NYERS

NYERS is a raw vegan cake business in Zurich run by Viktoria, who calls herself "your cake designer". Its site, published in English under the name Vegane Torten Zürich, sells cakes online and offers custom wedding cakes, wedding and event catering, and wholesale supply to cafes. Wedding cakes are planned at a tasting.

Who makes the cakes

The about page introduces the business as "NYERS, Budapest * Zürich". Viktoria writes that she worked for 10 years at a haute cuisine restaurant in Budapest, "one of the top 10 ones", and that high quality is her most important criterion: a cake she creates "should be love at first sight and first bite as well." The homepage even gives the pronunciation of the name, [ɲɛrʃ], for anyone wondering how to say it.

Beside individual cake orders, she writes that she supplies several coffee shops and bars in and around Zurich, takes orders for event catering, and creates special cakes such as wedding cakes. On wholesale she adds: "I already deliver for 5 shops in Zürich". The site's services list names wedding catering, kids' parties and event catering.

What the cakes are

The whole range follows one rule, stated on every product page: all NYERS products are free from artificial preservatives, vegan (containing neither milk nor egg), raw, made from "carefully selected, bio ingredients only", gluten-free, and with no added sugar, "the sweetness is coming from mother nature." The homepage adds that the cakes are free of dairy, gluten, egg, soy and preservatives, naturally sweetened and made "without any kind of heat treatment". These are the business's own descriptions. A couple with a guest who has a serious allergy, for example to nuts, should ask about ingredients directly, since the fillings named on the site include cashew cream, peanut and walnut.

The bestsellers give a sense of the flavors: Ultimate Chocolate ("real chocolate truffle, with raw cocoa powder"), Chestnut Plum, Strawberries and Cream ("a bite of the red paradise"), Chocolate and Berries, Pina Colada (billed as a tropical cocktail in a cake), Poppy Seed and Lemon, Mocca Walnut ("only for the Pros"), Mango Cheezecake with citrus-scented cashew cream and fresh mango, Snickers (peanut, caramel and chocolate), Raspberry Cream and Adam's cake. Product pages note that decorations are seasonal and that every cake is unique and will not look exactly as pictured.

For scale, the Strawberry and Cream page lists 4 sizes: 16 cm for 4 to 6 people at SFr. 72, 20 cm for 6 to 8 at SFr. 98, 24 cm for 12 to 14 at SFr. 120, and 26 cm for 14 to 16 at SFr. 150. Those are the standard shop cakes, not wedding cakes, but they show the price level and portion sizes.

Wedding cakes

The wedding cake page is clear on one point: "Wedding cakes are always custom made, there are no two cakes which look the same!" It describes the cakes as a "healthy yet super delicious option for any wedding party" and invites couples to get in touch to schedule a tasting. At the tasting, the page says, you spend an hour eating cakes, combining the best flavors to create your own, and you "set your imagination free" for the design. If you order the wedding cake and pay a save-the-date deposit in advance, the tasting is complimentary.

The product is listed in the shop at SFr. 120.00, with the option labeled "Custom". The page does not explain what that price covers or how the price of a custom wedding cake is set, so it should be read as a listing price rather than a quote.

The homepage's wedding section opens with the line "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" and describes a cake that is raw vegan, which Viktoria says nobody will recognize: "it's your secret." It ends with "Call me and let's plan a tasting!"

Catering for the rest of the wedding

For a wedding, the catering side is the useful extra. The about page offers raw vegan mini desserts, cake slices, mono desserts and cupcakes for events, and the catering collection lists cakes for catering and mono desserts priced "based on the amount of your order", plus cupcakes. The homepage says no event is too large or too small, "whether it is an intimate dinner or a big extravagant celebration". The homepage menu also lists Chocolate Rawnies ("like the baked big brother") at 12 pieces for 60 CHF, and cupcakes in salted caramel, raspberry cheesecake and chocolate, each listed as 10 pieces, with a price of 56 CHF. A couple could order the wedding cake and a dessert table from the same maker, all vegan. Past work and new cakes appear on the Instagram account the homepage links, "the cakefluencer".

Delivery and ordering

Each product page states the delivery terms: "Within Zürich home delivery costs 7 CHF. Other areas negotiable." The homepage describes a home delivery service in Zurich and its surroundings. Orders go through the online shop or the contact page.

What the site does not settle

• Wedding cake price. Only the SFr. 120 listing is shown, without explanation.
• Deposit and tasting cost. The deposit amount is not given, and nor is the cost of a tasting without an order.
• Lead time. No booking deadline is stated.
• Setup and distance. Delivery outside Zurich is negotiable, and the site does not say whether a cake is set up at the venue.
• Tiers. No tier sizes or guest numbers are given for wedding cakes.
• Keeping the cake. The cakes are raw and not heat-treated, and the site does not say how long a cake can stand at a reception before serving; worth asking for a summer wedding.

Who it suits

NYERS suits a couple marrying in or near Zurich who wants an entirely vegan wedding cake, or a vegan dessert table, from a maker with a restaurant background, and who likes to decide after a tasting. The English-language site makes it easy for a couple from abroad to read the terms and get in touch.

The caveats: the style is raw and plant-based rather than a classic sponge and fondant cake, wedding prices are not really published, and delivery beyond Zurich has to be agreed.