“Messy with fresh flowers” is the way Sky Manuel with Sky’s the Limit describes today’s cake trend. That may not sound like the typical wedding cake, but ruffles have been popular for the past few years and can range from organic textures to more structured designs incorporating ombre and hand-painted details.
Photos submitted by Sky’s the LimitBoth Manuel and Morgan Cerone Reed with Piece of Cake say brides are also asking for gold touches on their cakes. At Piece of Cake, that might be a simple white cake with a gold flower, gold ribbon or a gold diamond print on top. Manuel recently created a five-layer cake with ruffles on the bottom, followed by layers of gold damask, gold dots, handpainted ombre and a solid gold top.
Baker and artist really come together when hand-painting is called for, and Manuel says she uses edible glitter mixed with vodka, which helps to thin the paint and evaporates once it’s dry.
As weddings get smaller and scaled back, so do cakes. More often, brides are requesting just two tiers along with a groom’s cake or even cake pops from Sky’s the Limit to complement their offering of sweets. Flavors are also getting simpler, with traditional almond remaining the most popular.
Reed does expect orders for flavors like carrot cake, apple and pumpkin with cream cheese icing to come in for fall, and Manuel says strawberry, pecan praline and dulce de leche have been popular as of late. For brides looking to get a taste, Piece of Cake offers free samples of chocolate and vanilla cake with strawberry, fudge and Bavarian fillings, or pay $30 for a taste of any flavor and filling. At Sky’s the Limit, $15 gets you a taste of any flavors and fillings you want, with the fee going toward the cost of your cake if you book.
Tips from baker Morgan Cerone Reed:
Ordering a cake a year in advance is not too soon. Shops need as much time as possible.
Photos submitted by Sky’s the LimitButtercream will melt in an hour, fondant in two, so bakers prefer to deliver wedding cakes themselves and recommend they be kept inside until the reception for outdoor events. When deciding how much cake to order, consider that 25 percent of your guests probably won’t be able to attend. A three-tier cake can feed up to 150 people, a two-tier about 50. Many brides still opt to freeze their top tier for their anniversary, but shops can also make a separate anniversary cake for the occasion.