Today we share wedding cake advice from 5 Star Wedding Directory’s member Claire Potts, Senior cake designer and owner from Peboryon.
There are a lot of myths surrounding wedding cakes, and some might have gotten a small foothold. But most are just that, myths.
So we are going to bust a few of those wedding cake myths. And also explain a few things that can get confusing.
Possibly the myth about wedding cakes that cause us cake makers the most issues is the one that is still, sadly, perpetuated. And that is that the cake can be left until last to book and doesn’t need to be ordered until a few weeks before the wedding. NOT TRUE! I can’t count the number of couples I’ve had to turn down because they have come to me too late, and their date has already been booked. It’s frustrating for us and causes extra stress for the couple. I always try to fit in a last-minute order. But with wedding cakes, that’s not always possible. So please, please don’t leave the cake until last! It would be best if you were looking at booking the wedding cake when you are booking the venue and other vital elements.
In a similar vein is another wedding cake myth that gives cake makers headaches: the cake will be one of the cheapest elements, so you don’t need to budget much for it. Again NOT TRUE! If I had a pound for every time I hear ‘how much? But it’s only cake!’ Then I could retire right now! The truth is that a wedding cake isn’t ‘just a cake.’In the same way, the wedding dress isn’t ‘just a dress.’ Yes, you can get a dress from the high street for a few pounds, but do you want that for your wedding dress?
In the same way, you can get a cake in a supermarket for a few pounds, but for your wedding? And wedding cakes tend to be the most enormous cakes most of us will ever need and the most elaborate. Translation takes a lot of work and time. And many of the elements of a high-end wedding cake will be very skilled work, which will take us many hours. There is no conspiracy to get more money from you. Quite the opposite. Many of us work on tight profit margins and often take home less than minimum wage. And we never add extra for a wedding cake over other events cakes. The price is based on the time, delivery distance set up time, and the skill involved in creating something truly spectacular. Because of the size and design, we have made occasion cakes that cost more than a wedding cake.
Next on the list is ‘no one ever eats the wedding cake anyway.’ This might have been true back in the day when wedding cakes were tires of heavy fruit cake, thick marzipan, and rock-hard royal icing. By the time everyone has eaten a big meal and had a good drink or three, the idea of a dense and often very boozy cake may not have been very appealing. However, we now have yummy sponges! I mean, who doesn’t love cake?! You’ll be surprised that most people who claim they’re full will find room for a decadent cake with an indulgent filling. I usually recommend ordering enough cake for around 90% of your guests because there will be a few who won’t want any. And don’t forget the kids! Kids love to feel grown up. And having their own slice of wedding cake will do just that.
Talking of the numbers the cake will be for. Another myth is that the cake on display must be the right size for the number of guests. Yet again, not true. We have made several tired cakes for small weddings.
And small cakes for large weddings. It is entirely up to you how big the wedding cake (or any other event cake that comes to that) that is on display will be. Of course, you don’t want to leave your guests without any cake or have oceans left over. That’s where we come in with some of our tricks.
You don’t want a big cake; you want something low-key, even though you might have a long guest list. That’s fine, and we can do that and then have cutting cakes for the venue or caterers to cut and serve. These stay in the kitchens. Or you can have a five-tier showstopper even if only twenty of you exist. And no wasted cake as we can use fake (dummy) tires, with just enough real cake. Don’t worry about the fake tiers ending up in a landfill. We will have them back, strip them off, and use them repeatedly. This works especially well for big corporate events where the point of the cake is for photo opportunities. Or when the design is such that it will work better in a mix of cake dummies and Rice Krispy treats (sculpted cakes are often made from these.)
“It’s a wedding, so I guess the cake needs to be white or ivory.” Wrong! We do hear this a lot, though. And yes, traditionally, the wedding cake and the dress would be white, maybe a soft off-white. But those days are long gone, thankfully. Whatever colour you want, we can make it happen. Quite often we will be given a colour swatch, and we will then tint the fondant to match. Or go crazy! Why not have a red wedding cake? We were talking earlier about a photo op! “
I hope this is the kind of thing you can use. I’m always happy to do cake-related content for you. Just give me a shout.
Peboryon
07816288626
07534617059
No 2 Sports Offices,
Penstowe Manor, Kilkhampton,
Cornwall EX23 9QY, United Kingdom
