|
|
Wedding Cakes & Pastries
|
Ok,
it's finally time to choose your wedding cakes. This can
be a fun or tedious experience, depending on if you
already have an idea of what you are looking for. Cake
pricing can range from as little as $2.00 per slice to
as much as $9.00. Baking a wedding cake is very labor
intensive, and some cakes take as long as thirty hours
to produce. The pricing for your cake is not just
dependant on the size and design of the cake, but also
on the types of icing. Fondant icing needs to be rolled
and draped on the cake, requiring more time to produce
than other types of icing. Gum paste and marzipan
flowers are usually handmade and increase the price of
the cake. Cakes also vary in density and filler.
Denser cakes can be cut into smaller pieces, and fillers
such as butter cream and ganache can be used.
Cake tops are shifting away from the classic
bride and groom. Modern wedding cakes feature fresh
flower tops, edible flowers made from marzipan or gum
paste, or no top at all. Don’t forget about the groom's
cake. It is a different type than the wedding cake,
usually rich chocolate with strawberries, and can be
shaped in a form that reflects the grooms interests and
personality. Cake pulls (charms) are usually for the
close, single friends of the bride. A short list of the
types of pulls (charms) and their meaning is included at
the end of this article. |
North Productions
|
There are so many terms your baker will use, it can be
confusing. I have included a list and basic explanation
of the most common options and terms. |
Basket Weave: A similar look to a wicker
basket; the icing is woven both horizontal and
vertical.
Butter Cream: A very soft, easy-to-cut
through icing that is available in different
colors. Piping, rosettes and other borders can
be made with butter cream. Since it is
butter-based, it is very susceptible to heat.
Ganache: A dense, rich chocolate filler,
made from chocolate and cream, that can also be
used as an icing.
Dragees: Edible sugar balls coated with
silver or gold and used for decorations.
Dotted
Swiss: A technique that forms tiny dots in a
random pattern.
Latticework: A crisscross open pattern
decoration.
Gum Paste: Made of sugar, cornstarch and
gelatin, it is used to mold flowers and fruits
for cake decorations. Gum paste is edible and
can be kept for years. |
|
Cornelli: A piping technique that
produces a lace-like pattern.
Fondant: An
elastic icing made of gelatin, sugar, and corn
syrup that is rolled with a rolling pin and
draped over the cake. This icing is more
difficult to cut than butter cream.
Whipped Cream: A heavy cream beaten to a
thick consistency. Must be refrigerated and
kept in a cool area during transport and the
wedding.
Royal Icing: Made of egg whites and
confectionery sugar; used to create latticework,
beading, bows, and flowers. Its texture is hard
and brittle and should not be refrigerated.
Pillars: Usually made of plastic and
available in several lengths and styles, pillars
are used in multi-leveled cakes to support the
raised levels.
Marzipan: Used to mold edible flowers or
fruit to decorate the cake. Marzipan is made of
ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites and can
also be used as an icing. |
| |
|
| |
For more
information, a detailed planning timeline and budgeting
information, please visit one of our distribution
vendors for your copy of Original Bride. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
