Today marks the official first day of summer, and that means it is BBQ, baseball, boating and also wedding season. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, there are on average approximately 70,000-80,000 weddings in Illinois per year. The Knot, a clearinghouse website for wedding planning, notes that the average wedding costs around $30,000, making the market share of this special day well into the billions of dollars spent for the hospitality industry!
After seven years together, my fiancée and I are saying, “I do!” on July 7 and find ourselves in the final stretch of planning details for our big day. One of thousands of details is none other than the wedding cake — a tradition with quite an evolutionary story.
Wedding cakes are said to have origins dating back to Roman times when throwing grains of wheat at the newly married couple was said to bring them luck and fertility. Then breaking the wedding “cake” over the bride’s head became the ritual to ensure the same good fortune. While the “cake” of those times was more of a bread made of barley or wheat, the tradition continued and had another big modification as they gained layers, height and the ceremonious kiss during the Middle Ages. Again, another big jump in the age-old tradition happened as pure white sugar came to be more abundant in both the cake and the icing in the 17th century.
I spoke with Melanie Dineen, wedding cake designer and right-hand woman at Incredibly Delicious about the changes in wedding cakes she has witnessed in her 27 years at the downtown Springfield bakery owned by her brother Patrick Groth.
How have client preferences for decorating wedding cakes changed over the years?
The days of pillars, elaborate draped fondant and gum paste flower trends have taken a backseat to more organic designs. Our clients tend to enjoy the taste and look of buttercream more than fondant these days. We see a lot of texture and fresh floral designs as well as a beautiful use of color. Ombres, watercolors and hand-painted wedding cakes are very popular right now, and this season I have seen gold leaf trending as a beautiful accent on wedding cakes — both stunning and elegant.
Any predictions on the next wedding cake trends?
Hand-painted floral wedding cakes are seeing a strong trend currently and are so much fun to create. There is a lot of trust that goes into the artistry of these designs, and clients are happy to explore this. I predict that along with the continued hand-painted buttercream trend, retro wedding cake designs are the next wave. These are cakes with multi-layered scroll piping, beautiful ruffles and lots of color. I have already gotten to create some of these trending wedding cakes, and they are fantastic. It’s interesting how old ideas come back with a new twist, and people simply love them.
What are the most popular wedding cake flavors?
Our most popular wedding cake flavor is the white chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse. It checks the traditional white wedding cake box with an elevated flavor palate. People are often surprised how much they enjoy it when they have a wedding cake tasting. For summer, the lemon blueberry is a great refreshing choice. For our chocolate lovers, the chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling is a real crowd pleaser. The chocolate cake filled with our house made raspberry jam is also a wonderful pairing. We offer wedding cake tastings with a sampling of four cake flavors.
Melanie’s recipe for your best wedding cake:
- Get your cake plan together sooner rather than later.
- Taste testing is always the best (and most fun) way to choose wedding cake flavors. Visit the Incredibly Delicious website for information on wedding cake tasting appointments.
- No matter the trend, choose a wedding cake that makes you happy!
While I hope that my groom does not follow the Roman tradition of breaking the cake over my head on the big day, I look forward to lots of special moments filled with lots of love. Trends and traditions aside, best wishes to all the couples out there embarking on a special path together this summer. May you have the best day and certainly eat the best cake!
About
Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.
Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.