chic style

In many ways, DeEtta's Bakery is "a good old fashioned bakery," according to Kevin Tyschper, who runs and owns the Naperville bakery with his wife, Morgan Tyschper. "Everything is made from scratch. No mixes, no preservatives and real butter."

Kevin left a career in management and Morgan left a career as a pediatric dietitian to pursue their passion for baking. The bakery opened in 2014 is named in memory of Morgan's mother, DeEtta, who passed along her love of baking to her daughter. Although their methods may be traditional, the couple updates their products to meet customer demands, especially when it comes to wedding cakes.

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Gone are the days when wedding cakes were strictly multiple round tiers of white cake with white frosting topped with a pristine bride and groom. "Couples come to us today with all kinds of ideas. It is the age of Pinterest and Food Network where they see so many different things. Our job is to combine all of the things they like into a cake," said Kevin.

The Tyschpers usually invite the bride and groom to come to the bakery for a "deconstructed tasting" where they can taste cubes of two different flavors of cake coated with different combinations of frostings and fillings. "White cake is actually the least chosen flavor today," said Kevin. "We have many requests for chocolate cake."

Couples can try the cake squares with a variety of fillings like chocolate mousse or Bavarian cream paired with different types of frosting, including the popular butter cream. "We can do anything the bride and groom want. We are finding that most of them want a sort of shabby chic look rather than the traditional cascading flowers," said Morgan.

"White frosting is still popular but most couples want texture instead of the ultra smooth frosting," Morgan said. "The three most popular textures are a spackle finish, horizontal lines and rosettes."

Tiers are still popular, but round is not the only shape requested. There are some requests for square tiers and others want a mix of square and round. Some couples ask for metallic highlights in silver or gold on their cakes.

"These usually have to be hand painted or piped on," Morgan said.

"When couples ask for color on the cake, we suggest adding color with real flowers because the colors of real flowers pop more than adding frosting flowers. The cake becomes more like a canvas to showcase the colors of the real flowers," said Kevin.

The Tyschpers recognize the tradition of saving the top wedding cake tier in the freezer to eat on the first wedding anniversary but offer an alternative to their brides and grooms. "We make couples a complimentary top tier on their first anniversary instead so they can have a freshly made cake that tastes good instead of one that has been in the freezer for a year," said Kevin.

Another relatively new trend in weddings is a groom's cake that reflects the personality of the groom. DeEtta's baking team has fashioned a cake that looked like a wedge of cheese for a Packer's fan, a duck cake for a hunter and one shaped like Lego bricks for a groom who loved the plastic bricks. Sweet tables filled with numerous desserts have also become a frequently requested item.

The bakery supplies favors for guests also. "We did a wedding where each guest got a doughnut and a Sunday paper to take home as a favor," Kevin said.

Today's brides and grooms are not tied to traditions and often make unusual requests. Kevin and Morgan supplied pies instead of a cake for a wedding and get requests for cheesecake wedding cakes.

Although the bakery has only been opened two years, the Tyschpers have been baking for many of their customers for about seven years.

"There are some families that we have done their engagement cake, a bridal shower cake, a wedding cake, a baby shower cake and then their kid's birthday cakes. It has been fun to be a part of all those celebrations," said Kevin. The Tyschpers will be part of the annual Bridal Showcase at Naper Settlement on Jan. 8 and 9 and are ready to fill requests of new brides and grooms.

Kevin, 44, and Morgan, 43, enjoy being a local bakery "where we know the names of our customers," said Morgan. They have a display of vintage rolling pins on one wall of the store that Morgan put together.

"A rolling pin is a symbol of homemade goodness," said Morgan. Some rolling pins on the display are worn from use.

"If that board could speak and tell us about all the things those rolling pins have made, it would be amazing," Morgan said. The Naperville couple are wearing down their own rolling pins making delicious fresh baked goods for the bakery and look forward to many years of baking.

They share a favorite recipe for a delicious winter breakfast treat for others to try for a taste of "homemade goodness." Challah, a rich bread similar to brioche, is used in the recipe and can be purchased at DeEtta's bakery as well as many ethnic grocery stores.

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