Wedding cakes today come in different sizes, shapes, designs, and flavors. The wedding cake design can be both fun and delicious and it should be something that would fit your venue setting and theme. Today, most of the wedding cakes are layer cakes with tiers. These tiers are separated using cake plates or dowel rods.
If you’re thinking about what style of cake would suit your wedding theme, here are some of the major styles of wedding cakes.
Traditional Cakes
Traditional wedding cakes are either round or square tiered cake with white or cream icing. They are also often designed with white piped details and some flower decorations. In America and England, traditional wedding cakes are usually fruitcakes, because they are harder and it’s not needed to be refrigerated. Though traditional cakes are white, different fillings and flavors can also be added to them such as chocolate, Italian rum, and Italian cream which are the popular choices.
Contemporary Wedding Cakes
Contemporary wedding cakes are also known as modern wedding cakes. These cakes have angles that look cleaner compared to around wedding cake. In traditional cakes, you can only choose one shape for the whole cake. Contemporary wedding cakes, on the other hand, can contain different shapes like squares and hexagons which gives the cake a modern edge. Some even mix more than three shapes to create a fancy and quirky look for the cake.
Wedding Cake Flavors
An important part of the wedding cake style is its flavor. It’s better if you’ll choose a cake flavor that is both your favorites. However, if you both love exotic flavors, you should also think of your guests if they’ll love it as well. Another is you should also match the cake flavor to your reception menu. The main course should complement the dessert which is the wedding cake.
Wedding Cake Icing
Another thing that adds style to the wedding cake is the icing. More than giving the cake a sweet taste, the icing is also used to decorate it. Here are the different types of icing.
Royal Icing:
This type of icing is made of egg whites and confectioner’s sugar. When it dries, the icing will become hard. It’s difficult to cover the whole cake using royal icing but it can be used to create decorations such as small flowers, beads, piping, and polka dots.
Fondant:
This is a popular icing choice for wedding cakes especially when the reception will be held outdoors. It is made of sugar, corn syrup, glycerin, and gelatin. Fondant icing is rolled out into a flat sheet which is placed over the cake to give it a smooth and clean finish.
Marzipan:
This icing is made of hardened almond paste and sugar. It is used as icing but is mainly used in creating shapes such as figurines as wedding cake toppers. It can also be painted with food coloring which can add up to the style of your wedding cake.
Buttercream:
Most people love this icing flavor. It is made of butter, cream, sugar, and other flavors you’d like to mix it with like vanilla. This icing is soft and creamy. It can be easily spread on the cake. However, if the reception would be outdoors, using buttercream icing is not advisable because heat can easily melt it.
Wedding Cake Alternatives
If you’re not into traditional wedding cakes or contemporary wedding cakes, there are also some alternatives to choose from.
Fake Cake:
Some only use foam to create a fake cake and only a portion of it contains real cake which the couple will cut and share with each other. In some weddings, the cake isn’t served to the guests, that’s why other couples choose to have a fake cake instead so it wouldn’t go to waste.
Sheet Cake:
Having a sheet cake for your wedding would work if you’re expecting only a few guests. However, having a fake cake and serving a sheet cake will not cost cheaper compared to getting a traditional or contemporary cake. In fact, they might just cost the same.
Cupcakes:
It is also popular today to use cupcakes instead of baking a whole wedding cake. Cupcakes can also be formed in layers and they are easier to serve because there’s no need to slice them.
There are indeed lots of wedding cake styles to choose from. In fact, you can even design one yourself. A wedding cake, more than an added decoration to a wedding reception, is something that symbolizes the couple’s love for one another.