Wedding Cakes

In the past, picking your wedding cake seemed like, well, a piece of cake. White cake, jam filling, and white sugar icing were de rigeur for weddings—not to mention the his and hers china figurines on top. Now however, these cake expectations have gone the way of the girdle. If bland cake with mealy frosting isn’t your idea of a sumptuous dessert, there’s no reason to serve it as the highlight of your wedding reception. Modern couples serve anything and everything for their reception’s grand finale. Here’s the skinny on wedding cakes: 

 

Color me Beautiful

If white isn’t one of your wedding colors—or if you don’t want your wedding cake to compete with your wedding dress, there’s no reason to have a white cake. Nowadays cakes come in all colors, from pale ivory to deep scarlet, and a recent trend is to have wedding cakes that match your wedding colors, for a more coordinated look. A light colored cake with bold decoration is striking (think lavender paired with royal purple). But if you want to make an even bigger splash, have a deeply colored cake with lighter decoration (think forest green with pale pink roses).  Don’t rule out black for the ultimate statement: you can now wear black to a wedding, and that goes for weddings cakes too. A black wedding cake isn’t for all weddings—like a black frock, it would look out of place at an afternoon garden wedding, but a black cake covered with silver detailing would look stunning against Bellagio’s fountain at your evening Vegas Wedding.

Alternatively, you can pick contrasting deep colors for an elegant, jewel-toned cake. Look to old brocade fabric for inspiration. This works especially well for a winter or rennaissance themed wedding. While pastels aren’t as in this year, light colors can go well together, especially if they’re not too faded. If champaigne is your color, think about a champaign colored cake with ecru lace detailing for delicate, demure, yet modern look.  You can also use the season or location of your wedding to influence your cake color. A white cake with deep red and green holly decorations is a festive way to ring in your holiday wedding. If you’re saying “I do” in Autumn, why not chocolate ganache with bronze leaves? Or how about a pale pink cake with deep pink and green flowers for your outdoor brunch wedding in May? Trendy colors this season are greens and reds of all shade, from burgundy to baby pink to lime to forest green.   

Tasty Cakes

Your cake, like everything else in your wedding, should reflect your tastes—literally, whether that’s a chocolate flourless torte or strawberry shortcake. Cakes have gone from being a dry but pretty decoration to serious dessert. Pistachio cake, carrot cake, and pound cake are big this year, as are cakes with tropical or berry flavoured mousses. (In our humble opion, you can never go wrong with chocolate, of course.) If you’re worried about picky guests, or just can’t make up your mind, try getting each layer of cake in a different flavor. That way you can satisfy your chocoholic sister while getting the lemon cake you’ve been lusting over. Just watch out for guests who try to snag one of each flavor!  

Likewise, there’s no reason to stick to traditional wedding cake styles. Many trendsetting couples are picking cheesecake this year. If you love the rich flavor, but still want the more classic look, don’t worry. Bakers can now whip up a three tier cheese cake, or even one in the shape of a stack of gifts. Of course, if it wouldn’t be a wedding to you without a big white cake, you can update the classic with buttercream frosting and cake layered with homemade jam—you can stick with the classics of apricot, raspberry, or lemon, or try a new twist with kiwi, papaya, or black current.  Remember, as with everything, try to coordinate your cake with the season and location of the reception. For a winter wedding, why not have a traditional British Christmas cake (hey, anything soaked in Brandy is bound to be a hit!) For a summer wedding, a rich cake may be too much, but an angel food cake garnished with fresh berries would be a refreshing finale. 

Think outside the circle

Traditionally cakes have been round, but fashion-forward couples are ordering cakes in square, diamond, oval, and even hexagonal (6-sided) or pentagonal (5-sided) shapes for an interesting twist. Alternating square and round layers can also create a care-free whimsical look. You can also use shapes such as hearts and stars. If you were never one to draw within the lines, why not get a cake with no geometric shape at all? A skilled baker can put together a creation that would make Dr. Seuss jealous for an off-beat yet sophisticated look.  

Exterior Decoration

Chances are your house doesn’t look like a furniture catalog, so no need to have your cake look like it came from a magazine, either. A big trend this season is to have your cake reflect you. You can do that with monograms in your icing or cake toppers, or by incorporating detailing from your wedding invitation. If you and or fiance met somewhere special, why not displaying momentos of your first date on the cake. Think french flags and a mini Eiffel tower if you met in Paris, or pink roses to reflect the ones he gave you on your first date. Another recent trend is texture.

For the past couple years, of smooth sophisticated cakes with fondant icing have been all the rage, but now cakes with texture are hitting the scene. For a modern wedding, try expressionistic spackles for a funky fun look. Likewise, alternating smooth and textured layers make a stunning contrast.  If your wedding is more traditional, a cake impressed with the same pattern as your dress gives an elegant touch to this recent trend. Cakes inspired by fabric are also big this season, whether it’s brocade, lush velvet, or nubby tweed.  In terms of decoration, flowers and fruit never go out of style, however frosting, gum paste, or marzipan flowers add big bucks to the cake bill. For a cheaper but classy alternative, try fresh flowers or fruit, which gives the same look without all the labor (and cost) of molding tiny flowers.

Likewise, fondant has been uber trendy for the past few years, but more and more couples are switching over to buttercream, which is cheaper, tastier, and holds color better. You don’t have to sacrifice that smooth look though, the right baker should be able to create a sleek sheen even with buttercream. But if you have your heart (or should I say eye) set on the sleek look of fondant, try white chocolate, which is a richer, tastier flavor than the often gummy regular fondant. Also, if you’re having a summer wedding, fondant is a safer way to go, as butter cream can melt in hot weather. (Think of a pat of melting butter. Now think of your cake—not a pretty picture). 

Go small

Cupcakes, last year’s trend, are still hot, but why not go one step further with mini wedding cakes? You can either have a small one for each guest (it makes a great momento of your wedding) or a bigger one for each table. You can either have matching cakes for a unified look, or branch out and have variety of styles. Are your wedding colors pink and green? Try alternating pink and green cakes on each table. Or if you’re wedding is less formal, you could have a cake buffet table with various sizes and shapes of cakes. One classy way to do this is to pick one of your wedding colors, or another complementary color, and serve cakes in a variety of tints and shades of that color. This gives some variety while still maintaining a unified, coordinated look. So if yellow is your color, serve a cake in every shade from from deep gold to pale butter. 

Cake, cake, no cake?

If cake has never done if for you, there’s no reason (except tradition) why you need to have one at your reception. And like most modern girls, you’re not afraid to jettison tradition when it’s outdated, so why cling to the cake? It is your party, after all. Cutting edge brides are now serving a whole range of tasty desserts to celebrate their nuptials. Pie is a great way to go. Think homemade fruit pie for low-key earthy wedding, or French tarts for a look that is très sophistiqée. Other great possibilities are crème brulee (why not have the chef ‘brulee’ the crème in front of your guests? No guest is going to miss the cake when there’s a blowtorch involved), or its Spanish cousin flan. A towering souffle is just as breath taking as a wedding cake, not to mention much tastier. Or if you’d rather ditch all the formalities together (beach wedding, anyone?), why not serve ice cream sundaes? Of course, if you’re not ready to throw the cake out with the bathwater, you could always have a smaller version of your wedding cake for show, and then have a sumptuous dessert buffet. That way mom stays happy (hey, maybe she is paying for it), but you still get to eat tiramisu. 

Think outside the box

While wedding cake in the US means a big frosted cake, you and your fiance can show off your world knowledge—or celebrate your own cultural tradition—with wedding cake ideas from around the world. In France, traditional weddings are always capped off with a croquembouche, which is a large tower of puff pastry balls held together with toffee and decorated with small flowers or ribbons. Each of the little pastries is filled with cream or custard, and each guest breaks off a ball as a souvenir. In the British Isles and Carribbean, traditional couples celebrate the day with a rich dense fruit cake, while in Scandinavia many couples serve spettekake, a mildly sweet cake that is baked rotisserie style over an open flame. In East Asia, couples serve huge multilayered sponge cake covered in white frosting and candied fruits. If an actual cake is too expensive, couples  sometimes display a dummy cake, made out of plaster or wax, as a symbolic way to celebrate their love.