Wedding Cake Pointers

By Bev Bennett

Wedding cake wisdom and pastry planning can help ensure that you have the cake of your dreams (and enough of it!) at a price you can afford.

It's a good idea to begin thinking about what kind of cake you want at about the same time that you are deciding upon your budget, guest list and reception site, as all of these will have an impact on your dessert strategy. If you will have a large wedding, should you serve your wedding cake as the main dessert, or should you offer a smaller cake with a sumptuous dessert table? Individual wedding cakes for guest are a fun current trend, and are perhaps a reasonable alternative for a smaller wedding.

Think of weddings you have attended, and collect pictures of cakes you like. Do you and your fiance share a passion for chocolate or cheesecake? Are there themes or decorative elements from your wedding party that you would like to feature on your cake? Do you want a traditional or a contemporary design? You have nearly unlimited choices, and you will need time to sift through them all.

Ask friends, family, and trusted wedding professionals about bakers whom they would recommend, and schedule tastings with at least three. If you or someone you know is making the cake for your wedding, make sure your choice realistically reflects skill levels, and schedule time for a practice run--both for baking and for moving your treasured confection to the reception site.

Start interviewing bakers about 6 months out, but place your order no less than 3 months before your wedding: this will allow time to adjust size, decoration, and other factors as your date approaches.

Finally, check with your baker about a week before your wedding to be sure that details of date, time, size, and delivery arrangements are settled. Consider asking (and paying for) your baker to be present during the delivery in order to make last minute repairs.
Sweet Savings

Wedding cake prices usually depend on size, including both how many it will serve and the complexity of the design (layers, tiers, flowers, etc.). In addition, delivery and set-up are usually separate charges, as it the cost of any cake topper or other ornament.

To get the cake of your dreams, cut costs and still have a delicious dessert, Dede Wilson, author of "The Wedding Cake Book" (Macmillan, 1997), suggests that a bride plan on serving two cakes. The first should be a stunning presentation cake - the one the bridal couple cuts into and everyone "oohs" and "ahs" over. It's also the pricey cake. The second cake, made with the same batter and frosting flavors, can be a simple sheet cake, served from the kitchen so guests don't notice the difference. The plain cake tastes great but costs a fraction of the showpiece. By averaging the cost of the two cakes, the price per slice is lower.

No matter how you slice it, however, wedding cakes are costly. By thinking of the wedding cake as the dessert of your wedding meal and not just an edible symbol, you'll be better able to swallow the price tag of $5-and-up per slice.

"When you go out to a good restaurant and have a plated dessert, it's not unusual to spend $6 or $7," says Wilson. "The wedding cake is a special dessert. Paying $5 a slice is not outrageous."

It is possible to get a wedding cake for $1.50 a slice, but you're likely to get what you pay for, Wilson warns. Cakes are priced according to the quality of the ingredients and the labor involved. "People should ask their bakers what ingredients are being used. Is it margarine and shortening or butter? Is it flour and sugar or a mix? You're also paying for hours and hours of rosebuds. That can be very labor-intensive."
The Moment of Truth

When dinner is over and it is time for dessert, you have reached your wedding cake's moment of truth, Traditionally, the groom places his right hand over the bride's and they cut into the cake's lowest layer, and they give each other bites of the first slice. This is a symbol of the couple's delight in each other and plans to build a home together (unfortunate antics at this time are unwelcome and send a very different message to both family and guests). Your caterer should take it from here, cutting the cake and serving it your guests. If you have opted for a second cake, the caterer will also distribute it at this time.

(c) Content That Works