994
Rosie’s Creative Cakes Frosted With Flair t
Rolled fondant, a European tyjse
of frosting that is rolled with a roll
ing pin and molded unto the cake,
is a popular trend but it is much
more expensive than the ordinary
royal icing cake.
There arc ways of attaining a
similar cffcctata more economical
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.)
What docs cake decorating have to
do with farming?
A lot, if it’s Rosie Rohrer
talking.
“It’s a lot like farm life. You
don’t plan, you just roll with the
punches,” says this peppy, petite
farmwife and mother of two.
Ros ic got her start in cake decor
ating at 4-H. By the lime she was
11 or 12 years old, she was selling
cakes to friends, and by the time
she was 13, Rosie made her first
wedding cate.
“Then I was 100 naive to be
nervous about decorating a wed
ding cake, but 1 look back now and
I’m embarrassed,” Rosie said.
There is no need for Rosie to be
embarrassed about the cakes she
decorates today. Her intricate
designed cakes have won top
pn/cs in professional competition
and have built a reputable name for
her business called Rosie’s Crea
tive Cakes.
It was continual experimenta
tion that honed Rosie’s artistic flair
on the cakes. She said, “If you
master the basics, you can do a
lot.”
Several years after Rosie was
decorating cakes, she signed up for
cake decorating classes to see if
she was doing things right and
found out that her self-taught tech
niques were correct.
Hundreds of photographs of her
cakes attest to the endless ideas to
decorate the perfect cake for a
child, hunter, farmer, scamtrcss,
and teen-ager, included is a basket
weave design woven with frosting
on the cake and decorated with
fresh flowers, candles, and greens.
Rosie averages about seven to
10 small orders and one wedding
cake each week. It’s wedding
cakes where Rosie shines. And,
what she prefers to do. Sometimes
she docs three wedding cakes a
week.
Rosie holds consultations with
potential customers. She gives
them a sample of a cake, and the
client pages through hundreds of
photos of cakes to choose the right
one.
“What they want is not always
what they can afford,” Rosie said.
“But we can often tailor a cake to
the bndc’s expectations and price
allowance.”
Since Rosie established her own
business, she likes the personal
contact with customers.
“Bndcs have little impact on
package deals offered through
restaurants. Here, customers know
what they are gelling and the
decorating is better quality,” said
Rosie, who had worked for several
years for a restaurant bakeshop.
The disadvantage m working for
a bakery is that the cake decorator
docs not talk with the customer. If
the person who lakes the order
docs not convey the exact desires
of the customer, it may result in an
unhappy customer.
“I like to see people’s faces
when they pick up a cake. To know
they are pleased, and I’ve done
what they wanted, and met their
expectations means a lot. You miss
this gratitude when you work for a
shop,” she said.
“Interaction with customers is
very important. Some people don’t
know the options. I can do more
(or a bride,” she said.
JTomestead
ifotes
price.
“Price should not be the only
concern when choosing a cake.
But often by the lime the bride
comes to ohoose her cake, it is the
last thing on her list and she has
already used her allottment
money,” said Rosie, who needs to
find innovativ.c ways to meet the
bride’s expectations.
Sometimes she is skeptical of
some of the colors or designs that
the bride wants to incorporate into
the cake. But, often, she is pleas
antly surprised how nice a cake
turns out.
In addition to baking the wed
ding cake, she delivers and sets it
up at the reception. This has
caused some heart-stoppers for
Rosie, but she has so far been able
to remedy the many unforseen
problems association with wed
ding cakes. Transportation and hot
weather arc not compatible with
decorated cakes. One time, it was a
hot summer day, and the reception
was held outside. Rosie kept the
cake in air conditioning until the
guests were ready to be served.
Another lime, a glass cake plate
cracked during transportation.
Fortunatley Rosie always keeps a
carboard plate underneath the
cake, which in this case prevented
a catastrophe.
Rosie uses her own recipes for
the cakes. She has a separate
specially-built kitchen with three
ovens for her cake decorating busi
ness in the family’s Manheim
farmhouse at 238 S Junction Road,
Manheim.
To hold the frosting, she uses
parchment triangles, which she
folds and inserts decorating tips
into it. She prefers to use metal
seamless lips instead of plastic
ones.
It required a lot of practice for
This tiered wedding cake is a spectacular display made
by Rosie who always transports and sets up the wedding
cakes.
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f
i
The Rohrer family Includes Dwight, Rosie, Ryan, 3V4, and Tyler, 3 months
Rosie to learn to write in perfect
script. She uses a swivel platform
or a straw when making flowers
because it adds more height and
dimension, she said. To color the
frosting, she uses gum paste or
powder for glistening and luster as
opposed to liquid coloring that
thins frosting and does not produce
as vibrant colors. Liquid is used for
airbrush designs
Rosie has found word-of-mouth
the best form of advertising for her
business.
“I’m as busy as I want to be and
sometimes busier than I want to
be,” said Rosie who also helps her
husband with farm work.
Rosie’s husband, Dwight, farms
60 acres of tobacco, potatoes,
tomatoes, com, and soybeans. He
finishes about 100-head of steers
yearly. He also is a milk tester sub
stitute, which takes him all over
the county three to four days a
week.
The couple’s sons, Ryan, 3'A ,
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This Victorian Gingerbread House is another favorite of
Rosie’s.
Rolled fondant is rolled with a rolling pin and molded
onto the cake. The lacy edging, pearls, satin ribbon, and
flowers give it a romantic touch, perfect for a wedding.
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£, ' S i
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