The bride will always be the centre of attention at a wedding, but after the vows have been said and the speeches are done, there is one more thing people want to see – the cake.
According to baker Sean Ross, the two most important things at a wedding are the bride and the cake.
“Pictures are usually taken with the cake and the traditional ceremony of the cutting of the cake,” said Ross, owner of Ross’s Bakery in High River.
Wedding cakes have come along way from the traditional layered white cake topped with a miniature bride and groom.
He said cakes, especially more elaborate ones, are an art form and the sky is the limit for what skilled bakers can achieve with their cakes.
As much as it must taste and look wonderful, he said it should also accentuate the bride.
“People are going to be looking at how it complements the bride, the bride usually wants it to be picture perfect,” he said.
In the end, it has to taste sensational and flavoured cakes are becoming more popular, said Ross.
“Raspberry filling, red velvet cakes, strawberry cakes with strawberry filling or lemon cakes,” he said. “If you get a three-tiered cake, you can have three different flavours.”
Jane Cyr, owner of Brown Sugar in Okotoks, said reality shows such as Cake Boss have raised interest in one-of-a-kind custom cakes.
“A lot of people mention it when they come in, especially if they’re ordering cakes, they say ‘I saw this on Cake Boss,’” she said.
Cyr said a trend south of the border is for the bride to have a groom’s cake made.
She did one last year in the shape of the state of Texas, where the groom was originally from and she heard of another where the cake as made in the shape of a drum set for the groom, who is a drummer.
“They do it a lot in the States, they have a wedding cake and the bride has a cake made for the groom, she picks and it’s usually a surprise,” said Cyr.
One new trend she is starting to see more is couples are getting a small cake to cut and serving cupcakes to their wedding guests. This makes up about half of the wedding cakes Cyr has done.
One of the main attractions to this option is it costs considerably less than a multi-layer cake, she said.
People need to consider two things ahead of time when ordering a cake: time and budget.
Wedding cakes don’t come cheap. Cyr said a person could expect to spend at least $150 or higher and the price will always depend on the final product. For example, one topsy-turvy cake on display at the store costs $375.
“Every cake price usually is different depending on what kind of cake they get, what kind of filling, what kind of icing, if it’s fondant or butter cream,” she said.
She sells the cupcakes by the dozen and the final price depends on what kind of decorations are used.
Ultimately, the options are endless and anyone looking for a custom cake with elaborate decorations should be prepared to pay a higher price for it, said Cyr.
In the end, she said it’s a time consuming process and this is reflected in the price.
“You have to bake the cake and then you have to let it settle and then you dirty ice it and then you have to put the fondant on and put on all the extra trim,” she said. “That all takes, sometimes, days.”
Both Ross and Cyr advised people to order their cakes three months in advance of the wedding date.
“I find a lot of people leave the cake for the last thing… It’s a good thing to go in early and discuss it with the baker,” said Ross. “You don’t have to order it but you should discuss it.”
While Ross fits each cake into his schedule to bake them fresh for the wedding, he said some things, such as gum-paste decorations, need to be done ahead of time.
While Ross can order flower decorations in for less than it costs him to make them, he said he has to order them three months in advance.
New computer software has made the entire cake making process easier. For instance, Ross has a computer program that will give someone a 3D image of what the final cake will look like.
Not only does it give the bride and groom a chance to see what their cake will look like, he said it makes it a lot easier for him to make the cake as well.
It will look so good one can almost taste it.
