Wedding Cake Designs
There are so many choices for wedding cakes. The options are as daunting (almost) as those for choosing your gown. Some brides are even having their cake fashioned after their gown, invitation or wedding theme.
Cake Flavors
The choices here could be endless. It’s more than just plain white — there are yellow, yellow marble, white, white marble, chocolate, Red Velvet, plain pound, lemon pound, cream cheese pound. Consider having two flavors to please any picky guests.
Cake Filling
The cake is usually two layers with a standard icing between these layers. Instead of the icing, you can choose fruit jams, liqueurs, custards, or mousses. The flavors of these fillings include raspberry, strawberry, orange, lemon, lime, mango, coffee, mocha, chai, cappuccino, ginger, coconut, peppermint, chocolate mint, or caramel, to name a few. Just keep in mind, that unless you want to eat a lot of cake after your honeymoon, your favorite flavor may not be appealing to everyone coming to your wedding.
The Icing
The icing can be the traditional buttercream, whipped cream, or meringue icing. Rolled fondant cakes are becoming popular. The fondant icing is rolled out and then draped on the cake to provide a smooth looking finish. While this option looks wonderful, ask for a sample of this cake before ordering this pricey alternative. The flavor may not be what you are looking for.
Traditionally, the icing is white, but brides are also choosing to match their wedding colors and themes, or going with an ivory color. An option is to choose the base color to be white, and have it decorated in other colors.
The Decoration
It used to be that the cake was topped with miniature bride and groom. The options have broadened to using fresh flowers, themed toppers to match your wedding them, monogrammed cake topper, or even a topper that matches the couple’s interests.
The Construction
Most wedding cakes are stacked with each layer getting smaller, building a tower. There are so many variations to this. The traditional shape is round, but some could be hexagon, or square. Square cakes can be arranged with the edges altered, giving a contemporary look. You could have the base layer square, with the other layers as round. Columns between the layers are an option, but not used as much.
Some are forgoing the layers and using individual cakes on pretty cake stands. Or have cupcakes arranged on a cupcake tower. Adorn them with flowers, greenery, bows and it will be pretty as a button.
Some bakers are creating individual cakes. As this trend has been used in many famous weddings and is more labor intensive, be prepared to pay more for this.