Trends In Cake Decorating Art For Weddings
Among all cakes, it is the wedding cake that best mirrors passing trends in cake decorating art. Because it is probably the most socially and personally significant cake that any person can ever have, much thought and expense goes into this cake. If you want to see what cake decoration has been like through the decades all you have to do is take a peek at the wedding cakes that people had.
The Wedding Cake in Transition
It was probably only towards the end of the 18th century that wedding cakes started to look closer to the ones we know. Before that, cakes went through their own evolution along with the unfolding of modern civilization. In Ancient Rome, a sturdy loaf of bread functioned as the wedding cake while in Medieval England the wedding cake was a stack of rolls piled high which the couple were to kiss over. From the middle of the 17th century right up to the beginning of the 19th century, the wedding cake was actually a pie which all guests had to partake of. Later, plum cakes and fruit cakes were served at weddings but these were neither iced nor frosted. In 1870, the advent of white flour made it more easily possible to have a white cake. By the 19th century, the wedding cake, then still called bride’s cake, was usually a pound cake and if the celebrants could afford it, it was decorated with white icing.
A Turning Point for Cake Decorating Art
In the early 1900’s, white sugar became more accessible and this gave rise to greater freedom in cake decoration. At around this time, cakes appeared with multiple tiers that were held up by pillars. These pillars were covered in icing; a unique feature that had never been seen before.
The usual method of decorating cakes before this time was to cover them with rolled fondant then pipe a design on the surface. Cakes then had to provide a sturdy base for the heavy and intricately embellished fondant. Gradually, other types of icing and frosting were utilized especially with lighter cakes such as sponge cake and the chiffon cake which was created in 1920.
Current Styles for Wedding Cakes
Today, cake decoration has acquired an amazing diversity in styles and themes. A wedding cake can now be made of fruit cake or pound cake or carrot cake or chocolate or whatever the bride desires. It can be topped with fondant or butter cream or white frosting. Cakes can be stacked so that each layer lies directly on top of the last or tiered with columns made of clear plastic so that each cake appears suspended in air. Wedding cakes can now also come in huge sizes or shaped like castles and boats. At the same time, diminutive cupcakes have also made their appearance as wedding cakes.
In the 19th century, wedding cakes were always decorated in white as a symbol of virginity and purity. Later, pastel colors were chosen to coordinate with the color scheme of the wedding and these colors started to appear on the cakes. Today, cakes can be decorated in any color, even black and white. The frilly flowers on cakes in the 1970’s have been traded in quite often for bold and vividly colored décor. Even toppers are no longer bound by the tradition of a bride and a groom ensconced on the top layer of the cake. Sometimes cartoons of the bride and groom are displayed instead. It is now even possible to have a wedding cake gilded in real gold.
The Cake as a Symbol
The wedding cake has long been a symbol of the many things couples wish for when they marry. With today’s cake decorating art brought to new heights of excellence and sophistication, cakes can not only become amazingly elaborate. They can also depict with better clarity the emblems and icons that embody every couple’s hope for a long and happy union.
