Wedding cakes are vital to every couple’s big day. It’s considered as the reception’s centerpiece and an important part of traditional ceremonies. But in choosing your wedding cake, brides need to consider a lot of things in terms of size, flavor, and design. It must be stylish and photogenic enough for a seamless wedding decor. To help you know more about the planning that goes into wedding cakes, here are some of the answers to FAQs about wedding cakes:
#1 What are the different wedding terms every bride should be familiar with?
Consultations may be a little tricky, especially with some never-heard jargon. Here’s a starter pack to get you started:
Fondant
This is a type of icing that leaves a smooth outer surface. We highly recommend this option if you will have an outdoor reception, especially during summer. This medium also allows your cake artist to be more adventurous with your cake design since it is a lot sturdier than buttercream. We make a fresh batch of fondant for our cakes out of marshmallows and premium fine powdered sugar.
Buttercream
For non-fondant lovers, we got you covered. Buttercream is made from high quality unsalted butter and meringue. It has a silky feel and is a favorite for rustic themes. Buttercream cakes is best for air conditioned venues.
Ganache
This is a mixture of cream and chocolate. This can be white, milk, or dark chocolate ganache. It is also what truffles are made of. The couple can opt to have ganache as their cake finish if they want another alternative. This is sturdier than buttercream. As for us, all our fondant cakes are coated with a generous amount of ganache before covering with marshmallow fondant.
#2 What are the most popular cake designs?
Cake designs have evolved a lot over the years. From having the all-white traditional cakes, now, wedding cakes have become more colorful and personal. They now tell a story. Cake designs that are popular with quirky couples are ombre, watercolor, hand painted cakes. Some of those may come with their customized figures. For a more classic and elegant theme, sugar flowers never disappoint. Textured buttercream with foliage is also becoming a big thing. Others go for a minimalist look, and have a monochromatic cake, often muted or pastel in color, and opt for a monogram topper, or a single sugar flower statement piece.
#3 What is the ideal cake size? How do you determine the slice and guest ratio?
Cake serving and ratio can get a little complex, but if well-coordinated with your cake supplier, it will be a breeze. Our standard wedding cake serving size per guest is 1″x2″x3″ (LxWxH). This is a perfect size for the guests to savor the flavor of your wedding cake. We do not want the guests to be too full with it, especially that there’s still a whole lot of food waiting to be served.
The shape of your cake will also contribute to the number of servings. Square cakes yield more servings as compared to round cakes, hence they might be a bit more expensive. If you are expecting to serve 200 guests, I’d recommend a three tier 8″, 10″, 12″.
For an all-edible four tier cake, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″ is enough for 200 guests. Party-size cake serving size is about three to four bites.
#4 If the couple does not want a whole cake, what are the alternatives?
Modern times have paved the way for a lot of creativity when it comes to wedding cakes and cake-cutting ceremonies. I’ve particularly noticed that couples don’t aim for a grand size anymore as a pre-requisite to their wedding cake. Instead, they are big on design, flavor, and number of servings. It highly speaks of the personalities of both the bride and the groom.
Some couples choose a single tier cake for the sole purpose of cake cutting. Others, may order an all-edible three to five tier cake to serve and share with their guests. Some prefer to have three or more separate cakes. One alternative to having a wedding cake is to have a dessert bar featuring all the sweets they like. They can also opt to share cupcakes (just how they do it with the wine). Other couples opt to have edible centerpieces like have one cake per table or a cupcake bouquet per table.
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