Wedding cake with pillar supports, 2009. A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. Wedding cakes come in a variety of sizes, depending on wedding cake designs number of guests the cake will serve. Modern pastry chefs and cake designers use various ingredients and tools to create a cake that usually reflects the personalities of the couple.
The first wedding cakes were probably made in ancient Greece. The contemporary wedding cake has grown out of several different ethnic traditions. One of the first traditions began in Ancient Rome, where a cake of wheat or barley was broken over the bride’s head to bring good fortune to the couple. During the 16th century to the 17th century, the “bride’s pie” was served at most weddings.
Different from the modern sweet wedding cake, bride pie is savoury. In the 17th century, two cakes were made: one for the bride and one for the groom. The groom’s cake would fall out of favour as the bride’s cake became the main cake for the event. When the two cakes were served together, the groom’s cake was typically the darker colored, rich fruit cake and generally much smaller than the bride’s cake. Wedding cakes in England and early America were traditionally fruit cakes, often tiered and topped with marzipan and icing. Cutting the cake was an important part of the reception. White icing was also a symbol of money and social importance in Victorian times, so a white cake was highly desired.
In Medieval England cakes were stacked as high as possible for the bride and groom to kiss over. A successful kiss meant they were guaranteed a prosperous life together. From this the Croquembouche was created. In 1703, Thomas Rich, a baker’s apprentice from Ludgate Hill, fell in love with his employer’s daughter and asked her to marry him. He wanted to make an extravagant cake, so he drew on St Bride’s Church, on Fleet Street in London for inspiration. Traditionally the bride would place a ring inside the couple’s portion of the cake to symbolise acceptance of the proposal.
Bride’s pie would evolve into the bride’s cake. At this point the dessert was no longer in the form of a pie and was sweeter than its predecessor. Fruit cakes were a sign of fertility and prosperity, which helped them gain popularity because married men wanted to have plenty of children. The bride’s cake would transform into the modern wedding cake we know today. In the early 19th century, sugar became easier to obtain during the time when the bride’s cakes became popular.
Pillars between cake tiers did not begin to appear until about 20 years later. The pillars were very poorly made from broomsticks covered in icing. Wedding cakes have been present at wedding ceremonies for centuries. They were not always the focus of the event and often came in different forms, like pies or bread.