Pride, and lots of butter: The recipe for bakery's success

When you ask Philip Rugnetta what goes into his specialty cakes, his answer is short and simple. ''Pride,'' said Rugnetta, co-owner of This Takes the Cake bakery in Wollaston. ''I take a lot of pride in what I do, I use kitchen-type Cabot butter - a pound at a time. I open them up individually. And I sift my sugar for cleaner, purer frosting for my wife, so when she decorates she has an easy flow of the frosting.''

Philip, 72, and his wife Pamela, 53, purchased the bakery from their friend Regina Kelly in 1995, the year the two were married. Over the years, they've maintained some of Kelly's recipes - including the one for their famous butter cream icing - but also added cupcakes and other pastries to the menu.

Still, their specialty wedding cakes have earned the Rockland residents the most esteem. Most recently, the bakery was included in The Knot 2007 Best of Weddings magazine for being voted by its customers as one of the top places to buy a wedding cake.

''Actually I don't even know how they got my e-mail (address),'' Pamela said. ''But I got an e-mail at home, saying, 'Congratulations, you guys were just voted (in) best weddings of 2007,' so I popped it open.''

So far, inclusion in the magazine, which claims a circulation of more than 200,000 nationwide, has led to an increase in wedding business, Philip said.

''It's quite known, evidently, more known than I'd realized,'' he said of the magazine.

The boom in the wedding business has been helpful, the couple said, but such cakes account for only about 25 percent of sales. The vast majority of their business comes from birthday, anniversary and religious holiday cakes.

The Rugnettas run a small shop - their one employee decorates cakes alongside Pamela - and most of their customers come by word of mouth. But a Web site launched by the couple two months ago is growing their customer base as well.

Ultimately, Pamela said, the couple would like to open another location to help accommodate the majority of their customers, who live outside Quincy. But for now the Rugnettas are focusing on continuing to turn out their award-winning cakes at a manageable pace.

''We don't exceed what we can do so the cakes are always fresh,'' Philip said. ''By staying small, we keep an eye on everything.''

A.J. Bauer of The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.) may be reached at ajbauer@ledger.com.