A wedding cake is the embodiment of the very sweetness of marriage itself. It’s as much a centerpiece at the feast as the couple at the center of the ceremony. In fact, say “wedding cake” and you are saying a mouthful. Literally, Whether the wedding cake is a fruitcake, a layer cake or a pound cake, it is the common thread that cuts across nations, faiths and even across generations. This popular often multi-tiered dessert draped in buttercream icing has a legacy dating to the barley bread broken over the heads of brides during weddings among the ancient Romans. The bread was a simple symbol of fertility and luck, unadorned by the elaborate edible wedding cake décor presented nowadays in ganache, fondant, buttercream, whipped cream, royal icing and even sugar paste.
Before the advent of the frosting and frills that evolved into modern wedding cakes, the tradition first evolved from simple loaves to wedding pies. Until the 16th century, these pastry crusts contained more meats than sweets but the pies eventually were eclipsed by wedding cakes by the 17th century. White cake and white icing became a popular wedding cake color among brides who used this form of refined sugar to declare their family’s wealth. One of the most elaborate wedding cakes in more recent centuries was the one served to celebrate the union of England’s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840. That 300-pound fruitcake had a circumference of 9 feet and is said to have set the tone for weddings that followed throughout England. (It also apparently was a wedding cake with staying power: The BBC reported in September of 2016 that a slice of that very cake was sold at auction, fetching a price of 1500 British pounds.)
To this day, many couples still freeze the top layer of their cake, choosing to savor it a year or two later on a special occasion – and that occasion is more likely to be an anniversary or a christening (not an auction).
At Indian weddings, the cakes may sport Mehndi or be topped with jewels. At Italian weddings, tradition sometimes brings out a three-layer cake topped with cream cheese icing, with a filling of chopped nuts and coconut. Brides and their families work closely with bakers to ensure they select the right flavors, the right fillings, the right number of tiers – even the right toppers. For a bride and groom and their families, a lot of sampling (and a lot of calories) can be invested in the process of hunting down the right wedding cake. Although wedding cake-sampling seems an enviable task for a group of people to undertake, Brides Magazine recommends that a maximum of five tasters attend a wedding cake tasting – and that one of them most certainly should be the groom.
When it comes time to cut and serve, the symbolism of the wedding cake goes deeper than the slicing itself: the couple cuts the cake together as the groom supports his wife’s hand, a gesture that shows his support for her in their new life together. It is considered the first task that husband and wife do together as a couple – and it is done before joyful witnesses. It is also a sign to wedding guests that the reception is winding down to its final stages. (In recent years, a trend evolved in which bride and groom would serve one another a slice of wedding cake by smashing it in their spouse’s face – a controversial gesture, at best – but this messy act is not a widespread practice and may not help create a neat-and-tidy portrait for a wedding album. Typically, bride and groom simply feed one another a slice of the cake – and do so gently and with great care.)
When it comes to wedding cakes, however, everyone loves to get into the act: In some traditions, bridesmaids assemble around the cake to receive their slice, each young woman hoping she’ll be the lucky recipient of a charm or ring baked into the cake – an omen that she is the next in line to walk down the aisle with her future husband or, depending on the charm itself, she will find good fortune or have a wish come true. In some cases, that means there’ll be another wedding cake – for someone else - on the horizon.
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