Wedding cakes play a major role in the wedding party. In fact, some
brides actually plan their entire weddings around the style of their
cake. While traditional white, tiered cakes topped with the
bride-and-groom figures are still predominant, colorful cakes depicting
kooky themes and personally-significant tableaux have taken a strong
hold on our pop cultural psyche. They are the subjects of reality shows
like TLC's Cake Boss and Food Network's Ace of Cakes. Which style of
cake should you choose? What should it taste like? After all, you want
that special day to last in the sensory memories of both sight and
taste. With this guide you can make your wedding cake both a visual
wonder and a culinary delight!
Styles
The wedding cake style will relate to your choice for the type of wedding you are having and the overall tone you are taking, whether
formal, informal, contemporary, traditional, indoor or outdoor. When you
have set the style, you can make all of this information available to
your cake designer and provide him or her with a photo or idea of the
decor with colors and materials, themes and motifs.
Themed wedding cakes may not only reflect the reception but may be based
on your honeymoon location. For instance, the wedding cake topper might
include a Hawaiian motif as a palm tree on a sand bar, or a couple
surfing or mountain climbing. In that manner, the typical
bride-and-groom on top can be changed with a subtle bit of humor on an
otherwise traditional tiered wedding cake by replacing the topper with
Kermit and Miss Piggy, or any of your playful alter-egos.
You may want to tie into the architectural theme of the reception space
and have Art Deco styling with zig-zags, or Classical columns and
arches, or Contemporary simplicity with rectangles, angles and folds
that mimic a Frank Gehry-music hall. If you and your fiance (or fiancee)
are both musicians, you may want to share your love of music by
inviting your guests to nibble on a Baby Grand confection or a
Rock-and-Roll guitar. Marrying a Swede? Perhaps you want to eat the
country, symbolically that is, in a blue-and-yellow flag-designed sheet
cake outlining the country's geographical shape. Did you and your
spouse-to-be meet through the Star Trek convention or you share a love
of Halloween?
So you see how the ideas grow and how wedding cake themes are endless,
personal and precious to each couple and their circle of friends and
family.
Traditional wedding cakes are the circular tiered type but these can be
up-dated as a chic stack of diminishing squares. Another up-dating trend
is embellishing tiered cakes with asymmetrical, cascading arrangements
of vibrant, colorful fresh flowers. Cake Boss' floral wedding cakes are
leaders in this trend. Your baker needs to coordinate with your florist
to mix and match the right blooms.
Another addition is placing wide ribbons around the base of each tier of
the cake. Grosgrain or satin ribbon is typical or the baker can create
faux ribbons from the frosting.
Mimicking a pattern or a motif from the bridal gown is another great
trend which helps to coordinate the wedding as a whole. The cake
designer might duplicate in frosting the gown's lace or embroidery
pattern, or copy the bride's unique necklace. For a more playful look,
he or she may simply put some jewelry on the cake, like crystals or faux
pearls to mirror the bride's jewelry. Meanwhile, the traditional
wedding cake is still abundant with frosting flowers, swags and swirls.
Taste
Who doesn't recall a richly frosted piece of wedding cake that was
simply scrumptious? Even though your choice of cake and frosting can't
please everybody, you can make sure your choices are your partner's as
well, then do your best to choose a crowd pleaser!
White or Yellow Cake. The most traditional wedding cake flavor is white
or yellow cake. To take it up a notch, you can add filling between
layers, and here you have a variety of choices, such as custard, milk
chocolate, butter-cream, raspberry, strawberry jam and apricot
preserves.
Chocolate Cake. Many wedding guests love chocolate cake and brides are
finally serving it more often, even though it may be concealed under
traditional white frosting. Better yet, many brides are going for the
"double-double" decadent treat--chocolate cake, chocolate filling,
chocolate frosting and chocolate ornament!
Marble Cake. A marble cake can be your answer to try to please all, and
each cut piece can make a beautiful display on its plate. Another method
for people pleasing is to alternate layers or tiers with chocolate cake
and white cake.
Lemon Cake. For variety, a refreshing lemon cake may fit with your
overall wedding style, especially as you may have the color of lemons as
a part of your color scheme. Yellow can be more appropriate for a
spring or summer wedding.
Carrot Cake. A fall or winter wedding can be the opportunity for a
carrot cake. Keep in mind that the traditional cream cheese frosting
found on carrot cake is going to be cream colored rather than pure
white.
Fruit Cake. In the United Kingdom, the traditional wedding cake is a
rich fruitcake. It was the cake of choice for the 2011 wedding of Prince
William and Kate. It is not a dense cake, but the traditional English
version is, nonetheless, packed with dried fruits and chopped nuts and
brushed with brandy. It is usually topped with Royal Icing which seals
in the freshness of the cake.
Royal Icing. Due to the smooth and beautiful look of Royal Icing, it is
often used for decorative wedding cakes and to create delicate
decorations on the cake, such as a monogram. As it does not have as
pleasant a taste as marzipan or traditional soft icings, it is not
recommended for icing cakes, unless cake stands are used. This is
because after Royal Icing dries and hardens, it tends to crack easily.
Fondant. This is rolled into thin sheets and placed on cakes for a very
smooth finish. Fondant makes an excellent base for decorations, and is
chosen more for looks than flavor so you may want a more delicious layer
of frosting underneath it.
Marzipan. An almond paste, Marzipan is also rolled into thin sheets and
glazed for icing cakes, primarily wedding cakes. This use is
particularly common in England, on large fruitcakes. Persipan is a
similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced
by apricot or peach kernels. There are German, French and Spanish
variations of Marzipan.
Cake-Cutting Measures
Depending on the size of your reception, wedding cakes can cost hundreds
into thousands of dollars. One way to have a show-stopper on a limited
budget is to order a smaller tiered cake for display and cutting, while
you have a sheet cake in the kitchen where it can be sliced and then
served. A spunky alternative is to have a cupcake wedding. Displayed on a
tiered stand, cupcakes can be offered in multiple flavors with a
variety of decorations. Of course, a small, tiered cake can be on
display and cut in ceremony. So, don't let your budget limit the role
your wedding cake can play in your wedding. It will be unique to your
special day. Whether traditional or themed, your wedding cake will have a
wondrous look and a scrumptious taste that will be a memory for a
lifetime.
