|
You spend a lot of time choosing your wedding dress, which is the main focal point of your wedding ceremony.
Now can you guess what the main focal point of your reception happens to be? That’s right… your wedding cake!
Most people today are realizing that they don’t have to compromise taste for appearance, which used to be the case. Thankfully, now you have many options to consider when choosing your cakes. Here is a checklist of things to consider when you start hunting for the right person to design your cake.
1. Ask for a PERSONAL tasting.
2. Get all options on flavors, fillings and icings.
3. Ask if you can design your own cake at no extra charge.
4. Choose a baker that can do what You want, not what They want.
5. Ask about a FLAT FEE per serving, so that there are no additional charges for every little thing. NO SURPRISES.
6. Any extra charge should come in the form of flowers or cake topper. This should be clearly specified at the beginning.
7. Get everything in writing!
8. Ask when your cakes will be baked. After all, you don’t want them to sit in their freezers for more than a week. (Cakes have to be frozen to properly ice.)
9. Ask when your cakes will be iced and decorated. They are technically ‘sealed’ when iced. But you don’t want them sitting in the shop for days prior to your wedding. They still get a rather ‘old’ taste after sitting out for more than a day or so. The freshest cakes are iced the day before your wedding.
10. Does the baker deliver AND set up the cake…or just drop it off? (Dropping it off leaves it up to the caterer or venue wait staff to complete. Most venues preference would be for the baker to do that. There is too much liability on the caterer.)
11. Do they deliver the tiers individually? Or already stacked? (You want individual tiers delivered, because it travels better, not to mention it’s safer.)
12. Do they coordinate with the venue, caterer, florist, etc. on delivery time, so everyone is on the same page? After all, your baker knows exactly what you want and how it should look upon completion. And if there’s an accident in setting it up, your baker has the tools to fix any problem that may arise.
Lastly, remember that you get what you pay for! Don’t skimp on the masterpiece that will be an integral part of your reception. After all, you’ll have to look at it in pictures for years to come.
Wedding Cake Glossary
Anniversary Cake
A smaller version of the wedding cake to enjoy on your first anniversary.
Back-Up Cake
An undecorated sheet cake of the same flavor as your wedding cake, kept in the kitchen and used to serve a very large guest list after your display cake is used up.
Buttercream Icing
The classic icing, made of butter, confectionery sugar and milk. It is inexpensive and versatile in texture.
Centerpiece Cake
A specialty cake that takes the place of flowers as your table decorations.
Chocolate Ganache
A thick, delectable icing made of chocolate and heavy cream.
Marzipan
Almond paste mixed with egg white and sugar used for sculpting.
Croquenbouche
A specialty wedding cake formed with profiteroles (cream puffs) filled with hazelnut pastry cream, dipped in hot caramel, and placed on top of one another.
Groom's Cake
A smaller version of the wedding cake or cake theme to the groom's interests. Usually served at the engagement party or the rehearsal dinner.
Royal Icing
Sugar and egg white mixture piped through a bag to create flowers and other decorations that are allowed to dry and placed individually on the cake.
Raised Tiers
Layers are separated by columns to make the cake appear taller. Solid Cake
Cake layers are held together with icing as opposed to filling.
Tiers
Cakes that are stacked on top of one another to create a multi-layered cake.
Torted Cakes
Cakes that are layered with mousse or fruit preserves.
Rolled Fondant
This icing is made of gelatin, confectionery sugar and water. It has a beautiful porcelain finish suitable for beading or tiny flowers. (keep in mind that this icing is temperature sensitive!)
Trompe L'oeil
Specialty cake made of square layers instead of round that can be decorated with ribbon and wrapping paper to make it look like a pile of gifts.
|
