When David Mess opened Buttercream Collection in Minnetonka in 1989, he packed his van with samples and brought them to local wedding reception venues, offering the staff tastings of his desserts.
Of course, people ate it up, and the rest is history.
Now wedding venues are quick to recommend Buttercream to their guests. “If you’re at the Depot and 250 guests walk away and they say, ‘The place was beautiful, the service was great, the food was good and the cake was horrible,’ it hangs with the reception site,” explains Mess.
What still rings true after all these years is Mess’s fondant-free philosophy. When he noticed a dessert scene full of lard and preservatives, Mess wanted to take a more natural approach to baking. “If you take a look at the ingredients list for a chocolate cake from a big-box store, for instance, it really reads like a chemical experiment,” he says.
In the fall, there’s dense chocolate cake stuffed with chocolate fudge, and certainly no shortage of ginger pumpkin tortes and cheesecakes. But Mess explains that, in the world of wedding cakes, people don’t always stick to seasonal options. Madagascar vanilla bean, strawberry shortcake and fresh raspberry royal top the list of favorites. “Those are great flavors,” he says.
