Having Your Cake

Wedding cakes have come a long way since the Roman Empire. For one thing, they used to be a hard loaf of barley that the groom would break over his new wife’s head. As the crumbs scattered, the invited guests would dive to the floor and try to scarf them up as a rite of fertility. Obviously, the only one who wasn’t amused by the pandemonium – not to mention the havoc that bread-breaking wreaked on a hairstyle – was the bride. It was clearly a tradition that had to go.

During Medieval times, stacking breads on top of one another caught on and popularized the belief that if a couple could kiss each other over the top stack without knocking the whole thing over, their union would be blessed with lots of children. Another interesting concept that made its debut was a bridal pie – usually made of mutton or mince – that contained a glass ring. Legend had it that whomever got the slice with the ring in it would be the next bride. As a wedding treat, however, greasy mutton didn’t have a large fan base. Cake made a welcome comeback.

It was King Charles II – reputed to have a sweet tooth – who decided that icing would be a nice touch. Historians also credit him for adding decorative props like horseshoes, bells and anvils. Multi-tiered cakes, however, presented structural challenges to town bakers and were prone to collapse (especially the ones with anvils). The solution? Upper layers of lightweight spun sugar that allowed them to not only build even higher cakes but also lift the tops off and recycle them to the next wedding. It’s also no coincidence that wedding cakes were white. Aside from the lack of food colorings that lent themselves attractively to desserts, snowy white icings reflected the prosperity of the bride’s family because only the highest quality sugar was used.

Although white cakes with white frosting are still very much in fashion in the 21st century, many brides are now incorporating wedding theme colors, shells, flowers, feathers, sculptures (often reflecting hobbies or travels), balloons, beads, and monogrammed letters into the overall design. For those on a budget, a small ceremonial cake for the bride and groom to cut is often supplemented with an iced sheet cake for the guests. Along with the ever popular flavors of carrot, spice, lemon, chocolate and butter cream, non-traditional tastes such as kaluha, gingerbread, rum and espresso are joining the yummy line-up.