Sylvia Weinstock

Sylvia Weinstock (January 28, 1930 – November 22, 2021) was an American baker and cake decorator.^[1][2][3] She was known for creating elaborate, multi-tiered wedding cakes decorated with botanically accurate sugar flowers. She also designed intricate trompe-l'oeil cakes resembling objects such as cars, crates of wine, and Fabergé eggs.^[4]

Sylvia Silver was born January 28, 1930, in the Bronx, New York.^[4] She was raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her family lived above their shop, which sold liquor and later became a bakery.

Weinstock earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1951 from Hunter College. She later obtained a master's degree in education from Queens College in 1973.^[2]

Weinstock began her professional career as an elementary school teacher on Long Island.^[4][5] She began baking cakes for local restaurants and apprenticed with pastry chef George Keller at the suggestion of André Soltner of Lutèce.^[4] She founded her cake business at age 50, following her recovery from breast cancer.^[6][7] William Greenberg, a fellow bakery owner, began referring clients to her for wedding cakes.^[2] After moving to Manhattan from Long Island, she began baking for private events at venues such as the Carlyle Hotel.^[4] In 1983, she and her husband renovated a warehouse in Tribeca into a four-story home and headquarters for Sylvia Weinstock Cakes.

Weinstock created cakes for many celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, and Martha Stewart.^[8] She preferred not to use fondant, describing it as "cheap and easy."^[4] Instead, she favored buttercream, sugar flowers, and stenciled designs.^[9] Bon Appétit magazine dubbed her "the Leonardo da Vinci of wedding cakes."^[2]

After retiring from commercial baking, Weinstock appeared as a guest judge on the Food Network series Chopped Sweets and Top Chef: Just Desserts.^[10] She also appeared in season 1 of the Netflix series Nailed It!, where she was described as the show's "secret weapon."^[6] She also taught cake decorating at the Institute of Culinary Education.^[4]

In 1949, at age 19, she married Benjamin Weinstock (1925–2018).^[2][11] They settled in Massapequa, New York, and raised three children.^[4]

Weinstock died on November 22, 2021, in Tribeca at the age of 91. The cause of death was multiple myeloma.

• Weinstock, Sylvia; Manchester, Kate (1999). Sweet Celebrations: The Art of Decorating Beautiful Cakes. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780684846750.
• Weinstock, Sylvia (2008). Sylvia Weinstock's Sensational Cakes. New York, NY: Stewart, Tabori & Chang. ISBN 9781584797180.