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The Modern Wedding Cake
Written by: Lisa Kobs
Cake by Ron Ben Israel
A Marriage of Beauty and Taste
 Your first kiss tasted oh-so sweet, and falling in love was delicious. So it’s only fitting that cake play a special part in your wedding celebration.
Picking one out, however, leaves many brides wondering ‘Can I really have my cake and eat it, too?’ In other words, can wedding cake be a decoration, the reception’s sugary showpiece? And still be a delicious dessert, moist, tender, and rich with flavor under a blanket of velvety icing? The answer is yes.
Sylvia Weinstock, cake diva and owner of Sylvia Weinstock Cakes in New York, was the first to prove that wedding cakes could actually taste as good as they looked. “When we started this business, cakes were very pretty but could be inedible, or they were wonderful to eat but didn’t look like much,” she says. “The challenge for us was to make a delicious cake that happened to be beautiful.”
Today there are many skilled designers who specialize in cakes that please both the palate and the eye. So flavor should top every bride’s list of cake requirements. “The outside beauty of the cake will be important for your pictures and your personal statement, but your guests will long remember how the cake tasted,” says Susie Edwards, owner of Susie’s Cakes.
All great wedding cakes begin with quality ingredients and a technique that rejects shortcuts. Find a baker who’s as committed to the cake’s inside as they are to the outside, and you’ll never overhear ‘Yes, it’s gorgeous, but not very tasty.’
But ingredients and baking talent are only half the story. It’s what they turn into that really counts.
“The traditional white bride’s cake with buttercream icing is still popular,” says Edwards. The ritual symbolism and snow white appearance of this time-honored dessert appeals to many brides. For those who find its taste a little too boring, a splash of liqueur, fruit or nut essence, or even flower water, like rose or lavender, into the batter can transform this simple wedding classic. And while true white cake is made with shortening, for flavor’s sake the slight tint of an all-butter cake is a worthwhile compromise.
Contemporary cake flavors, however, are quickly outpacing white cake requests. Lemon, tropical, Italian cream, carrot and pink champagne are popular, as are spirited cakes replicating cocktails like the pina colada and fuzzy navel. Of course there’s nothing wrong with tried and true chocolate. Serious chocolate connoisseurs can even request a cake made from single-origin cocoa beans. The deep, rich flavor of Venezuelan “estate” cocoa will be appreciated by every chocoholic in the crowd. Cake textures can range from the soufflé-light sponge to a dense, heavy pound cake.
Fillings like cooked fruit reductions, crèmes, custards and mousse add flavor and moistness, while special accents complete the overall taste sensation. Ron Ben-Israel, internationally renowned baker and owner of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes in New York, gives spice cake a boost with ginger syrup, and embellishes butter cake with mango cream and crystallized mango pieces.
Flavor enhancements also set the cake’s tone. Chocolate cake layered with black raspberry conserve and Chambord mousse is undeniably elegant; while peanut butter pudding and strawberry preserves show you’re definitely still a kid at heart.
Of course, no cake is complete until it’s frosted. Light and airy, melt-in-your-mouth buttercream is a favorite. Each bakery uses its own derivation of the buttercream concept; so if you think frosting is the best part of the cake, pay extra close attention to the buttercream. Swiss and Italian buttercreams blend egg white meringue with sugar and whipped butter, while the French style includes egg yolks. The Americanized version is usually butter or shortening beaten with sugar to an airy fluff, but may include cream cheese or heavy cream. Buttercream can be made extra tasty with added flavor oils.
Whipped cream is certainly a delicious cake topping, but it has limitations on a wedding cake. “Whipped cream must be kept refrigerated,” says Bobbie Taylor owner of Cake Creations, a longtime Houston Wedding cake baker. “And this can be problematic for a cake that will spend hours at room temperature at an outdoor or warm reception site”.
Fondant, a silky sugar dough icing that’s rolled into soft, pliable sheets, is as controversial as it is popular. Brides adore its sleek look and porcelain-like finish, while designers praise its many textural qualities. It drapes and folds like the finest silk couture gown, holds the imprint of pressed patterns, and can be fashioned into any number of shapes and designs. Fondant also holds color beautifully, and can even resemble marble with the addition of thin colored veins.
To some, however, its edible qualities are a major drawback. Many find it overly sweet, artificial tasting, and even bitter or medicinal. High-quality commercially prepared product or scratch-made fondant is usually the most enjoyable. Some bakers seek the best of both worlds and will set a whisper thin sheet of fondant over a layer of smooth buttercream. Others choose not to use it at all. “If you have enough skill, you can do just about everything on buttercream that you can do on fondant,” says Weinstock.
Rolled white chocolate, with its delicious flavor, smooth look and ability to take color, makes a good fondant substitute. “All my brides seem to prefer the white chocolate,” says Edwards.” Colored, sweet almond Marzipan is another option for a sheeted-style covering.
Chocolate-loving brides can take their passion a step further with a chocolate covered cake. Rich, ganache filling is delicious and very dramatic. “We don’t do chocolate covered cakes as often,” says Nadine Moon, cake designer with Who Made the Cake. “But every once in a while we’ll get brides that are really bold and want to do something unique that makes a statement.”
There are no set rules for picking your cake’s flavor. The obvious choice is to go with your favorite; after all it’s your wedding. You might take a cue from the meal. Mocha layers with tiramisu filling or blood orange cake with honey custard could be a wonderful finale to a Mediterranean meal. Coconut cake with key lime curd would be especially refreshing after an Island-inspired menu. Or let the seasons be your guide. Butter raspberry cake with peach mousse and fresh raspberries is a delicious, summer-scented dessert, while pumpkin or applesauce are a natural fit for fall.
Picking out a single flavor can be difficult, especially if you’re worried about pleasing 350 guests. Multiple complementary flavor combinations are one solution. Can’t decide between hazelnut, almond or chocolate? Combine all three. “I like a cake where you have five or six ingredients that meld together,” says Weinstock. “We pick flavors that work well together like a spice cake with chocolate, or white and chocolate cake with a decadent caramel filling,” says Moon. Keep in mind that too many complex flavors will shock the palate. “Striking a balance is the key,” adds Edwards.
And if you simply can’t decide on just one? Alternate two distinct flavor styles between the tiers. A light banana toffee crunch along with a dark Irish cream fudge should please most of your guests. Ben-Israel of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, in New York has an especially creative, some might even say romantic, way for serving dual flavors. “All the ladies get chocolate for example, and the men would get vanilla. They can share with each other, and the room looks very nice.”
Or make each tier in a different flavor all together. Keep in mind you’ll probably need a bigger cake. “Your guests will want to taste several of the flavors,” says Jessie Lopez owner of Edible Designs by Jessie.
Once you’ve decided on the flavor, the next step is the design. In the amount of time it takes to say “I thee wed”, you can view hundreds of on-line wedding cakes. “The styles and choices of wedding cakes today are endless,” says Edwards. In fact, the sheer volume of options can be overwhelming. Your first inclination might be to pick the look that’s currently popular. Weinstock quickly discounts that approach.
“You should set your own style, your own pace and your own trend. You get to be comfortable in your own skin with your choices. When a client looks at a picture and says ‘I would never pick that as my cake,’ I say ‘Good, that’s not your cake.’ Each bride has her own look of what’s perfect.”
Rather than worrying about what’s hot and what’s not, showcase your individuality and personal style instead. “Anything goes now and that wasn’t so in the past,” says Edwards. In fact, the unconventional cakes are usually the most memorable.
“We do different adornments that totally break the notion of what a wedding cake is,” says Ben-Israel, who’s know for crafting edible sugar blossoms so vividly real you’d swear you could still smell the sun on them. “We’ll do cakes that have giant sugar calla lilies, or flowers that are larger than the whole cake. We’ll do a tier with one giant rose, or hundreds and hundreds of blossoms that looks like a pillow made from hydrangea. Or I’ll do something a little abstract and make a lily look like a fabric lily, or a rose that looks like a rose made of lace.”
Whether you’re got a whirlwind of ideas in your head or are completely blank, a good designer will make picking out your design much easier. “I have brides look at pictures and tell me what they like and don’t like, and eventually I begin to see a pattern,” says Barbara Suarez, ofMore than Cakes. “It’s really a process of elimination.” But even this isn’t a foolproof technique. “Brides tell me they don’t like something, but then they see it done in a totally different way, and absolutely love it.”
Besides the decorative flourishes that ring your cake—the icing swags, fleur-de-lis, and frosting filigrees—color and shape are an equally important part of its personality. Deep velvety red pops with palpable energy against an ivory backdrop, yet feels sweet next to yellow. Brown looks stark with white but contemporary by pink. Navy blue and Tiffany blue make two very different statements. And the quiet elegance of a monochromatic cake can be just as stunning as a blitz of Technicolor.
Shape adds another dimension of style. Scalloped edged tiers fringed with blossoms look feminine without being especially frilly. Alternating hexagons and circles feels completely contemporary. Polka dots that are charming and innocent on a round cake suddenly look Avant-garde on an asymmetrical stack of triangles.
But before you get too caught up in the ruffles, ribbons and swirls, most designers recommend using the reception room to at least guide your decision. “Just like the clothes designer knows that not everyone can wear the same type of dress, the same thing is true with the cake,” says Ben-Israel. “Not every cake works in every room.”
A fantastic, sculpted Baroque masterpiece might look a little out of place in a Japanese minimalist, Zen setting. The room’s size will also have bearing. “You can’t have a very tall cake in a room with an eight foot ceiling,” says Weinstock. “Or a short squat cake in a room that’s 30 feet tall: you won’t see it.”
The room’s lighting is an important and often overlooked factor. “If I know the room is lit by candlelight, I won’t do a cake that is too dark,” says Ben-Israel. “An elegant shade of soft pink might look brown in a dimmed hall with no overhead lighting,” adds Moon.
Bakers who are really in tune with the local venues might already be a step ahead of you. “There is one ball room in New York City that has a beautiful oval room and we’ve come up with an oval design specifically for it,” says Ben-Israel. “It really works great and creates a lot of interest.”
If you have any concerns at all about the look of your cake, ask to see a sample of the decorations on a small mock-up cake. You’ll probably have to pay a fee, but the peace of mind should be well worth the price.
Whether you choose to embrace tradition or totally throw it out the window, make sure the design choice is yours alone. “I had a whimsical bride who went along with her mother’s traditional cake choice and was absolutely miserable about the decision,” says Suarez. “She didn’t even want to have her picture taken with the cake.”
Despite the buzz of wedding planning activity, don’t forget to let your betrothed in on some of the fun. Groom’s cakes are a wonderful way to include the often neglected partner in the festivities. And while he probably doesn’t care that you chose clusters of gilded grapes and a trailing ivy trellis for your cake, he sure will get a kick out of picking out his own miniature wedding cake.
Usually hobbies and interests govern the look of the groom’s cake. “They can be very creative,” adds Lopez. “For a client that liked multiple sports, we designed a very intricate cake together that incorporated fishing, hunting, football, and golf.”
Chocolate, red velvet and carrot cake are traditional groom’s cake flavors, but there’s no reason why he can’t have his favorite cake, too. Chocolate malt would be perfect for the guy who’s never far from a box of malted milk balls. And if he simply loves his mom’s pistachio-flavored Watergate cake with a thick froth layer of 7-minute frosting, than that’s what he should have.
While it’s traditional to send a slice home with the guests, many couples opt to serve it along with the wedding cake. If that’s the case, make sure to factor that into the cake sizes, especially if you want guests to sample a piece of each.
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