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A delightful and delicious cake caps
off a wonderful wedding and offers yet
another way to show your personal style.
There are as many cake designs as there
are wedding gowns, and it pays to do your
research before making a choice.
Variety is the spice of life and there are
certainly a wide variety of flavors available
in the wedding cake market. Gone are the
days of the cake that is white inside and
out. Contemporary cakes come in flavors
ranging from carrot and lemon sponge to
chocolate mousse with mocha filling, and
ice cream cakes, fruit basket cakes…..the
choices are limitless. If you have a favorite
cake, chances are, those flavors can be integrated
into your wedding celebration.
As for design, your imagination
certainly seems to be the limit for how
your wedding cake will look. Some of the
most popular choices are white chocolate,
cream cheese and traditional butter cream
frosting—either white or colored. Rolled
fondant is a popular choice because of its
elegant, smooth porcelain-like look and
the ease with which confectioners can
sculpt it. Sugar paste flowers and othe decorations make the modern wedding
cake a true expression of who the two of
you are. Bakers today have become true
artists when it comes to decorating your
wedding cake.
While the round tiered cake is still the
most popular, many couples are opting
for more creative interpretations of the
wedding cake. Square or hexagonal cakes
make a stunning impression, as do those
with overall patterns. Bands of color, ribbon
and even gemstones are making a big
splash in the wedding cake market.
If theme is an important aspect of your
wedding, ask your baker to incorporate
some of those design elements into your
cake as well. Asian themes, bright colors,
filigree designs, even custom “artwork” on
a wedding cake are all possibilities.
On the other hand, many couples are
mixing things up and offering other desserts
in addition to their wedding cake.
Others are opting for a dessert bar stocked
with family favorites, impressive towers
of cupcakes, cookies, chocolate fountains,
even s’mores.
Select ing a Baker
When selecting a bakery, find one that specializes in
wedding cakes. Ask for references from friends, hotels,
reception sites, bridal consultants and other wedding professionals.
If your favorite bakery is in another town, ask
about shipping. Many couture bakeries are now offering
delivery of wedding cakes within a specified distance.
Most bakeries will offer you a book of photographs
showing some of their previous designs, and will let you
sample some of the most popular flavors. Bringing photographs
or color swatches of elements you’d like to incorporate
into your design will help. If you don’t see what you
have in mind, discuss your ideas with your baker. Likewise,
if you would like to incorporate a cake topper into the
design, share this information with your baker from the
beginning.
Aside from design and flavor, the baker will need to
know how many guests will be served. Be sure to ask about
cake sizes, delivery charges, payment schedules and deposits
during your meeting. You might also discuss ways to
economize, such as false layers, ordering a smaller decorative
cake and serving some of your guests from a separate
sheet cake. As the cakes are often cut for serving away from
the guests, most will not know which pieces came from the
tiered cake and which came from a same-flavor sheet cake.
Bakers today have become
true artists when it comes
to decorating your
wedding cake.
The flowers may bring the romance to your event, your gown
may make you feel like queen for the day, but the wedding dessert
can certainly bring the wow factor to your reception.
Some of our favorite cakes this year include those in nontraditional
colors, such as these stunning orange and pink
confections shown here. How about the garden of delights that
results when a creative baker adorns a cake with realistic looking
sugar paste flowers? We’ve drawn inspiration here from some
magnificent creations in Sedona, San Francisco, and right here
in Phoenix.
Replicating a pattern from the bride’s wedding dress or the
table décor brings the event theme to the forefront. Monograms
and cake jewels also take a cake from plain to spectacular.
We have seen wedding cakes adorned with flowers, sea shells,
peacock feathers, favorite candies, even cookies fashioned to
resemble tiny Venetian mardi gras masks. Dream a little dream
and, together with the right baker, you’ll have a wonderful
creation to cap off your wedding reception.
It is a long-held tradition to save the top tier of the wedding cake
for the couple to enjoy on their first anniversary. Many couples
arrange for the wait staff at the reception site to remove this tier
before they begin serving the guests. Often a friend or relative
will take the cake to the couple’s home and place it in the freezer.
Other couples like the sentiment of this tradition but would
rather have a fresh cake. Those couple usually ask the baker to
make a new small cake for their first-anniversary celebration.
cake courtesy of:
Sedona Cake Couture
Tammie Coe Cakes
Sedona Sweet Arts
Honey Moon Sweets |
