The Wedding Cake
The wedding cake history has gone back to Romano days where a cake (not decorated) would be smashed over the head for the bride to represent fertilely. These days this is not something I recommend doing. In the U.K. the top tier is saved for the christening of the first born child but in North America, the top tier is frozen and then eaten on the one year anniversary. The cutting of the cake is to symbolise “togetherness” and this tends to be the first thing since saying “I Do” the couple will do together. The wedding cake is a very big part of your wedding day.
Now in the new millennium, wedding cakes come in all different shapes and sizes, from a small square cake with a spray of flowers to a very stylish French Croquembouch (pictured below right).
When choosing your wedding cake there is a few things you need to consider. Do you want to serve it as your dessert? How many tiers do you want? What style of wedding are you going for? How do you want your cake decorated? And set your self a realistic budget.
These days there is so much choice when it comes to wedding cakes. Traditionally a wedding cake used to be 3 tires on pillars with white royal icing and marzipan covering fruit cake. Now you can have a contemporary style of a stacked cake (one cake sitting one on the other) with colour fondant with gems, pearls and feathers. A more recent trend has been the fairy cakes and iced fondant cakes which look very good when there are a lot but can work out very expensive. Very en vogue now is the Croquembouch or what I call the “Chocolate Mouse Tower”. These are being served as a part of the wedding meal and look fantastic.
Ask your cake maker lots of question and give them ideas you like, so you can come up with something bespoke just for you. No two weddings are the same and nor should your wedding cake be.
Information & work shown by
Trevor Cruickshank of Cruickshank Cakes
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