Chantel's Cakes & Pasteries: Cupcakes to Wedding Cakes

Chantel's Cakes & Pasteries in Sterling, Virginia will do anything from cupcakes to wedding cakes. They also have the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Let me tell you how I found them.

I used to sell diamond rings for Jared. A short term job before real estate. Well, all the Jared stores on the East Coast were pitted against one another in a sales contest, promoting Scott Kay bridal jewelry. Our store won. As the winners, Scott Kay catered a lunch for our entire staff and sent a chocolate cake with his logo in the icing. The minute I tasted that cake, I was in heaven.

I did some backwards research to find out who in the world made the cake. Several phone calls later, I found Chantel's in Sterling, VA. At the time, I was engaged and just knew that Chantel's would be the cake provider for my wedding.

My husband and I ended up eloping, but we did have a bash six months later for family and friends. I called for an appointment with Dennis, the owner of Chantels, about the cake for the event. Pulling up to the industrial location, I wondered if this was truly the place where that marvelous cake I would never forget came from.

Stepping inside, there was no frill to this bakery. It was a little "basic" looking. Then the receptionist offered me a cupcake. Evidently, Dennis had just done a field trip with an elementary school class earlier that day, and they got to make cupcakes. The proof would be in the taste test. I grabbed a chocolate cupcake and new immediately I had no need to fear. That was the cake.

Dennis helped me figure out how to go about the cake design. I wanted a fall theme (since our reception was October 29th). Nothing too fancy. I wasn't a fan of fondant, mainly because it looked too formal. Besides, that buttercream icing was half of the reason that chocolate cake stuck in my memory. Dennis also recommended, since I was not wanting anything too formal, buttercream flowers. Perfect.

The price was reasonable. The service was great. And the cake was, as expected, out of this world! All of our guest raved about it, just like I knew they would. And six months later when my husband and I thawed the frozen cake top for our anniversary, it was still as delicious as it had been fresh. (Leave it to Dennis to have remembered to leave a box for the top for our caterer to pack it up for us.)

If you're looking for a great birthday cake, or an event cake that will be burned in your tastebuds' memory forever, give Chantel's a call. 703-709-1488.