Bakeries share current cake trends for local brides and grooms

 

Story by Emily Sparacino

Photos contributed

 

One of the sweetest parts of a couple’s wedding day is usually the ceremony, when the bride and groom stand before their family and friends and pledge their lives to each other.

But tradition calls for the sweetness to extend beyond the ceremony. Cakes and desserts couples serve at their receptions can reflect their personalities and add another layer of enjoyment to the big day for brides, grooms and their guests.

Cindy Caradine, a wedding consultant for Edgar’s Bakery, and Theresa Herrod, co-owner of Tee’s Cakes & Pastries, shared trends in the wedding cake world involving cake flavor, icing, decorations, toppers and other elements.

“We are seeing simpler styles now,” Caradine said, noting many brides are opting for textures like smooth, stucco, lined and even “naked” or “semi-naked,” in which the icing on the outside of the cake has been completely or partially wiped off to show the cake itself and the icing between each layer.

“A lot of them like the naked cake,” Herrod said of brides she has worked with recently. “We’ve been doing a lot of those.”

Caradine and Herrod said strawberry is a popular flavor for wedding cakes.

“Traditional yellow cake is popular, and strawberry is huge,” Caradine said, and added Edgar’s can make each tier of a cake – and each layer – a different flavor.

“I think the cake flavor is important,” Caradine said. “Our cake tastes good.”

Caradine said Edgar’s places an interior support system of plates and pillars in all tiered cakes to ensure stability.

Tee’s also offers brides the option of incorporating different flavors in their cakes.

“We do a lot of tiered wedding cakes,” Herrod said.

Icing is important, too, and couples should consider the conditions, including temperature, their cakes will need to withstand at the venue.

Caradine said white buttercream is popular. It can be decorated and stays intact.

Herrod said Tee’s homemade strawberry icing is a common choice.

Regarding cake decorations, Caradine said she is seeing more brides opt for fresh flowers instead of fondant flowers. Monograms, feathers, ribbon and metallic touches are popular, too.

Sports-themed cakes and cakes shaped like books or other objects are other options.

Caradine said Edgar’s can do couture cakes, but she advises brides to ask whether the bakery has ever made the style of cake they want.

Couples can also incorporate cake toppers that reflect their interests. Caradine said deer-themed toppers, such as antlers, are trending.

Groom’s cakes are where many couples decide to be adventurous with style and design.

Herrod said some grooms choose peanut butter cakes, noting, “You never know until you cut.”

Herrod said other grooms want candy displays, sometimes with other desserts mixed in.

“We make our own candies here,” Herrod said.

Caradine said she has seen grooms choose cheesecakes and pies over traditional cakes.

Cake shapes can be square, octagonal and round, or a mixture of different shapes.

Presentation is another key factor in wedding cake design. Cake stands can add touches of elegance or simplicity, depending on the overall atmosphere the couple wants to create.

Edgar’s rents cake stands for $35.

Tee’s allows couples to use its cake stands if a staff member is present to serve the cake at the reception.

As Edgar’s wedding consultant, Caradine helps with design and coordinating delivery of couples’ cakes.

Edgar’s delivers cakes two hours ahead of the event to allow extra time should any issues arise. The cost is $50 to deliver in the Birmingham area.

“Delivery is definitely worth doing,” Caradine said.

Edgar’s wedding cakes start at $3.25 per serving for tiered cakes.

Edgar’s Bakery has provided wedding cakes ever since owners Terry and Dottie Smith opened it 19 years ago.

Locations include Cadence Place – Greystone, 6801 Cahaba Valley Road, No. 128; Pelham, 499 Southgate Drive; and Patton Creek, 180 W. Main St., Hoover.

Caradine is available Monday-Saturday between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information or to request a consultation, go to Edgarsbakery.com.

Herrod said she has nearly 25 years of experience making wedding cakes.

“I taught my daughter how to do it, too,” she said. “We just have fun doing it.”