I tried to commit suicide by sticking my head in the oven, but there was a cake in it

Things are finally starting to fall together for the sake of my sanity. In addition, this whole cake tasting thing is starting to wear on me and my diet. But how I am still losing weight is a mystery -- must be the threat of not being able to fit into a dress I really like. Or possibly that I only eat when I'm hungry. Strange how this dieting thing works.

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. With each cake tasting, it has become more and more apparent of what I want. And the tasting at Heaven Sent Desserts helped me with that decision.



Heaven Sent Desserts is located on University Avenue in North Park, about 15 minutes away from where we live. First and foremost, the storefront is a place to go for with desserts. There are a number of notable restaurants within walking distance that make this a perfect place for a cup of coffee or tea with something sweet. But Heaven Sent bakes wedding cakes.



The cake tastings at Heaven Sent are $20. At first I balked at the $20 cake tasting but when I found out some places were asking for $75 or even $100 for a "cake consultation" the idea of spending a Jackson didn't seem too steep. Plus I wanted to know how a $20 tasting would compare with the previous free cake tastings. Turns out there is a difference.

When speaking with Christian on the phone when making the appointment we discussed about what I was interested in. For me nothing with walnuts, no chocolate cake and we were looking for a really good red velvet. When we arrived, Heaven Sent had especially baked for us red velvet cake that morning. Talk about fresh!



Along with the red velvet samples was also chiffon and tiramisu because Paul loves his coffee flavored cake. The chiffon and red velvet were alternately paired with buttercreme, vanilla bean pastry cream, cream cheese buttercreme and white chocolate mousse. The cake as well as the fillings was not cloying sweet. Paul didn't care too much for the buttercreme filling (too buttery) but I couldn't taste the difference between the vanilla bean pastry cream and white chocolate mousse.



Although the samples were small, by the time we hit the tiramisu sample which was straight from the pastry case, we were more than half way full. Christian explained to use the if we decided to go with tiramisu as the cake, the sample we got would be reflect what we would have on the cake if we ordered it minus the chocolate shell. The tiramisu was rich with alternating flavors of coffee mousse and vanilla chiffon cake. It was incredibly rich but overly sweet. A good thing.



Christian checked in with us several times during the tasting, telling us that if we wanted to taste anything from the dessert case to let me know. In addition any drinks we needed we included with the $20 tasting charge -- a nice touch especially since they made a mean ice mocha and their tea was tops.

With what we wanted -- no fondant and a basic cake design-- price per slice at Heaven Sent is approximately $5.25-$5.50. That price also includes delivery fee and cake set up. Christian stressed that once a contract has been signed any further costs with the making of the cake would not be added to our bill and absorbed by Heaven Sent. A good thing to hear.

Back to the wedding cake tasting fee, $20 insures professional and a limitless supply of cakes to taste depending on how much you're willing to taste. With Heaven Sent the tasting has brought me closer to the cake we're going to order.

I feel like a deadline is closing soon and need to make a decision fast. Besides, there is a ton of things to do than just taste cake, like sending out invitations. EEK!