Alternatives to the Traditional Wedding Cake
Written by Agnes Oczon
Personalizing and making your wedding different from
others seems to be a strong motivation for many brides these days. One more way
you can personalize or stand out is by doing something other than the
traditional with your wedding cake.
A traditional wedding cake is often round, white, and with a white or pastel
color frosting. One small break you can make from the traditional is to have a
flavor other than white cake. If you and your fiancee prefer chocolate, go
ahead, have a chocolate cake! Or if you prefer carrot cake, choose that flavor.
For something really different, you could forego the flour and water entirely,
and have cheesecake for your wedding "cake." Some cheesecakes have been covered
with fondant or a frosting of some kind so that it looks similar to a wedding
cake.
As mentioned, most wedding cakes are round, but having a square cake is also a
small departure from the traditional. Many square cakes are decorated like gifts
with giftwrap and are gorgeous.
Also, instead of the traditional white frosting, how about something with vivid
colors. You could use colors such as blue, sage green, lavender, bright yellow
or a rust orange (for the Fall). With fondant, these colors can now be used on
cakes beautifully.
Now enough about cakes. You could be especially unique if you don't have a
layered cake in the room at all, but instead have several small treats instead.
Individual miniature cakes will have guests marveling over the labor and
imagination that went into making the small cakes. It will make them feel like a
whole cake (however small) was made just for them.
You can also serve decorated cupcakes. A clever idea about serving cupcakes is
displaying them in the shape of a cake. They could be stacked on a tiered server
of some kind. Cupcakes are a great idea if you are not into lavishly decorated
cakes, and because it adds a little fun and individuality to the reception.
Besides, who doesn't like cupcakes!!!
Since we're talking about alternatives to having a cake, let your imagination
go…you could also make a tiered display using cookies or brownies. You could
also use a variety of different sweet treats, from chocolate chip cookies, to
cream puffs, to Russian tea cakes. A large display of these, on tiers in a shape
similar to a wedding cake is sure to be a feast for the eyes, besides a feast of
flavors for your guests.
Something many chocolate lovers would be sure to love. To add to a tiered
display of all sorts of sweets…mix in some fruit. Next to the display, you could
have chocolate for dipping! When people pick their desired desserts, they could
take a little chocolate to dip them in, for a perfect after dinner treat.