Written By Melissa Reardon
Photographs By Lucy Cuneo
A transplant from Virginia, Weston “Wes” McAfee vividly remembers the first time he saw his future bride-to-be. Charleston native Dana Elaine...
“I see each macaroon as a miniature canvas,” says Ashley Brown of Ashley Brown Cake Design.
Sometimes falling into a rut pays off. Just ask Ashley Brown of Ashley Brown Cake Design (508/527-9884). During a spell in college (she studied product design in Los Angeles), the lifelong baker found herself thoroughly smitten with stamping cake fondant with edible ink. Soon after, she spun off on a macaroon-making stint. “I got bored with the typical toppings,” she says, “so I started stamping them, too, and that led to painting them.”
Dressing up dream desserts is now second nature for Ashley, who served as the head cake designer at two bakeries in her native Boston before moving to Charleston in 2013. Drawn here by “love and adventure” she says, she was also thrilled by the Lowcountry’s wedding fever because her embellished treats clearly speak to brides.
“I draw inspiration from fabrics, like a bride’s lace wedding dress, or from the patterns or details in an event space,” Ashley says, whether her medium is a macaroon, cake, or other sweet. And the trend of dessert displays as décor fits right in with her oeuvre.
“I’ve always loved the idea of using a macaroon as a place card,” she says of an idea she wants to test out. “It would be so sweet to have a guest’s name written in script on them.” Sweet, indeed.
