“I was the first cake artist in the US to exclusively decorate using palette knives, and because I had no one to teach me, I’ve developed my own signature style.”
Image via @10bloomcakes
The mason jar has gone through an evolution over the years, from its humble beginnings as a canning tool for grandma’s vegetables, to cute glasses for sweet tea in Southern-inspired restaurants. It then morphed into vessels for centerpieces at “rustic weddings” and now has a new purpose: a take-out container for moist cake layered with delicious buttercream from Ten Bloom Cakes, a unique bakery that recently opened on Matthews Station Street.
Owner Miri Nadler, who also creates beautiful, hand-painted cakes, says she thinks of the to-go mason jar as incapsulated cake slices. “It’s also a little something our bakery can do for the environment,” she added. “When you buy a cake jar, you can keep the jar and use it for something else, recycle it, or even bring it back to the bakery and we’ll give you a dollar off your next order.”
Image via @10bloomcakes
Nadler’s mason-jar to-go offerings are unique and delicious, but the cakes are a must-see. Her method of decorating doesn’t rely on traditional gum paste or fondant, which you can eat but has been described as tasting a little like Play-Doh. Instead, she uses a palette knife to “paint” three-dimensional designs on cakes with buttercream and whipped cream, so every bite of the cake is a pleasant experience. She taught herself the process of palette-knife painting on cake after seeing women in Asia using the technique on Instagram.
“I was the first cake artist in the US to exclusively decorate using palette knives, and because I had no one to teach me, I’ve developed my own signature style,” said Nadler, who has been featured in Southern Bride, The Knot, and The B Collective, among other media outlets. Her cakes have been described as “perfectly imperfect,” but she likes to think she “strikes the delicate balance between elegance and whimsy.”
“As a woman business owner, safety was just as important to me as accessibility, and the small-town enclave feel of Matthews checked all the boxes.”
Image via @10bloomcakes
Nadler moved from Los Angeles, where she ran a luxury bakery, to North Carolina in 2015 to be closer to family. She chose downtown Matthews as the site of her bakery because over the past five years, she said she’s seen downtown grow into a “vibrant commercial district that is tailor-made for walking and for families. As a woman business owner, safety was just as important to me as accessibility, and the small-town enclave feel of Matthews checked all the boxes.”
She has traveled throughout the United States to teach the palette-knife decorating technique, and has also taught classes in Canada and Israel to share her knowledge of this unique style. If you’re interested in learning more about palette-knife decorating, she is offering a class at the Matthews store at the end of May. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram at @10bloomcakes to see pictures of her cakes and tutorials of her unique technique, and drop into the shop (130 Matthews Station St, #1-H, Matthews) to order a cake for a special occasion or pick up a mason jar of deliciousness to go!
