Choosing your wedding cake can be overwhelming and just plain confusing - from the shape, the size, color, decorations, and the flavor, there are so many options.
Your wedding cake will serve as one of your centerpieces for your wedding and trying to decide may feel like an unattainable task, but knowing your likes and dislikes ahead of time will help you in your decision, along with a few other tips in creating not only a beautiful, but also, a tasty treat for you and your guest.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Know your wedding colors
Look at the style of your wedding gown - fabric, beading and other embellishments
What are your flowers and colors?
When is your wedding (during what season)?
How much are you willing to spend on your cake? (the more detail, unique fresh flowers, and changes from the “traditional”, the more cost)
Think about your reception venue location for delivery
What size serving are you offering to your guest?
Do you want to keep the top of your cake for your first anniversary celebration?
What type of flavors do you want for your cake?
What type of frosting do you want?
Your cake will be based on the number of guest to cake tiers or layers. Most cakes are able to be made according to your desired number of servings with some modifications. Remember to takes take you color swatches with you to show examples of colors, beading and crystals. Bring along photos of wedding cakes that you like and other decorations for your wedding along with your choice of flowers.
Unique wedding cakes can be pieces range from artistry, conversation pieces, to reflect the style and personality of the couple. You may want to have a wedding cake that incorporates your heritage or ethnic background, or even a cake that reflects a family tradition or heirloom.
Flavors and Fillings
A traditional wedding cake is usually white with white butter cream frosting. Unique wedding cakes can be as simple as choosing new and different flavors and fillings. You may just want to create different flavors for the different tiers. For a Spring wedding, lemon or lemon poppy seed cake with a lemon mouse filling can be a light and wonderful alternative to white cake. For Summer weddings, whipped toppings and in season berries may be something different, as well as unique flavors like coconut and fillings of pineapple, mango or key lime. Fall may bring cake flavors of carrot, spice or nut with cream cheese, maple, orange, toffee or other fillings. For a Winter wedding you may want chocolate, white chocolate, red velvet with fillings of amaretto, cappuccino, chocolate, fudge, hazelnut or custards.
Design and Frosting
There are many choices of frosting, shape, and design. You want your wedding cake to taste delicious, and you will want a special and beautiful presentation as well. Fondant frostings result in a hard, smooth finish, while butter cream frosting is more pliable and works well for lattice and textured finishes.
If you are to choose a unique wedding cake design, you may have fun with different flavors of cakes, colors of frosting, cakes with hand painted or airbrushed designs, a topsy-turvy cake, specific shaped cakes - such as a cornucopia for a Fall wedding, a Christmas tree tower for Winter or a cake that resembles flower pots for Spring or Summer weddings.
Embellishment and Presentation
The embellishment and presentation is also part of creating unique wedding cakes. Marzipan, gum paste, candy clay, and pastillage can all be used to create edible embellishments on your wedding cake. Iridescent powders, lace, basket weave, or latticework designs, blown sugar pearls or jewels, and unique cake texturing can all create individualized looks for your cake. You may want fresh of sugared fruits, fountain cake stands, candles, or surround your cake with miniature look-a-like cakes.
Wedding Cake Alternatives
For something different than a wedding cake, you may want to use an alternative for a sweet ending to your special day. You may consider a tiered presentation of cupcakes, donuts, frosted cookies, an ice-cream wedding cake, cheesecake or mini cheesecakes, individual miniature cakes, chocolate fondue or a chocolate fountain with fresh fruits, cream puffs, petite fours, custards, puddings, tiramisu, a buffet with miniature desserts, or even a whimsical presentation of funnel cakes.
You will choose a single tier to several tiers along with the shape of round, oval, square, hexagon or a mixture. Know ahead of time what type of wedding cake topper you want, and most importantly, sample your flavors. Also keep in mind of food allergies - not everyone can eat nuts or poppy seeds. You do want your cake to reflect your wedding but you also want your guest to enjoy it.
So, after all this talk about cake, it‘s sounding pretty good! I think I’d better get busy and bake myself one.
Wishes,
Amy
Cake Photograph Left to Right:
Top Row: Maggie Austin - Washington, DC http://maggieaustincake.com, Cosmic Confections - Boulder, CO http://www.bestboulderweddings.com/cosmic-confections-denver/5a3fcae72d503dac-page1.html, The Cake Maker - San Francisco, CA http://www.cakemaker.net/home.html,
Second Row: Pink Box Cake - Denville, NJ http://www.pinkcakebox.com/, Peggy Porschen, Belgravia, London http://www.peggyporschen.com/weddings/weddings.asp, Sweetie Pies - Napa, CA http://sweetiepies.com/, http://weddingdella.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/square-wedding-cakes.jpg,
Bottom Row: Mirabella Confections - Grand Rapids, MI http://www.mirabellaconfections.com/index.html, Cakes By Kate - Grand Rapids, MI http://cakesbykate.net/, Patisserie Bechler, Pacific Grove, CA http://patisseriebechler.com/, Classic Confections, Kansas City, KS http://www.pbkansascity.com/listings.php?category=15
Your wedding cake will serve as one of your centerpieces for your wedding and trying to decide may feel like an unattainable task, but knowing your likes and dislikes ahead of time will help you in your decision, along with a few other tips in creating not only a beautiful, but also, a tasty treat for you and your guest.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Know your wedding colors
Look at the style of your wedding gown - fabric, beading and other embellishments
What are your flowers and colors?
When is your wedding (during what season)?
How much are you willing to spend on your cake? (the more detail, unique fresh flowers, and changes from the “traditional”, the more cost)
Think about your reception venue location for delivery
What size serving are you offering to your guest?
Do you want to keep the top of your cake for your first anniversary celebration?
What type of flavors do you want for your cake?
What type of frosting do you want?
Your cake will be based on the number of guest to cake tiers or layers. Most cakes are able to be made according to your desired number of servings with some modifications. Remember to takes take you color swatches with you to show examples of colors, beading and crystals. Bring along photos of wedding cakes that you like and other decorations for your wedding along with your choice of flowers.
Unique wedding cakes can be pieces range from artistry, conversation pieces, to reflect the style and personality of the couple. You may want to have a wedding cake that incorporates your heritage or ethnic background, or even a cake that reflects a family tradition or heirloom.
Flavors and Fillings
A traditional wedding cake is usually white with white butter cream frosting. Unique wedding cakes can be as simple as choosing new and different flavors and fillings. You may just want to create different flavors for the different tiers. For a Spring wedding, lemon or lemon poppy seed cake with a lemon mouse filling can be a light and wonderful alternative to white cake. For Summer weddings, whipped toppings and in season berries may be something different, as well as unique flavors like coconut and fillings of pineapple, mango or key lime. Fall may bring cake flavors of carrot, spice or nut with cream cheese, maple, orange, toffee or other fillings. For a Winter wedding you may want chocolate, white chocolate, red velvet with fillings of amaretto, cappuccino, chocolate, fudge, hazelnut or custards.
Design and Frosting
There are many choices of frosting, shape, and design. You want your wedding cake to taste delicious, and you will want a special and beautiful presentation as well. Fondant frostings result in a hard, smooth finish, while butter cream frosting is more pliable and works well for lattice and textured finishes.
If you are to choose a unique wedding cake design, you may have fun with different flavors of cakes, colors of frosting, cakes with hand painted or airbrushed designs, a topsy-turvy cake, specific shaped cakes - such as a cornucopia for a Fall wedding, a Christmas tree tower for Winter or a cake that resembles flower pots for Spring or Summer weddings.
Embellishment and Presentation
The embellishment and presentation is also part of creating unique wedding cakes. Marzipan, gum paste, candy clay, and pastillage can all be used to create edible embellishments on your wedding cake. Iridescent powders, lace, basket weave, or latticework designs, blown sugar pearls or jewels, and unique cake texturing can all create individualized looks for your cake. You may want fresh of sugared fruits, fountain cake stands, candles, or surround your cake with miniature look-a-like cakes.
Wedding Cake Alternatives
For something different than a wedding cake, you may want to use an alternative for a sweet ending to your special day. You may consider a tiered presentation of cupcakes, donuts, frosted cookies, an ice-cream wedding cake, cheesecake or mini cheesecakes, individual miniature cakes, chocolate fondue or a chocolate fountain with fresh fruits, cream puffs, petite fours, custards, puddings, tiramisu, a buffet with miniature desserts, or even a whimsical presentation of funnel cakes.
You will choose a single tier to several tiers along with the shape of round, oval, square, hexagon or a mixture. Know ahead of time what type of wedding cake topper you want, and most importantly, sample your flavors. Also keep in mind of food allergies - not everyone can eat nuts or poppy seeds. You do want your cake to reflect your wedding but you also want your guest to enjoy it.
So, after all this talk about cake, it‘s sounding pretty good! I think I’d better get busy and bake myself one.
Wishes,
Amy
Cake Photograph Left to Right:
Top Row: Maggie Austin - Washington, DC http://maggieaustincake.com, Cosmic Confections - Boulder, CO http://www.bestboulderweddings.com/cosmic-confections-denver/5a3fcae72d503dac-page1.html, The Cake Maker - San Francisco, CA http://www.cakemaker.net/home.html,
Second Row: Pink Box Cake - Denville, NJ http://www.pinkcakebox.com/, Peggy Porschen, Belgravia, London http://www.peggyporschen.com/weddings/weddings.asp, Sweetie Pies - Napa, CA http://sweetiepies.com/, http://weddingdella.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/square-wedding-cakes.jpg,
Bottom Row: Mirabella Confections - Grand Rapids, MI http://www.mirabellaconfections.com/index.html, Cakes By Kate - Grand Rapids, MI http://cakesbykate.net/, Patisserie Bechler, Pacific Grove, CA http://patisseriebechler.com/, Classic Confections, Kansas City, KS http://www.pbkansascity.com/listings.php?category=15
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