Inside Mark Joseph Cakes

Every so often I post about my friends’ bakery, Mark Joseph Cakes, which is run by Mark Randazzo and his wife Leslie. Mark is responsible for my most popular blog post of all time (the famed R2-D2 cake, which still draws hundreds of readers every day), and I’m happy to report that since that droid cake first appeared on this blog three and a half years ago (!!), Mark and Leslie have been up to great things. Not only do they still crank out awesome cakes, but they now consistently land on the pages of various bridal magazines such as The Knot and most recently, they were profiled in New York with a full page spread.

On a recent trip to Manhattan, Mark and Leslie invited me over to their lovely Upper East Side workspace — a humble bakery adorned with a simple yet eye-catching sign. Walking in through the front door, I was assaulted by all manners of cake aromas. I could have fainted from bliss (that happens, right?), but I kept it together for the sake of the blog, Mark and Leslie, and humankind in general. After the jump, check out some pics from inside Mark Joseph Cakes…

How impressive are Mark’s cakes? Just check out this wall of publications in which he’s been featured (this is only about half of the wall).

It’s a medal from the Food Network!

Me posing with cakes. I strategically am blocking one cake whose color scheme threatened to destroy the entire photo.

Here’s a little area where Mark and Leslie place the cakes for photos. In lieu of a cake, I volunteer my hand.

The interns, toiling away.

Here’s something fun. One of Mark’s clients wanted a dog incorporated into the cake; so he purchased a toy dog that matched that client’s own dog and then used it to make a mold, as seen above in the pink. Sugary canine creations to ensue.

Mark.

Naturally, I gravitate towards this section.

Some carrot cake that Mark let me sample. Why don’t more people have carrot cake wedding cakes? It seems like a fundamentally awesome choice.

An enormous vat of sugar. The picture does not do it justice.

Meanwhile, in the oven, a cake bakes.

The interns quietly churn out a gazillion of these guys. They will eventually be assembled together to create pinecones.

Flowers, expertly crafted.

As a frame of reference, here is a cake that I made last week with Lisa Timmons.

And here is one I made with Sly recently (don’t ask).

And this is just a random cake by Mark. He kind of knows what he’s doing.

Fun times!

Be sure to Like Mark Joseph Cakes on Facebook and/or join their group! Thanks for the tour, Mark and Les!