The Flavor of Love

By Staci Dunn, The Cake Lady Custom Cakes

The Heston Blumenthal (AKA The Sophisticated Gourmet) once said, “To me, food is as much about the moment, the occasion and the company as it is about the taste,” and I couldn’t agree more. Couples today are bombarded with so many choices to make when planning their wedding — the venue, the date, the dress, the color scheme, the flowers, and the list goes on and on. I can go on and on about the sometimes overwhelming but very necessary amount of choices that there are to make to turn their dream wedding into a reality. With or without a wedding planner, decisions still have to be made.

One more important decision to throw on the pile (or add to your planner book) would be choosing a cake design and of course a cake flavor. Gone are the days of a simple white cake with buttercream filling. Couples these days have a plethora of flavor options at most artisan bakeries. I for one would want a cake that makes people say, “I can’t wait for dessert.” As an experienced, professional cake artist, I find that there are several helpful insights you can use when choosing a flavor. One, for example is what season of year is the wedding? For a spring wedding you may want to think about a floral design and a cake with fruit filling, like strawberry, lavender, white chocolate or blueberry. For a summer wedding, you may want to consider a refreshing citrus flavor like lemon, key lime, mango, passionfruit or raspberry. Fall weddings have particular flavors associated with that time of year, such as pumpkin, spice cake or cinnamon apple. And of course winter is associated with fig, cranberry, dark chocolate and butterscotch.

Another helpful insight would be the type of venue you have chosen. The atmosphere can lend itself to the design and flavor options. For example, a farmhouse or rustic wedding venue may inspire you to choose a naked, birchwood or a cake with neutral colors and decor such as dried flowers and pompas grass, which are highly trending right now. Common flavors for a venue like this would be a light and creamy French vanilla or butter pecan cake, especially in the fall. A beach venue may lead you to choose an elegant seashell or nautical-themed cake. Appropriate flavors for such a venue might be mango, pineapple or coconut. Chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, almond and white cake are relatively traditional flavors that are usually crowd-pleasers. These are “safe” choices for the couple that wants to keep things on the simpler side.

Regardless of the venue or time of year, there are no rules when it comes to choosing a flavor for your wedding cake. People are there to celebrate you and whether you choose a traditional simple white wedding cake with buttercream filling or a scrumptious pink champagne cake with a dreamy white chocolate mousse filling, people will remember the most important thing at the wedding — the love you and your new spouse share.

Photos courtesy of The Cake Lady Custom Cakes