Should I have cake?
That’s a question that some of my clients ask me from time to time. As a symbol of good luck and fertility, cake has been a huge part of wedding celebrations for centuries. There are so many styles that you can select from these days, from the traditional tiered cakes to cupcakes, miniature cakes, candy cakes, cheese cakes…etc. How about the flavor, filling and icing/frosting?
You might find the below information from “Today’s Bride” very helpful when it comes time to choosing your cake…
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CAKE FLAVORS
1. Chiffon - a light sponge cake; best complimented with fresh fruit and mousse fillings.
2. Genoise - the classic French sponge cake. Somewhat dryer and crumblier than the Chiffon cake; works well with heavier, denser fillings.
3. French Croquembrouche - A tower of pastry cream puffs covered with a web of spun sugar.
4. Other - sponge cake, butter cake, devil’s food cake, pound cake, cheesecake, fruitcake and carrot cake.
ICINGS & FROSTINGS
1. Butter Cream - an icing and a filling consisting of sugar, eggs and real butter (not shortening); perfect for outdoor weddings.
2. Fondant - an icing that is either poured in liquid form onto small cakes and petit fours, or rolled out in a sheet, cut and wrapped around the cake.
3. Ganache - a chocolate and cream mixture used as a cake filling and sometimes as a glaze.
4. Marzipan - a decorative paste made from ground almonds and powdered sugar. It can be rolled like fondant to cover the cake or used as a base for the fillings between the layers.
5. Royal Icing - egg whites beaten with confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice, then piped with a pastry tube to make intricate decorative elements, such as piped lace trellises or miniature buds. It is very sweet and hardens quickly.
6. Modeling Chocolate - a mixture of chocolate and corn syrup that results in a firm, pliable texture. It can be run through a pasta maker to create ruffles, ribbons, etc.
7. Spun Sugar/Angel Hair - a web of long, fine caramelized sugar threads, thrown to create a magical golden veil over a cake or dessert.
8. Dragees - gold or silver edible, decorative balls made of candied sugar.
9. Gold & Silver Leaf - Used in small amounts as a final touch on iced cakes. Paining with edible gold and silver is both labor-intensive and expensive but quite beautiful for tinted flowers, leaves and Art Deco toudhes.
10. Pulled Sugar - sugar syrup that is made molten and pulled into shapes such as bows and flowers.
11. Whipped Cream - filling or icing. Always use pure whipped cream with no other icing stabilizers mixed with it. Whipped cream must be refrigerated and therefore, not a good option for outdoor weddings.
Tags: Today's Bride, Wedding cakes
