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How Sweet It Is: What's New for Wedding Cakes

By Katie Redmiles

Wedding cakes should taste as good as they look and reflect the personality of the couple and the style of the wedding. Outlandishly frosted white cakes stacked on columns are being left behind, making way for new trends: stacked tiers and flavor are in. The latest trends involve flavors and icings, shapes, accents, toppers, and chic serving styles.

Flavors

Be adventurous when choosing fillings and icings. The plain vanilla wedding cake is out and bold flavors are in. Chocolate is no longer being confined to the groom’s cake: rich chocolate wedding cakes are popping up with unique fillings like caramel, mocha, coffee, cannoli or coconut cream, and chocolate ganache. For an even bolder cake, use chocolate ganache to ice the cake. Fruit fillings that are most commonly paired with chocolate cake are raspberry, cherry, orange (sneak this taste in with Grand Marnier), banana, and straw-berry.

If you’re partial to vanilla cake, kick it up a notch with a tropical fruit filling like coconut, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, or a delicate pistachio nut–based filling. For something creamier, pair your vanilla cake with an amaretto, cappuccino, white chocolate, Bavarian cream mousse, or buttercream. Interested in something a little different from the standard chocolate and vanilla cakes? Go with a decadent carrot, spice, red velvet, lemon, or lemon-poppy cake. Pair it with a filling such as Bavarian cream, cream cheese, or mas-carpone.

This cake, accented with believable colors that aren’t too bold, has silhouettes created from fondant. Created by Vicki Bezares, pastry designer at The Main Ingredient.	The square layers of this cake are stacked with a twist and detailed with an elegant monogram.

The Icing on the Cake

The two basic kinds of frosting are buttercream and rolled fondant. Basic buttercream has a creamy butter taste and soft texture and most people like it. The downside to butter-cream is that it doesn’t hold up well in heat so it’s not much of an option for an outdoor wedding. Fondant coats an entire cake with a pristine, seamless finish for a sleek look and clean base for decorating. It is difficult to work with and often costs more. Though it is quite sweet, some find its porcelain-like finish to be chalky or even bland. Update ei-ther of these basics with fun flavors and colors like a chocolate buttercream or vividly hued fondant infused with an almond or vanilla flavor.

Subtle pastel hues of light blush, ice blue, pale pistachio, and lavender can add a unique touch to a cake without being too bold. If your tastebuds can’t choose, ask your baker to frost your cake with a layer of buttercream before adding the fondant. An icing alterna-tive to the standards is marzipan (almond paste), which gives a smooth, glossy finish and tastes like amaretto liqueur. Naturally ivory in color, it can be painted or decorated. Whipped cream, marshmallow icing, or white chocolate can also be slathered on a cake as icing.

Fresh flowers fill the space in between the layers of this cake giving it a lush look and fresh alternative to columns.	Accented with sugar flowers, this cake is also topped with an elegant vase made from fondant and filled with edible floral treats.

Twists on Shapes and Stacks

Round tiered cakes will forever remain a favorite but tiers in contrasting geometric shapes can make an otherwise basic cake uniquely interesting. For instance, top an oc-tagonal or hexagonal base with two round or square layers. Even consider using a differ-ent shape for each tier for a sophisticated and unexpected look. Lose the Roman columns and have your layers stacked directly on top of one another. For an added twist, stack the shapes so they zigzag.

Your reception room should serve as a guide. A room with high ceilings invites a cake with equally impressive height. If you’re expecting fewer guests, your baker can incorpo-rate fake layers into your cake. Typically made out of Styrofoam, then frosted and dressed like the rest of the cake, these faux tiers add height without the extra cost. If you like the look of a smaller cake but are expecting lots of guests, one way to accommodate that preference—one that can even save you money—is to order a smaller cake to display in the room and sheet cakes that can be stored in your reception site’s kitchen.

Accents: Flowers and Beyond

A cake accented with flowers can be beautiful, original, and unique. Simple blooms like orchids, calla lilies, tulips, daisies, and gardenias are replacing elaborate flowers and the classic cascade of buds for a more modern look. Sugar-paste flowers are another option that can give a cake an elegant look. Simple flower types emulated in sugar make a sim-ple, yet bold look. Sugar-paste flowers, fresh berries, ruby-red cherries, and sugared fruits are starting to pop up in between layers for a full, rich look.

As personalization of weddings becomes more popular, couples are seeking alternatives to flowers. These may include accenting a cake with curving scrollwork, family mono-grams, and sophisticated silhouettes created with fondant or icing. They may repeat your wedding motif, such as the lace pattern or beading on the bride’s gown or sashes on the bridesmaid dresses. Or they may incorporate details from the surroundings, such as sea-shells at a beach wedding or fall foliage and fruit for a warm, fall affair. Another new trend for accenting cakes is edible “paper and ink.” A design can be created on a com-puter and then printed on very thin fondant that is then wrapped around the cake. If your cake designer has this technology, the options are endless, such as intricate patterns or pictures of the bride and groom.

A ribbon detailed with organic shapes is a chic way to incorporate your wedding colors into your cake.	Square tiers in pristine white are decorated with three-dimensional textured detailing made of icing.

And to Top it Off

The archetypal bride and groom topper is being left off cakes more and more in favor of toppers such as large monograms, sometimes accented with crystals or made of choco-late; a large single flower; or a vase made of sugar with sugar flowers coming out of it. A growing trend is cake jewelry, such as floral pins, crowns, and tiaras topping off cakes. Choose items that match the style of your wedding and accessories. Stuck on that image of a bride and groom? Choose figures for their resemblance to you or for a sweet finish top the cake with molded chocolate figures.

Let’s All Eat Cake

There are alternatives to your standard layered cake and fun ways to serve them. Using mini cakes as centerpieces on each table gives a fun, sugary touch to your table decor and the family-style serving is intimate and unique. Cupcakes stacked on tiered plates to mimic a cake are another savvy way to dish the dessert. Order a small cake for that tradi-tional cutting of the cake.

Consider an assortment of single-layer cakes in different flavors and frostings. These can be cut into one-inch squares and displayed on a dessert table where guests can mingle and enjoy a few different options. Leftover cake can be packaged in small to-go boxes as a wedding favor. Pies are also making their way onto the dessert table. Pick your favorite fruits and flavors as a cake substitute or smaller servings as a nice complement to the cake. Cookie and candy stations are popping up too and are a hit with guests. Whatever you choose, it’s sure to be a sweet finish to a fabulous day.