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A wedding cake is a showpiece. A symbol. If
you are like me, my wedding cake is something that I know I'll remember forever.
The traditional wedding cake is a three- tiered
vanilla confection with white icing, a miniature bride and bridegroom on top and
lots of buttercream roses. But, cakes today are much more creative and a
personal expression of style and come in a variety of shapes, flavors and
decorations.
What is the origin of a wedding cake? The
book,
Wedding Cakes and Cultural History, by
Simon R. Charsley and William Woys Weaver goes into great detail on the history
of the modern wedding cake and its origins in England less than 150 years ago.
The wedding cake as we know it today had its origins some hundred years later,
in a confection that commemorated the marriage of one of Queen Victoria's
daughters in 1859. The layers were stacked like hat boxes.It would take another 20 years before the tiers were separated by columns - usually disgused pieces of a broom handle!
Today's wedding cake evolved from there!
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Another popular wedding cake option is having mini-cakes or a cupcake tree.
Dozens of sweetly decorated cakes are stacked and arranged
on a prefabricated template
found on
http://www.cupcaketree.com.
See photo on:
http://amycakes.com/weddingcake4.htm
If you're short on money,
have a cupcake
baking and
decorating bachelorette party the night before to make enough to
fill the tree with! (Or, buy cupcakes already made and decorate from
there...) |
Make sure you get the best-quality cake if possible. Use all-natural and high quality ingredients.
Picking the perfect wedding cake is a matter of preference.
Do you like the elegance of a round,
stacked cake or the stylish sophistication of different shapes ?
Using different shapes and
different heights of layers, sometimes mixing and matching in one cake are
becoming more popular. Common are cakes with different
layers for their wedding cakes - such as carrot, lemon poppyseed and orange.
Instead of one main wedding cake, some brides
are having an individual cake placed at each place-setting.
Cakes can be arranged in many different styles. They can be
stacked, pillared, staggered, with fountains or on beautiful cake stands.
(How
to Assemble Tiers).
 Schedule
for a making a decorated wedding cake for a
Saturday Wedding: Wednesday, I remove cakes from freezer and let
thaw, covered, all night on the countertop. Thursday morning I
crumb coat them. Then later
in the day I frost them, or it could wait until Friday, to
frost and
decorate. |
Wedding cakes
can be covered in a variety of
icings and filled with many filling choices. The two most popular
choices for icing are Buttercream
and Fondant. My chart shows
many of the filling and frosting choices that are best used in different
settings, such as an indoor or outdooor summer wedding.
The size of a wedding cake is determined by the
shape of the cake. For example, a 14-inch round cake will serve 75 to 80, while
a 14-inch square cake will serve 80 to 100.
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Typical
Icings, Coverings, Decorations etc. (more
information) - Always
test before you use on a cake. |
A Note About Whipped Cream Frosting (and Fillings):
A whipped cream frosting on a wedding cake is so beautiful, BUT use it ONLY
if the cake will be out of the refrigerator for a short time. Whipped cream
frosting won't last long out especially during a summer, outdoor wedding -
so you'd need a place to store the cake prior to the wedding (a refrigerator
with lots of room), then pull it out and assemble it in time to serve it. I
don't think I'd even let it stand during the length of a typical reception -
the two to three hours it takes to seat and serve dinner to everyone could
easily spoil such a delicate frosting and make someone sick.
If you still select a whipped cream frosting, be sure to
use one with a stabilizer (gelatin or piping gel) so it won't melt easily.
The Stabilized Whipped Cream
Icing holds up better than plain whipped cream, but it still needs
refrigeration.
If you really want a light and fluffy frosting, here's a
good one: Tami's Buttercream
Frosting Recipe. (I would test any icing you select before you
decide to frost an entire cake.)
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Additional Items |
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Equipment Rentals (fountains,
columns, etc. |
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Buttercream and Rolled
Buttercream:
Buttercream is a smooth, creamy icing that stays
soft so it's easy to cut through. It can be colored or flavored and used to
create piping, swags and other borders, as well as decorative rosettes. It
can be used as filling, too. Because it's base is butter, though, it may
melt in extreme heat or humidity. It becomes
soft at 80 degrees F, and will actually melt at 89 degrees F. (And, fresh
flowers will wilt easily.)
Tami's Buttercream Frosting Recipe tends to hold up well the more
shortening you use. |
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Rolled Fondant:
Fondant is a
sweet, elastic icing made of sugar, corn syrup and gelatin that's literally
rolled out with a rolling pin and draped over a cake,
where it is pressed into place and trimmed.
It's a smooth, firm base for gum paste flowers, decorative details and
architectural designs, and has a porcelain finish. The taste, however, is an
acquired one. |
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Royal Icing:
Is
a soft paste piped from a pastry bag to create latticework, beading, bows
and flowers. It dries very hard and decorations will last forever if
properly stored. |
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Marzipan:
Marzipan is made of almond paste
and has been used for centuries all over the world. It can be rolled to
cover cakes with, used in recipes and made into colorful and flavorful
decorations. It has to have at least 25 % almonds otherwise it is considered
almond paste. |
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Sugar
/ Gum Paste: An icing sugar and gum based paste, also
referred to as Pastillage or roll-out icing. Use for covering cakes and for
modeling, especially flowers. |
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Crystallized or Fresh Edible
Flowers |
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If
baking your own wedding cake, make
the layers of the cake a couple of days in advance and freeze.
An example of a schedule for a making a decorated cake for a Saturday
Wedding: Wednesday, remove cakes from freezer and let thaw in
their wrappers. On Thursday morning, fill and
crumb coat the layers. Cover.
Then frost and
decorate on Friday.
However, if you have to frost your cake ahead of time with
buttercream, it's ok. The cake will stay fresher iced than wrapped in
plastic wrap, anyway. I've iced cakes as far as four days in advance and
they stayed fresh until I could finish decorating them later. But, the cake
has to be a moist cake to begin with. |
And just where do groom's cakes fit in? The
groom's cake, now making a comeback is a gift from the bride. It is displayed
next to the wedding cake and sometimes served along with it.
It can be made in different shapes, a popular being an armadillo.
Decorations are what people see first. Here's where you can be creative.
Some examples are:
Decorating with edible,
fresh flowers are naturally beautiful, perfect for any wedding.
Sugared fruits and candied
flowers add sparkle to any cake, making them ideal for evening or formal
weddings.
Fondant
and marzipan can be draped,
painted, colored and molded to fulfill even the most whimsical fantasies.
Gum paste flowers can be
quite beautiful and look real.
Royal Icing is frequently used to
pipe designs on the
cake with. Click to find more decorating
ideas.
HOW TO DECORATE
A WEDDING CAKE WITH REAL
FLOWERS: You can decorate with
crystallized edible flowers
(and/or fruit), made in advance, or use
fresh edible flowers. Either way, ask your florist for those that
haven't been sprayed with pesticides (or gather some from your yard that are
organic). (NOTE: Lily of the Valley and
others are toxic. Check this chart for a
List of Safe and Edible Flowers).
There are different ways to decorate with edible flowers:
1. Place flowers directly on the cake.
To keep them fresh by the time you serve the cake,
cut a 3" piece from a drinking straw. Bend one end up and tape it. Then fill the
straw 3/4 full with water and stick the flower stem in. Arrange the flowers on
the cake.
Wilton, a cake decorating resource, makes already made flower holders
that are hidden in the cake.
| If you
are low on money, I suggest you order a special small
cake with all the bells and whistles for the wedding party. Keep it on
display. Then, order a sheet cake without the decorative items to serve the
rest of the guests. The sheet cake tastes just as good but costs a lot less.
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2. Place flowers in the space between the cake tiers.
| In most cases,
prospective brides should place their order at least two months ahead of
time to achieve the cake of their dreams. Of course, if the ceremony is
scheduled for a popular wedding month such as May or June, it’s wise to
order as far in advance as possible.
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Using fresh flowers also means that you MUST get together with
the florist and discuss delivery times. A cake is usually set up the morning of
the wedding, even if the reception is for the evening and you want the flowers
to be fresh. Your florist will help you decided when they should be delivered
for your event.
Store cakes covered with perishable fillings and
frosting in the refrigerator. A
Fondant covered cake can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days. (More about cake storage).
| The tradition of freezing the
top tier of the wedding cake to share on your first anniversary is an
old one, but there are several things to keep in mind when freezing a
cake. Here are
some tips.
To
Freeze: Place top tier of cake in freezer unwrapped for 5-6 hours
so any decorations can set. Then, cover with plastic
wrap, foil and place in an airtight container to avoid freezer burn. To
Defrost: Remove from freezer at least 12 hours before serving.
Let thaw in its wrappers so condensation forms on them and not the cake.
Wedding cake by kelley. For more information,
click here.
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Large cakes should be transported in pieces rather than
the whole stacked cake at once. Put each tier in its own sturdy box. If you have
any delicate decorations, do not put them on until you reach your destination.
And, always take a repair kit with you if there are last minute touch-ups
required.When transporting a cake, shade it from the sun. I made a
wedding cake which had to be transported about an hour's drive away. I had it in
the back of a van, which, of course, has many big windows. The color in the
flowers on the side facing the back window faded in the sun. By the time we
arrived, there were two very distinct sides to that cake!
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Wedding Cake Terms
and Wedding Cake
Questions & Answers
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