Ah, the wedding cake. You’d be surprised at how many choices there are and how much you thought you knew about cakes. Here’s a quick primer to help you out. Your choices will be defined by your taste, style and necessity (like an indoor vs. outdoor wedding).
It’s also important to realize that the quality of ingredients used vary from one baker to the next. For example, butter cream icing is made with butter although some bakers will substitute shortening. You can imagine how this effects the taste. Make sure you schedule a tasting and if you don’t like what you taste, it may not be that you don’t like butter cream or lemon cream filling or white cake, it may be that they are using inferior ingredients.
ELEMENTS OF A CAKE
Layers – Every wedding cake is made of several layers of cake, with filling in between each layer.
Filling – The good stuff in between the cake layers. Often made from a fruit or cream base, with flavors ranging the gamut of your imagination. Popular filings are lemon cream, ganache or raspberry. Or go with something different like peanut butter, pistachio or pumpkin cream.
Tier – Tiers consist of one or two layers of cake, with the base (bottom) tier being the largest and the top tier being the smallest. Tiered cakes range from two tiers to five or more tiers.
ICING
Butter Cream – Classic wedding cake icing, made almost entirely of butter. Buttercream is easily colored and flavored and works well for piping. Buttercream will melt in warm temperatures, so be sure to inform your baker of your outdoor wedding plans. Buttercream is preferred over fondant for it’s flavor.
Fondant – Made of corn syrup and gelatin it’s rolled thin and draped over cake to create a smooth texture that’s perfect for adding intricate details. While fondant is beautiful it is not the most desired in taste or texture. It has a somewhat flat flavor and is gummy. It holds up well in warm temps, making it a good choice for outdoor weddings.
Ganache – A rich combination of chocolate and heavy cream. Ganache is sometimes used as icing but due to it’s chocolate color it’s less popular. It is used often for groom’s cakes though.
Whipped Cream – This is the same whipped cream that we all know - heavy cream that’s whipped until soft peaks form. Although I include this, it’s generally not recommended for wedding cakes because of how delicate it is. Whipped cream has to be refrigerated until just before cutting, which means no one really sees your cake.
DECORATIONS
Meringue – Made of whipped egg whites and sugar that creates a dried foam-like texture. Meringue can also be used as icing.
Marzipan – an Italian almond paste, made with egg whites and plenty of sugar. Marzipan can also be used as icing.
Gum Paste – Made of gelatin, cornstarch and sugar, gum paste is, as its name suggests, gummy and pasty making it perfect for creating realistic and edible decorations like flowers. Cake designers that are well-known for their intricate creations, like Sylvia Weinstock, are fans of gum paste.
Pulled Sugar – The product of reducing sugar and corn syrup to a thick, malleable syrup that can be formed into any shape you’d like. When dried, it’s smooth and so shiny.
Royal Icing – Made of egg whites and powdered sugar, and sometimes lemon juice. Similar to meringue, except it’s not whipped to create a stiff foam. Royal icing creates a hard white icing with a glossy finish.
Photo credit: Ohana Photographers
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