Beyond Vanilla

Mariana Velasquez created an exquisite cake story for the June/July 2014 issue of Brides (out now). As I look at the spread below, I am blown away by the perfection that Mariana achieved with each slice of cake. Here's what she has to say about the shoot:

About a year ago I baked for two days straight. Almost literally, with the help of my assistant Claudia we made butter creams, frostings, cookie crumbs, toasted nuts and assembled 9- different three and four layer cakes well into the night. Key Lime with graham crackers for Florida, Guava and cream cheese for Hawaii (also a very colombian combination) Lemon-Blueberry for California and Black and White Cookie for New York to name a few. The result? A pretty double page spread on the most recent June/July issue of Brides Magazine photographed by the talented Ben Aslop. Making 9 perfect cakes for 9 perfect slices was perhaps one of the most meticulous baking I’ve ever done. Needless to say, everyone took cake home. Foot Note for Cake Drawings Imagining the cakes alone as I read the recipes wasn’t quite enough to have a mental map of the entire spread…

 We've also got some exclusive behind the scenes shots below: