Amazing Wedding Cakes (9 P.M. DST, Sunday, W.E. Channel)

I must admit to having always loved CAKE in its infinite varieties not just for its taste but also its great esthetic possibilities. This special treat is so pretty whether "store bought" or lovingly decorated at home. After congratulating the happy couple and circulating socially, my next priority at wedding receptions is to check out what the cake looks like. Over the years, I have watched snowy palatial towers evolve into different flavors decorated with blooms and ribbons tinted to match bridesmaids' dresses. Modern wedding cakes are sometimes sleek and sophisticated, draped in gleaming satin and pearls made of frosting which look real enough to wear. My special feeling about cake means I could hardly resist Amazing Wedding Cakes which follows the hysterical rants of Bridezilla on the WE Channel's Sunday evening parade.

Amazing Wedding Cakes is a reality show centering on the daily drama at four famous bakeries - Cake Alchemy (New York City, NY), CakeGirls (Chicago, IL), Christopher Garren's Let Them Eat Cake, (Costa Mesa, CA) and Merci Beaucoup Cakes (Los Angeles, CA). It may be that these artisans bake for other occasions but this show deals with the design and production of wedding cakes. Prospective newlyweds (presumably toting heroic credit cards although prices are never mentioned) book an appointment with a bakery to sample different flavors and brainstorm what they have in mind for this most important cake of their lives. Sketches are made in preparation for the creation of a bona fide work of art.

While there may be classic white nuptial cake towers still in play somewhere, this show deals with the unusual and offbeat. An infinite variety of batters and glorious batches of buttercream are transformed into triumphs of all colors and decorating schemes. The ranks of traditional flower-bedecked affairs have gained new definition and now include cakes crafted to look like stacks of gift boxes, designer luggage, opened treasure chests crammed with spun sugar jewels, and even a chandelier! If a couple wants a cake that looks like a certain building, the bakers may drive to the place to better appreciate architectural detail which they then recreate out of flour, sugar and other ingredients - a task made to look easier than it is.

Sometimes sheets of marzipan or fondant are rolled and cut to cover and trim cakes and for one couple who wanted an Origami theme, what looked like folded paper doves were fashioned out of thin sheets of white chocolate and carefully set in place. Especially fascinating is that footage which is sped up to make the cake seem to sprint into finished form in a matter of seconds.

The Groom's Cake

Traditional wedding cake was originally considered to be the Bride's Cake but the often overlooked Groom's Cake has evolved from dark fruitcake into something redefining the meaning of "cool" and often especially designed to honor the groom's special interests or hobbies. There are baseball (and other sports-oriented) designs and themes of a masculine bent (i.e. a cake box of cigars). (One new hubby who was a DJ ended up with a cake designed and built to look exactly like the equipment he used for his "gigs" even including a battery-powered "record turntable" which actually rotated when the cake was presented to him.)

Having One's Art and Eating It Too

One can hardly watch Amazing Wedding Cakes without being impressed and downright inspired by the hard work, dedication, and inspiration vested by talented bakers in a work of art which is really a treat destined to be gobbled with gusto in a day or two. In a way, that kind of commitment to their craft - and to couples who are taking a chance on love - is perhaps the most amazing part of all!