Wedding Cake Flavours. How do you choose them?

How do you choose your wedding or event cake flavour/s?

We have talked about finding the right cake maker (hopefully that’s us!), and how your wedding cake will look. But this is only half the story.

We need think about how your cake will taste! There is nothing worse than being wowed by the cake, only to be disappointed when you come to eat it. We take great pride in making sure that never happens with one of our wedding or events cakes. It’s a hard job having to test out cake recipies…..

It seems to be a common theme that when we meet with our couples to discuss their wedding cake, they are divided. One is very keen on how the cake looks, the other is more interested in how the cake tastes.

And that’s what we are going to talk about today. Cake flavours.

Gone are the days when the wedding cake was a fruit cake, all of it. With marzipan and thick royal icing that needed a chisel (there’s good reason why cake knives used to be so big and heavy!) Although I do still, occasionally, do fruit cake for weddings, it’s usually a sponge cake. I don’t really know when the change from fruit cake to sponge started for wedding cakes, if you know maybe you can tell us.

However fruit cake will last for a long time. And a very boozy cake will last even longer. We all know how long a Christmas cake will keep. It was always the tradition to keep the top tier of the wedding cake as a christening cake or 1st anniversary cake. For this fruit cake is perfect, as all you need to do is wrap it well and keep it in a cool place. So if you wanted to do this then maybe having a tier of fruit cake might be worth thinking about. However sponge cake freezes really well, so this is another option for saving a tier.

Back to the cake flavours. We’re often told by couples that choosing the cake flavours is one of their favourite parts of the wedding planning process. Who doesn’t like to eat cake?!

But how do you narrow it down?

 Firstly, there’s no reason why you can’t have each tier of your cake a different flavour. So if you are having a four tier cake, then you can have four flavours. And yes, you can mix fruit cake with sponge cake if you want to. However remember that the smaller tiers will have less servings. So you may want to stick to two flavours and have them divided between the tiers to give the same amount of each flavour. And remember that fruit cake will, generally, be cut into smaller portions and so should serve more.

A lot of our couples worry about making sure they choose flavours that will please their wedding guests. While there is nothing wrong with that, and it’s worth bearing in mind, my advice is to have the flavour, or flavours, you want. It’s your wedding, the chances are that you’re paying for it. So have what pleases you, in taste as well as appearance. We had one couple who chose the whole four tier cake, to feed over 100, all in coconut and lime cake with pineapple buttercream. It was their favourite flavour from the list, and that’s what they wanted. When I asked if they were sure the bride said ‘It’s our wedding, they will get the cake we choose!’

My advice would be to have a look on your chosen cake makers website and have a chat with them about the flavours they offer.  We have a list of the most popular flavours on the website, and will happily go off list if you have something very specific in mind. Find out what seems to be the most popular flavours amongst your closest friends and family. And then think about what your favourite cake flavours are.

Also arrange a cake tasting and consultation with your cake maker. We offer two options. A full consultation with a tasting box of three flavours, in person. Or a tasting box by post. The postal boxes are a great option if you are getting married a long way from home. Based in the South West we get this a lot. We can then arrange a Zoom call.

 Now you may think that a cake is a cake is a cake. But there are literally thousands of recipes out there, and each cake maker will have their preferred recipes. And so one persons chocolate cake could taste very different to another. Therefore it’s important to make sure you’re happy with the taste of the cakes before the big day, to ensure no disappointments.

Often we hear that couples don’t get to have any cake on the day, as there is so much else going on. If you have the venue save the top tier, then you know you won’t miss out. Why not have the smallest, top tier, in your favourite flavour. Then ask the venue to save that for you.  

Another consideration is dietary requirements of any guests. A good cake maker will be able to deal with this so you don’t have to worry about it. I regularly do gluten free, dairy free or both. And they don’t have to be separate from the rest of the cake either. These days your really can’t tell the difference between ‘free from’ and regular cakes. Vegan cakes can be a little more specialised, so make sure you ask your cake maker early on about any vegan options. We don’t do vegan cakes ourselves. And always check with your guests if it’s an allergy or intolorence, and let us know. We do everything we can to limit cross contamination, but it’s not 100% possible in a single kitchen. So if anyone will be made seriously ill by ingesting an allergen, then we need to know. We will then advise what we can and can’t offer for them.

So here is your checklist for choosing your wedding cake flavours:

What are YOUR favourite flavours?

You can have each tier a different flavour, including fruit cake. So you don’t have to be restricted to one flavour. But also remember the smaller the tiers get the less cake servings in that flavour you will have.

Think about what your guests would like, but don’t sacrifice what you want.

Check if there are any dietary requirements among your guests. And make sure to discuss this with your cake maker.

Don’t be afraid to ask to go off list. A good cake maker will be able to accommodate any special requests as long as they are given enough notice.

Do a cake tasting. Sometimes the flavour you think you want might change when you try it. And you might end up liking something you didn’t think you would.

Most importantly? Enjoy it!