Brides Letter on Choosing Your Wedding Cake

Once you decide to get married your life becomes filled with an endless list of things to do. And one of those things is choosing the perfect wedding cake. A wedding cake is an edible work of art and the centerpiece of any wedding reception. Intended for the enjoyment of your guests, your wedding cake is a perfect reflection of your unique style, taste and personality. A beautiful cake makes a wonderful first impression, but it is the flavor and quality that your guests will remember for years to come. Many couples wait until all the other planning is completed before they start thinking about the cake. But the longer you wait, the harder it will be to find a really good cake decorator or designer. Many book months to a year in advance. Many specialty cake decorators limit the number of wedding cakes they do each week, while bakeries have a larger staff and can do a larger quantity of cakes. So start searching for the perfect cake decorator well in advance of your wedding date.

Please consider that Wednesday through Saturday are very hectic for baking, decorating and delivering weekend wedding cakes, so please call well ahead of your wedding day.

Call cake decorators and bakeries in your area to check for their availability for your wedding date. If you date is available, make an appointment to go in and see their design and skill levels of the decorators. Ask prospective cake artists if samples of the cake flavors will be available for you to taste when you visit. Don’t be surprised when your decorator asks you for a substantial deposit that may be up to 50 percent of the total price to reserve the date for you. The remainder to be paid 2 weeks to 3 months before your wedding date. This protects both of you, the cake decorator knows her costs will be covered and you know that your cake will be ready on your wedding date. Also be aware that you will often be required to leave a deposit on any equipment that belongs to the cake artist. If you don’t return plates, fountains, etc., they’ll have to be replaced at the decorators cost and time. Be sure that you are clear about these polices.

Choosing your design. Today’s bride has more options than ever before. Bridal magazines show some wonderful stylish, unique and creative wedding cakes. Take pictures of the cakes that you like to show the decorator the styles you are interested in. The decorator should have books, magazines and photo albums for you to see. If you get your heart set on one particular beautiful cake, you may find it difficult to fine a decorator in your area who can duplicate that specific cake, particularly if you have a limited budget. There are wonderful individual sugar artists around the country who have their own styles and creative ways of decorating a cake. They might even have a cake design you like better than the one you found in the magazine, or be able to adapt the design to something that works for both of you. If you find the design you want is to complicated for the decorator, they may be able to refer you to someone else.

The Taste of Cake. You have picked a beautiful design for your wedding cake. You don’t want to be surprised by a bland, coarse or dry cake at your wedding. You want a cake that is flavorful, moist and delicious to eat. Ask friends who have attended recent weddings about how the wedding cake tasted. Then ask prospective cake artists or bakeries if samples of the cake flavor will be available for you to taste when you visit. If not, consider purchasing a birthday cake from the individual or bakery before you hire them to make your special wedding cake. Some decorators offer monthly cake tasting. There is usually a small charge for this. Check to see what is available in your area.

Be considerate of your guests. Things like seeds and coconut in fruit fillings can be difficult for some people to eat.

Choosing Your Icing. Choices for covering your wedding cake are numerous. Each icing has its own special qualities. The most popular icing for wedding cakes in the United States is Buttercream. Buttercream icing is made with butter or shortening or a butter and shortening base. It has a very sweet taste and can be used for covering, filling and decorating cakes, and is therefore a very versatile icing. Another type of buttercream is Cream Cheese Buttercream, it is basically the same with cream cheese replacing some of the shortening.

Another type of icing that is being used more and more often is rolled fondant. This is a smooth icing that is rolled out and draped over the cake. It is then smoothed so that it conforms to the shape of the cake. The fondant covering the cake can be embossed with designs. Rolled fondant can also be used to make pressed and molded decorations for cakes. Usually white but also comes in chocolate. It can be blended with color or painted. While the outside of this icing will crust, the inside normally stays fairly soft when used to cover a cake. Rolled fondant is usually laid over a buttercream.

There are many other types of icings. For a less sweet, buttery flavor you could choose Swiss Meringue. There is also Rolled Buttercream, it is softer than rolled fondant. There is also French Buttercream, Ganache and others.

Depending on the look and taste you prefer, your decorator will be able to advise you on which icing will be appropriate for your cake design. Keep an open mind – some designs are simply incompatible with certain icings and or conditions.

Choosing Your Flowers. Choosing the right flowers for your wedding cake. There are many types, styles and techniques to choose from. Flowers can be made from buttercream, royal icing, gumpaste or chocolate. You can choose fresh or silk flowers.

Buttercream flowers can be piped right onto the cake or made ahead of time. This type of flower allows for easy cutting of the cake.

Royal Icing works better for deeply cupped flowers and may be a better choice if you are having many different types of flowers on your cake, since royal flowers can be made in advance. When dry they are light and crunchy and work well for cascades and top borders.

Gumpaste flowers can be quite beautiful and very realistic. If you choose to use gumpaste flowers be prepared to pay for the time it takes to make these exquisite work-of-art flowers. Gumpaste is sugar clay from which the flowers are hand formed, rolled, shaped, ruffled, and veined for realistic, porcelain like results. Then after the flowers are dry they are hand painted with food colors. This is a very time consuming process. Many sugar flowers are made on wires or toothpicks to achieve the desired look and arrangements so although the gumpaste itself is edible, the wires make the flowers dangerous to eat. Those wired and flowers with toothpicks MUST therefore be removed from the cake before it it’s served. Besides the realism, the advantage to using the gumpaste flowers is that after the wedding you can keep the flowers for a keepsake in an airtight container.

Silk flowers can be a wonderful way to decorate your wedding cake. They can be wired into sprays and arranged on the cake, or they can be arranged around the bottom of the cake. They work well for out-of-season flowers.

Fresh flowers on the wedding cake are becoming increasingly popular. They can be coordinated to match the wedding flowers and can be arranged in floral foam or wired into sprays and placed on the cake. Wired fresh flowers can also be draped down the side of the cake. If you are using fresh flowers on your wedding cake, consider that they have possibly been treated with insecticides and or preservative chemicals. Also, some flowers and greenery are naturally harmful if ingested, so select carefully. If you decide to use fresh flowers, know who is going to put those flowers on your cake and be sure they know about toxicity concerns. Don’t assume that you can just have the florist leave the flowers for the cake decorator. Many cake decorators have a very tight delivery schedule and simply do not have the extra time to do those flowers for you. You must ask for that service. You should also be prepared to pay the cake decorator an extra fee if you do want him or her to arrange the fresh flowers for you. If you choose to have the florist arrange those flowers on your cake, than you must inform the cake decorator of that decision.

Cost of your cake. Be prepared to pay for the decorator’s time. The more time involved and more complicated the cake design, the more you should be prepared to pay. Know your budget ahead of time. That will enable the decorator to help you choose wisely from his or her designs. Many cake decorators charge per serving and calculate the ingredients used and labor involved into that cost. Therefore, the more people your cake serves, the more expensive the cake will be. A dummy cake will usually cost the same amount to decorate as a cake that will be eaten because of the time involve in decorating it. Complicated designs, some lace patterns, gumpaste flowers etc. can make your cake more costly. However, the cost is often worthwhile, because having the perfect cake means both that you will be happy and that everyone at your reception will forever remember your cake.