With its layers sandwiched with plant-based buttercream – and supported by an internal architecture of card platforms and wooden dowels to support its roughly 10kg weight – the shaping begins, with Violet’s sous chef, Adam Urbanik, hewing away at the baked behemoth like a sculptor chiselling marble.
Watching curls of sponge fall away, I’m immediately struck by the cake’s visible moistness – there’s no hint of telltale GF crumbliness, and a spring to the touch that feels just like… well, a really good sponge. So what’s the secret? “With this one, nuts make it a lot moister,” Ptak explains, noting that their fat content also helps.
“My original recipe uses ground almonds, but we wanted to use pistachio – the flavour’s so moreish and it just feels more special for a wedding,” even if that does come at a cost. (“It’s not an everyday nut!”) Her particular flour combination is also key. “It’s brown rice flour, sorghum and tapioca,” with Ptak crediting the latter for the cake’s featherlightness.
Lastly, once the domed gateaux is slathered in painterly slaps of (sadly not vegan) Swiss meringue and festooned with pale tulip petals, it’s time for the taste test. At the very first forkful, what surprises is both the lightness of the crumb and its structural integrity – no mealiness to speak of at all. The pistachio brings both a rich moistness and a faint marzipan-y perfume that sets off wedding bells in my mind, while the mallow-y coating gives a welcome sugary kick without triggering the sort of glucose spike that’ll put you out of commission for the rest of the day. In plainer terms, it takes the cake.
“Is there any sort of dietary-specific wedding cake that Ptak can’t make?” I wonder… The answer? Yes. Yes, there are. “We love to work with a client to do something really bespoke, but generally I maintain the policy that we make the cakes that we think are the best – the best flavours, the best colours, the best decorations – and then customers can choose from our offering,” which, mind you, is already very comprehensive.
So if a 10-tier keto cake is what you’re after, best to give Violet a miss. But if GF, DF, vegan and even low sugar are among the boxes you’re looking to tick – while making sure the damn thing still tastes good – then voilà: you really can have your cake and eat it.
Cake stand, LSA International. Set Design: Alfie di Trolio. With thanks to Violet bakery.
