Custom Confection
Lorna Rothanzl
They’re not topped with candles, yet. But today’s wedding cakes ignite as much excitement as did birthday confections that illuminated our youthful milestones. Maybe even more. Today, wedding cakes are taking on the whimsy that birthday cakes are known for. The traditional white, tiered cake is no longer the standard focal point of reception fare. Vivid colors, animated sculptures and even cupcake designs enable bridal couples to secure a cake reflective of their personal tastes, interests and visions.
“We love the fact that we’re getting mature brides who want highly individualized cakes,” said renowned baker Sylvia Weinstock, whose New York bakery has produced cakes topped with roosters and hens, a multitude of other carved animals and even Homer and Marge Simpson of cartoon fame. “Couples are having fun with their cake,” Weinstock said. “Not all cakes are serious or have to be.” Bridal couples work with bakers to design their cakes from the inside out. “Everything about wedding cakes is new,” Weinstock said. “A new filling, for example, is pistachio lime ginger. Couples want new flavors as a matter of creating something wonderful for the palate.” As you design your wedding cake, keep in mind that it should please both the eyes and palate, blend with its surroundings and reflect your combined tastes. The location, season, reception time and menu all effect a cake’s creation.
“The bride must decide if she wants her cake to be round, square or even octagon,” Weinstock said. “Will it be stacked on top of each other or on tall pillars? Does she want it to be modern, art deco, Victorian, French, which is tight, or English, which is light and airy? There are lots of decisions.” Taking individuality to a new level, some couples request miniature wedding cakes for each guest. These two or three-tiered minis are hand cut and decorated, resulting in increased labor and increased costs. Jan Kish, owner of Jan Kish-Le Petite Fleur in Columbus, Ohio, said cupcakes are an inexpensive way to attain the idea of an individual cake presentation. Recently she created layers of cupcakes on a stand that resembled the traditional wedding cake form. Each layer was frosted with different colored icings and topped with hand-modeled flowers for a finished, elegant look. An alternative is the placement of a hand-cut layer of rolled fondant – a thick, sugary frosting – atop a cupcake and etched with a couple’s monogram in gold. Metallic wrappers can complement such lettering. “That is what couples want – fun,” Kish said. “They’re much more adventurous in their wedding cake selections, and they want an extension of their personality in the cakes. Couples are interested in creating a memory, and not just ordering another pretty face.” As you visit cake bakers, schedule tastings to sample cakes, fillings and frostings to find the right combination for your cake.
Ron Ben-Israel, owner of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes in New York, said many bridal couples seek out cake designers instead of multi-product bakers for their wedding cake. Those who specialize in or exclusively produce wedding cakes will have the equipment and talent to develop your ideas; and won’t have to get out a batch of brownies for counter customers before turning to your wedding cake. “Couples often pull out pictures of wedding cakes from magazines and want a copy down to every detail,” Ben-Israel said. “If they can’t have the original from that baker, find out what your local baker does best. You don’t want a baker to experiment on your wedding cake. Magazines offer inspiration, but nobody can copy a cake exactly.”
Ben-Israel said custom designed wedding cakes must reflect a client’s unique style and vision, but such design takes time. “Bridal couples want a customized, personalized creation, but if they are late in selecting their cake, we can offer them something, but we won’t have the time to design as much as we could,” he said. “We still work with last minute people and for them anything goes as long as it’s elegant and joyful.” Regardless, if a year or a week goes into the planning of a cake, it must contain certain elements, Ben-Israel said. “Your cake should combine a variety of textures, flavors and colors so each guest gets the entire taste sensation. They’ll receive a dessert and not just a piece of cake,” Ben-Israel said.
While brides continue to want flowers on their cakes, they are concerned with pesticides and other chemicals transferring from the bloom to the frosting, and onto the palate. Designers such as Ben-Israel create flowers from sugar, and drape edible herbs or berries on a cake for a natural look. “Only organically grown flowers should come in contact with a cake, but they’re so fragile, they won’t last,” he said. He also uses berries to color his cakes. “We use actual flavors such as fruit extracts to color a cake,” he said. “Passion fruit offers a golden yellow and a reduction of blueberries creates lavender. Food color is never used.” The flavorings continue the color into the icing – and are easily added to both fondant and butter cream. “The cake color scheme is totally open today,” Ben-Israel said. “Brides no longer go with the all white or peaches and cream look. Instead, they are often inspired by their reception room color scheme, the bridesmaid attire or their wedding colors to color their cake. Many times there will be one color scheme for the ceremony and one for the reception, and the bride will keep her cake in the ceremony scheme to tie in both venues. Some even place their registered china pattern on the cake.” Ben-Israel said the only requirement for today’s wedding cake is that it is made well. “There is no question if a cake isn’t good it will be a big disappointment,” he said. “That is why couples are so concerned with ingredients. There is no substitute for butter, and cakes should not be too sweet or too heavy.”
If your cake is good, you’ll want to serve it big. Margaret Lastick, owner of Royal Icing, Oak Park, Ill., said couples want dessert-size slices and often increase the cake size beyond the guest number. “These slices are larger than the ones that would be placed in a box and sent home with each guest,” Lastick said.
As you dream of the perfect wedding cake, feel free to run ideas by your baker. “Without a challenge we’re bored,” Lastick said. “I love it when I get a request for something different, something we’re creating exclusively for one customer that we’ve never before done.” As you scan magazines, surf web sites and pour over bakery portfolios, you’ll compile details that in the end will bake your cake.
Rely on your imagination.
If you want a traditional white, tiered cake reminiscent of your mother’s wedding feast, by all means, do it. Or if you want cake tiered eight feet in the air, again, do it. Even place candles on your wedding cake if that detail completes your envisioned look. The trend in today’s cake is to design a custom confection that complements your reception site, deliciously dissolves on your tongue and makes you happy on your most memorable milestone.