A lot of bakeries describe themselves as made to order. It’s worth explaining what we mean by it, because the way we run our kitchens is different enough that it affects what ends up in the box.
No freezers
We don’t own a freezer.
Most cake shops have a glass display cabinet and we do too, for people who walk in on the day. The difference is what’s behind the scenes at a lot of those places. Cakes are often batch-baked well in advance, frozen, and defrosted for the display. It’s efficient, and most customers never know. But chiffon especially suffers for it. The sponge compresses, the cream loses its freshness, and what arrives on the table is a version of what the cake was supposed to be.
Every cake in our display fridge was baked fresh that morning to be served that day. Same with every pre-ordered cake it goes into its box the same day it was made.
Why chiffon pushed us here
We didn’t set out to run the kitchen this way out of principle. Chiffon made the decision for us.
It’s built differently to most celebration cakes. The lift comes from whipped egg whites rather than baking powder, which makes the sponge airy and light on the day, but it also means it doesn’t keep the way a butter cake would. Leave it overnight and the crumb starts to settle. By day two it’s noticeably different not bad, but not what we made. So we bake to order, every time, because there’s no good alternative.
What the morning looks like
Our kitchens start early. Sponges go in first weighed and mixed in small batches rather than one big run, because the oven timing is precise and the batches need to be consistent. While they’re cooling, the creams get made fresh. Fruit is cut the same morning it goes in. Once we know who the cake is for, the layering starts plaques piped individually, gift cards matched to each order, everything finished by hand.
By the time the box closes, every part of that cake was made that day.
Why we cap how many we take on
There’s a number beyond which the quality starts to slip. A rushed whip on the cream changes the texture. A sponge that hasn’t cooled properly makes the layers slide. We’ve found the ceiling, and we don’t go past it which means that on busy weekends, we fill up before the week is out.
Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas these dates book out early every year. We offer a 90-day pre-order window because of this. If you know the date, locking it in early means you get first choice on flavour, size, and collection time.
What it means for the cake you receive
When the box arrives, the cream is fresh and the sponge has the texture it was supposed to have. For most occasions a couple of hours in the car, an afternoon on the table it holds well. And because no two are made in the same sitting, yours is the only one that was assembled for that name on the card.
That’s what made to order means for us. Pre-orders are open at enze.com.au same-day pick-up from Top Ryde City and Barangaroo, next-day Sydney delivery available.
