The Cake - 6 months before

As a food of celebration, the wedding cake dates back to antiquity. Ancient Greek couples split a sesame cake to ensure fertility. In 16th-century England, someone decided to make wedding cakes sweet and serve them as dessert. The French pioneered the modern-day towering confections we enjoy today. But as time marches on, the white cake with white or pastel flowers is no longer the only option for a discerning couple. Whether you are trend-setters or students of tradition, it's your wedding cake - make of it what you want.

Better Batter

White and yellow sponge cakes are certainly delicious choices, but they're not the only choices. Trendy bakeries now offer a host of cake types, ranging from cheesecakes (which can be stacked and tiered), meringue cakes, baked Alaska, chocolate cakes, fruit cakes, ice cream cakes, spice cakes, carrot cakes, coffee cakes, pound cakes, mousse cakes and angel-food cakes. Let your taste buds be your guide.

Icing on the Cake

Not all icings are created equal - depending on the desired theme of the cake and the reception location. Buttercream is a smooth, creamy icing that stays soft so it's easy to cut through. It can be colored or flavored and used to create piping, swags and other borders, as well as decorative rosettes. It can be used as filling, too. Because it's base is butter, though, it may melt in extreme heat or humidity.

Fondant is a sweet, elastic icing made of sugar, corn syrup and gelatin that's literally rolled out with a rolling pin and draped over a cake. It's a smooth, firm base for gum paste flowers, decorative details and architectural designs, and has a porcelain finish. The taste, however, is an acquired one. A fondant cake should not be refrigerated. Royal icing - made of egg whites and confectionary sugar - is a soft paste piped from a pastry bag to create latticework, beading, bows and flowers.

Center Stage

Instead of one huge cake, many couples are opting for smaller cakes, still beautifully adorned, for each table. These centerpiece cakes are often baked with different fillings and flavors. Some ambitious couples stop by each reception table and slice the first piece. This way they can say hello to all their guests. Other couples ask their guests to slice and sample different cakes at different tables, using this atmosphere to encourage guests to mix and mingle.

Itsy-Bitsy Bites

Another trendy and affordable option is a tiered cupcake tree in place of a traditional layer cake. Whether constructed of cake stands of different heights or assembled on a prefabricated template (available at www.cupcaketree.com), personalization options are endless. Icing colors, cake flavors or decorations can vary from cake to tiny cake if desired - and with very few cleanup worries.

His Turn

A well-loved tradition, especially in the South, is the groom's cake. Usually darker than the wedding cake, it's richer (often chocolate or mousse) and sometimes designed with whimsy in mind. The groom's cake is traditionally sliced up and sent home with guests in pretty boxes. It's a good opportunity for the groom to interject his personality or interests via a theme cake. If he can't get enough of the King, have the cake shaped like Graceland. How about his favorite golf hole? Use your (and his) imagination.

Re-printed with permission:
Louisville Bride - 2001& 2002
A Supplement to Louisville Magazine
Louisville Magazine