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A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but at a time following the ceremony on the same day. In modern Western culture, the cake is usually on display and served to guests at the reception. Traditionally, wedding cakes were made to bring good luck to all guests and the couple. Nowadays, however, they are more of a centerpiece to the wedding and are not always even served to the guests. Some cakes are built with only a single edible tier for the bride and groom to share, but this is rare since the cost difference between fake and real tiers is minimal.
In the 17th century, two cakes were made: one for the bride and one for the groom. The groom's cake would fall out of favour as the bride's cake became the main cake for the event. When the two cakes were served together, the groom's cake was typically the darker colored, rich fruit cake and generally much smaller than the bride's cake. The bride's cake was usually a simple pound cake with white icing because white was a sign of virginity and purity.Wilson, Carol. (2005). Wedding Cake: A Slice of History . Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture 5 (2): 69-72. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
Wedding cake was originally a luxury item, and a sign of celebration and social status (the bigger the cake, the higher the social standing). Wedding cakes in England and early America were traditionally fruit cakes, often tiered and topped with marzipan and icing. Cutting the cake was an important part of the reception.
In medieval England cakes were stacked as high as possible for the bride and groom to kiss over. A successful kiss meant they were guaranteed a prosperous life together. From this the Croquembouche was created. The myth behind this cake tells of a pastry chef, visiting medieval England, who witnessed their tradition of piling sweet rolls between the bride and groom, which they attempted to kiss over without knocking them all down. The pastry chef then went back to France and piled sweet rolls up into a tower to make the first Croquembouche. The modern croquembouche is still very popular in France, where it is now common to place the croquembouche tower on a bed of cake and make it a top tier. This traditional French wedding cake is built from and given a halo of spun sugar.Stewart, M., & Kromer, W. (2007). Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers
In 1703, Thomas Rich, a baker's apprentice from Ludgate Hill, fell in love with his employer's daughter and asked her to marry him. He wanted to make an extravagant cake, so he drew on St Bride's Church, on Fleet Street in London for inspiration.
Traditionally the bride would place a ring inside the couple's portion of the cake to symbolize acceptance of the proposal. Bride's pie would evolve into the bride's cake. At this point the dessert was no longer in the form of a pie and was sweeter than its predecessor. The bride cake was traditionally a plum or fruit cake. In the mid-18th century, double icing (covering the cake first with almond icing and then with white icing) was used on bride cake. The white-iced upper surface of the bride cake was used as a platform on which all sorts of scenes and emblems could be mounted. The decoration was often at least partially three-dimensional and colourful in appearance. However, since some decorations were made with a variety of substances, sometimes the decoration or even parts of wedding cake were inedible. The myth that eating the pie would bring good luck was still common, but the glass ring slowly fell out of favor as the flower bouquet toss replaced it.
The modern wedding cake as we know it now would originate at the 1882 wedding of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany; his wedding cake was the first to actually be completely edible. Pillars between cake tiers did not begin to appear until about 20 years later. The pillars were very poorly made from broomsticks covered in icing. The tiers represented prosperity and were a status symbol because only wealthy families could afford to include them in the cake. Prince Leopold's wedding cake was created in separate layers with very dense icing. When the icing would harden the tiers could be stacked, a groundbreaking innovation for wedding cakes at the time. Modern wedding cakes still use this method, with an added form of support with dowels imbedded in the cake to help carry the load, especially of larger cakes.
The white color has been attached to wedding ceremonies since the Victorian era when Queen Victoria chose to wear a white wedding dress at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. Queen Victoria accentuated an existing symbol, the color white, being frequently associated with virginity and purity in Western culture. The wedding cake was originally known as the bride's cake; therefore, the color white became common because the cake needed to reflect the bride – and the expensive ingredients that the family was able to afford, such as refined white sugar.
The cutting of the cake is a task full of symbolism.
In China, the couple begins cutting a multi-tier cake from the lowest level and gives the first pieces to their parents and other ancestors as a symbolic way of honoring their place as the foundation of the family.
There are also myths that bridesmaids have on dreaming of their future husbands. Hopeful bridesmaids would take a piece of cake home and place it under the pillow. Some bridesmaids would sleep with the pieces of cake in their left stocking and the rest under their pillows after passing the pieces of cake through the bride's wedding ring.Charsley, Simon R. (1992). Wedding Cakes and Cultural History. London: Routledge. Pp. 20, 102, 108, 109. .
In the medieval era, wedding cakes were constructed in rolls and buns that were laid on top of each other. The groom and bride would attempt to share a kiss on top of the stack of rolls to ensure fertility and have good fortune.
Very tall tiered cakes are important in Indonesia. The overall height of the cake is said to predict the couple's prosperity.
In the US, three tiers has been the most common choice since at least the 1960s.
In Appalachia, a stack cake was a way for poorer people to celebrate potluck-style by spreading the expense across the community. A stack cake is made of thin cakes baked by different guests for the wedding. These cakes are stacked on top of each other, with the layers usually being filled with apple butter or cooked apples.
Among the Cajuns in the US, multiple cakes are baked at home by the bride's family, rather than having one large cake.
According to the results of one survey, in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, most wedding cakes in the US were either white or yellow cakes. In the 2000s and 2010s, there was more diversity in flavors, but most of them were white or chocolate cake.
In Greece, the traditional flavor combination was honey, sesame seed, and quince. In modern Greece, an almond torte is more common. Greek wedding cakes are elaborate and even architectural, with many tiers.
In the Philippines, the cake may be a vanilla sponge cake, but it might also be a purple ube cake.
White cake is currently the most popular wedding cake flavor in the US, but different flavors of filling can be added between layers. Chocolate, carrot, Italian Rum and Italian Cream are also popular choices.
Wedding cakes based on flavor include chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry. Many modern cakes now consist of flavors such as vanilla sponge, chocolate sponge or carrot cake.
Bermuda has a different tradition of two cakes. There, the bride's cake is a three-tiered fruitcake, and the groom's cake is a pound cake. The bride's cake is decorated with silver and represents prosperity, and the groom's cake is decorated with gold and represents his role as the head of the family. The groom's cake is topped with a live cedar tree, which represents the couple's growing love, and which the couple later plants and cares for.
When Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011, a groom's cake was served alongside the wedding cake at the reception. The groom's cake was a chocolate biscuit cake based on a family recipe and McVitie's were asked to create it.
Fondant icing is a form of frosting style that is rolled out and draped over tiers. Its smooth, firm sugar icing is often embellished with appliqués, Fondant can be cut into designs, formed into shapes, flavored or tinted. Poured fondant is used to glaze petits fours and other detailed confections.
Flowerpaste or gumpaste is a pliable dough usually made from egg whites, unflavored gelatine, and powdered sugar. There are an array of methods and ingredients around the world on how to make flowerpaste and gumpaste. The purpose of this dough is typically to create flowers and other decorations for a cake. Due to the use of gum as one of the ingredients, it can be rolled very thin.
Royal icing is made with water, sugar and egg white or meringue powder. It hardens to a firm finish that can be piped or thinned for "flood work", when larger sections need to be iced. It hardens fast and is ideal for making detailed shapes ahead of time. It can also be piped directly onto cake tiers and works beautifully for delicate detail work. There are a few things to consider when working with royal icing: You must use grease free utensils. Humidity also affects the consistency of royal icing. Joseph Lambeth, a well known British cake decorator, developed a technique where he creates layered scrolls using royal icing as a medium.
A wedding cake may be topped with fresh flowers. This is typical in the Philippines.
Wedding cake toppers are models or art pieces that sit atop the cake. In the US, the most common type of cake topper features a representation of a bride and groom in wedding attire. This custom was dominant in US weddings in the 1950s, where it represented togetherness. Wedding toppers may also be figures that indicate shared hobbies or other passions, if they are used at all. Some are humorous, or may represent the couple's hobby or occupation. In Mexico, the wedding topper and other decorations tell a story about the couple's history.
Rather than the multiple tier wedding cake, some wedding parties have stands with multiple tiers where are placed, perhaps topped off with a small wedding cake at the top for the ceremonial cake-cutting. Being cheaper than a multi-tiered wedding cake, cupcakes also versatile in that they can have multiple flavors, colors, and designs.
Croquembouche is a complex pastry made of cream puffs and caramelized sugar. This pastry is the traditional approach to wedding cake in France.
In Norway and other countries, a pastry called Kransekake is the preferred approach to a wedding cake. This is often made by the family.
Kanom sam kloe is a fried pastry served at Thai weddings. Three balls of dough, made from and sesame seeds, are fried together. There are superstitions about whether the pieces of dough stay together; if they do, then this is said to portend a successful marriage and at least one child.
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