Gorgeous, delicious and affordable Cakes

by Eileen C. Dalby

Not only can you have your cake, you can eat it, too...at your wedding anyway.

Today’s cakes have escaped from the outlandishly frosted columned stacks tasting of styrofoam, but the expectations have risen to include originality, wedding theme and extraordinary taste.

Clean and classic designs have become the most popular, with detailing mimicking the bride’s gown fabric or style. Asian-inspired, tiers of white on white patterns with red accents are the front-runner of these understated yet whimsical designs. Round tiers are still the favorite for shape, but square, octagon, and hexagon confections are gaining popularity for more modern and/or casual weddings.

And just like your impending marriage, looks aren’t everything, it’s what’s on the inside that counts so shouldn’t your cake taste good as well as look good? Rich chocolate has made quite the impression, followed by pistachio.

Regardless of what’s in style, it has to meet the parameters of the wedding budget. If you find a picture of something that you like talk to your baker about price and how to modify so it suits your tastes and your budget. Think couture meets Target. Variety is expensive, so try to stick to one flavor and filling. That way you can sample, to ensure that the filling, cake and icing are both beautiful and delicious. Fondant icing is more expensive than buttercream icing, but buttercream will melt in the heat. The smooth look can be achieved with buttercream, not just fondant and buttercream is better for working with color, plus, it tastes better. For a large wedding, have one lovely 3-tier cake to feed 100, plus 4-10 inch side cakes to feed an additional 100 people for $160 rather than $400.

There might be styles and trends, but despite what your mother, grandmother or aunt says, there are no rules. It’s your wedding day, have apple pie if you want.

Resource: The Knot at www.theknot.com

Find everything you need in our Professional Wedding Directory.