Sweet Talk \\ Artful Wedding Cakes

Artful sweetness, modern textures and unexpected detailing. Our taste buds are tingling after a glimpse into the work by New Zealand’s wonderful cake designer – Sweet Talk

Devine favourites include notes of Lemon and Raspberry, Chocolate and Raspberry or Vanilla espresso and salted caramel.

Sweet Talk not only have a dreamy array of art-inspired wedding cake designs, they have built an interest in making cake jars a delicacy in the wedding industry. The cake jar aesthetic of layer colours and freeze dried fruits is ideal for elopements, luxe wedding favours and dessert tables. We spoke with Creative Director Mariska Schoeman about her journey in wedding cakes and her silver lining to lockdown.

Tell us about Sweet Talk, who you are and what you offer?

Sweet Talk is a bakery founded by Mariska based on a love of baking done well, quality ingredients and beautiful design.

Your sweet treats are absolutely gorgeous with such a range of options to cater for different events. What are your top picks for weddings and also elopements?

I would recommend the floral cakes or the isomalt cake designs. They come in sizes to cater to small intimate gatherings and tiered options. They’re also super easy to order online. Otherwise we can create something completely bespoke to you and your requirements.

What are the most popular flavours from your cakes selection? It changes every season but we’re finding that Raspberry is having a moment this season with our most popular flavours being Lemon and Raspberry, Chocolate and Raspberry or Vanilla espresso and salted caramel.

What is a unique icing flavour you think everyone should try? All of our buttercreams are unique in that we don’t use any icing sugar in them. We find icing sugar can be overpoweringly sweet in any quantity so we cook our buttercreams using an italian meringue and high quality butter. The result is a light airy cream we can then flavour with high quality melted chocolate or freeze dried fruit powders.

Do you use seasonal fruits and florals for recipes? We use freeze dried fruit in our core menu that is available all year round and seasonal for limited edition flavours.

What are your favourite cake trends currently and where do you draw inspiration from? I’m living for the unique and different cake shapes. We’re seeing arch cakes, scalloped edge cakes and origami style shapes.

Has your cake style changed with the new wedding trends and if so, what can we expect to see featuring on your socials at present? Yes and no – we stick to our original style for the most part but every now and again there is a couple after something unique and unexpected and this is when we can get really creative with proportions and shapes.

Can you please tell us about your gorgeous gift packs and how this idea came into fruition? The idea came about in lockdown. I sent all my wedding couple clients wee cakes in Jars as a gift to try and help soften the blow of their cancelled weddings. They loved them so much, they asked if I could send jars to their family and so on. It developed into a side business of it’s own during that strict covid period – sending cakes in Jars all over NZ. While that lockdown period is behind us now, the cake jars are still super popular so they’re now purchasable as gift packs online.

Do you cater to dietary diverse clients? And what are your options? We work in a small space so we can’t cater to sever nut allergies but we do have gluten free and vegan cake flavours available.

How far in advance should couples book with you? Around 3 – 6 months in advance is best depending on the time of year – Summer months are our busiest so you would ideally have your cake booked in well in advance for these times.