World Ballet Day Calls for Some Maggie Austin Cake Inspo

Petite sugar flowers create a sizable impact when repeated in a pattern, and those tiny blooms and miniature stems require great attention to detail—and not to mention hours to create. Gold embellishments elevate the design from garden party to elegant affair.

Add color to your cake with details like sugar flowers and berries. "I find dramatic color can be a wonderful way to draw in various design elements from the reception—perhaps painted tiers that are inspired by the florals or place cards," Austin says.

The key to a beautiful cake is balance—the top two tiers are thoughtfully decorated, creating a harmony in color and design with the dynamic bottom tier. "I think of the cakes as my canvas and use a few different mediums for decoration," Austin says. "I use gum paste to create sugar flowers and rice paper to create the frills. Needless to say, I love to play."

This feathered confection proves a white cake doesn't have to be simple. "A sleek, monochromatic design in white or ivory is another way to add understated drama," Austin says. "The way the light catches the cake emphasizes its texture."

It's not all about decoration, what's on the inside is important too. "I offer composed flavors," Austin says. "Two of my most popular are double-chocolate cake with salted-caramel-and-Irish cream-buttercream and white-velvet cake with peach-apricot-and-milk-chocolate-fiori-di-sicilia buttercream."

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