Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Guide to Wedding Cake Frosting

Next to the bridal gown, the wedding cake is perhaps the most detail intensive element of planning your event. It will take days if not weeks before the future bride can choose the exact design and color of her cake. On top of this, it may take her forever to decide the cake frosting to be used by her baker.

This is the reason why you need to get a reputable baker so they can make intelligent suggestions as to which frosting would be best for the chosen cake design. You may know a thing or two about cakes but only those who have experienced in decorating them can tell you the pros and cons of using a specific frosting. Here are some of the types of cake frosting commonly used today.

Butter cream

Butter cream is a very versatile ingredient because it can be used both as a filling and a frosting. Bakers prefer this frosting because it is easy to color depending on the motif of the wedding. It is also easy to come up with various designs using this frosting. The only problem is that it can easily melt especially if the temperature is not controlled so watch out for butter cream if you are holding an outdoor reception.

Fondant

If you have seen satin smooth cakes that look perfect even if shaped like a gift, flower or anything at all then most probably it has been designed using fondant. Fondant icing is picture perfect and no one can argue with that. However, it does not taste as delicious as the other icing and some would even say it tastes bad. Some bakers however have a trick of using butter cream beneath the fondant to give it a really nice flavor.

Marzipan

This is a favorite among bakers as it tastes good and can be made to look like fondant icing. Marzipan contains sugar, eggs and crushed almonds making it a very tasty topping. However, using marzipan can be very expensive so be prepared for your wallet to take a hit.

Royal icing

This is perhaps the cheapest frosting anyone can use for a wedding cake. It can also produce picture perfect cakes with very intricate designs. Royal icing is actually a very hard frosting so there is seldom need to refrigerate it. You can have your baker create miniature cakes for you using some of the frosting you are interested in and then you can taste them and decide which one will look and taste the best.

Find more advice on wedding planning and mother of the groom dresses

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amanda_Jane

Wedding Cakes - How to Come Up With Great Ideas For Decoration

A wedding ceremony is the most wonderful day for any bride and she wants everything to go perfectly. Everything from the food to the clothing needs to be organized and put together with a purpose. The cake is a major part of any wedding reception and it should be exactly what the bride and the groom want.

A wedding cake should be based on personal preference; there is no right or wrong way to decorate a cake. Whatever your personality and whatever your wedding theme, it is totally up to you. Here are just a few tips and suggestions on Wedding Cake Decorating Ideas.

Themes:

There are several themes that can be created around a wedding cake, they are: glamorous, casual, bohemian, modern, classic, and of course romantic. A glamorous cake should be dramatic and vibrant with beading and draping. Beautiful colors like pearl, white, gold and silver should be used.

A casual wedding cake can be sandy beaches or a baseball field. There can be greenery, vineyards, mouldings and confection with pale colors like light blue, light green and beige.

The Bohemian styled wedding party cake can be very earthy, multi-shaped, contoured with browns, beige, white, black etc colors.

The modern wedding cake theme can be geometric, full of metallic colors like gold, silver and white, also pink and orange thrown in for effect. The classic theme can be simple, elegant and classy. The romantic theme can consist of flowers, sculptures, gardens and castles. It should be enchanting and magical with roses and rose petals.

The cake should represent your personality and the theme can be anything you want from holidays to weather seasons. You can have unique toppers or traditional cake toppers. You can add flowers and pearls, vines and skittles.

Whatever makes you happy is what you should do. The only advice I have is do everything you wish with the wedding cake but take enough care that everything fits into the large scheme of things perfectly. The ambiance, dress of the couple, the cake every thing should support the overall theme of the occasion.

Everything should be taken into consideration when planning a wedding cake, finances, size, colors, theme, and comfort. Wedding Cake Decorating can be done with the do it yourself attitude if you so choose, but if you choose to go this route it is best to make sure you are experienced in baking large cakes and you know the tricks of the trade for keeping a large multi-layered cake in place for a long period of time.

Study, do the research and take a class or two, but do it your way and you will be happy with whatever you choose to do. Enjoy your wedding and enjoy your cake, make it your own, be creative and make your day special.

Check this popular cake decorating course to know more about cake decorating. Also do not forget to try this cake decorating tutorial.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tapan_Sarkar

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Hot Tips For Baking Cool Wedding Cakes


Bakers and aspiring bakers are always on the hunt for the latest in baking, specially wedding cakes. This reflects changes in tastes and brides are choosier or adventurous when choosing their cake designs.

Baking for Weddings

If you have been baking since your brownies days and shifting towards tricky wedding cakes, there are a lot of things you should before you embark on this baking career. Basic baking classes can start you off in the right direction but if you content yourself with textbook knowledge and don't roll up your sleeves, you can't be the best wedding cake baker. Learning to bake the super cake prepares you to bake your own four-tier cake.

So you want to try baking wedding cakes? Whether it is for business or a preparation for your own wedding, baking great cakes can be lucrative and rewarding. Before starting out, master the basic butter and white recipes. Try new recipes, such as the Italian Light Coconut Cake and other cake recipes for prospective customers who might request cakes generally baked back home - Mexican cakes, German chocolate cake, strawberry shortcakes, and cheesecakes.

While learning different recipes for wedding cakes, shop for different baking equipments. Cake recipes call for specific baking utensils and equipment. Making do with what you have may not yield the best results so prepare to invest heavily in quality baking utensils and equipment. You will need food processors, different sized baking pans, custom-made pans, two heavy duty cake mixers, on top of the oven. To save on money, buy your mixers and food processors direct from the manufacturer or distributor.

Various cake decorating tools that can handle wear and tear are best additions for the baking collection. Familiar brands of these items can be bought online or from the super mart. All baking tools and equipment should be kept scrupulously clean. Pans should not rust or have dents. Everything must be in perfect condition for each baking session.

Baking Your Own Wedding Cake

Wedding cakes are baked days before the wedding. Baking a four or five layer cake is best baked three days before the wedding. The final touches can be a day before wedding day. Baking four or five cakes in different sizes can take you an entire day; icing and decorating one or two days. So time your schedule to have your very own ready for the reception.

During the first day, that's the baking day, cakes should be cooled for thirty minutes before these are removed from the pans. To remove, carefully run a knife around the pans' insides and turn the pans upside down to slide cakes out. When the cakes are completely cooled, cover with foil until you are ready to assemble the cakes.

If you cake recipe calls for filling, use a serrated knife to cut cake into equal layers. This is tricky so do this slowly lest the cake should break. The fun part starts when you ice and decorate the cake. If you are copying wedding cakes designs from magazines, be sure to have everything ready and ribbons measured and pre-cut. The day before the wedding do the icing and decorating. Make sure that people transporting your cake to the reception secures the cake in position. Final touches can be done at the venue by a friend or the hotel's chief baker.

If you can't bake your own wedding cake, order yours from trusted bakeshops months ahead. You can also order your cake from a one-stop bridal shop.

For wedding cakes and wedding dresses, check out the one-stop shop for wedding dresses in Toronto. Visit BestforBride.com today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarrah_Beaumont

Wedding Cake Stands Are Also Important

It is really a beautiful picture of the bride and groom with the most blessedness cutting the cake which is accepted as a form of bond that heralds the sweet beginning of the new couple. Not as important as the wedding dress or the ideal venue for the reception, wedding cake stands can also be important as it is not only for support but also do a big job to display that sweet things beautifully. Therefore, a stand is often used at wedding to show off that delicious yet stylish cake.

Types of the stands vary a lot. As most wedding cakes are three-tire, a required stand that is capable to hold such a style of cake is normally square or round. It could be an unraised cake plate, a plateau stand, or a pedestal stand. Additionally glass, acrylic, ceramic, metal or even single-use styrofoam cake stands could be used for a nice-looking wedding cake. Besides there are numerous styles of stands available to accommodate the wide variations of cakes.

To finish an elegant and eye-poping appearance, grouped arrangements can be also important. As the stands of all sorts and types are available for grouped arrangements to look chic and trendy. Each cake can be displayed individually on its own stand for its beautiful appearance. Here are some great ways to show off your palatable cakes: stair-step format for a dazzling look, a rounded appearance symmetrically in a delicate manner, a cascading look to be more visually spectacular, or asymmetrically grouping with the unique personality.

When it comes to choosing the stand, it would be never right or wrong as long as the stand provides adequate support. Ask your bakery first to be sure your option of cake stand can be acceptable to hold and display what you have.

With a chic tier wedding cake stand to hold and show off some sweetness and beauty at your wedding, take a beautiful picture of the wedding cake to complete your memorable wedding photo album!

Look for more information on tier wedding-cake stands at our site! It would be really easy to select a perfect wedding cake stands!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Nyleve

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Custom Wedding Cake Topper Can Serve As a Good Gift For the Bride and the Groom

Wedding, no doubt is a very special occasion to be celebrated. Cake is the most common item in such an occasion and recently cake have also become quite common. Without proper cake and cake, the entire party looks incomplete. This is why along with the choice of wedding dress, favors, accessories, it is also necessary to pay attention on the wedding cake and spend considerable amount of time with the wedding cake.

With the increasing popularity of toppers in the such cake, the demand for custom cake topper is also on a rise. The bride-groom or someone close to the bride groom may like to customize the cake topper in their own ways and this can be done quite easily. Some of the common custom cake includes the little figures in funny poses resembling the bride and the groom or a special monogram with engravings.

Custom cake is a very good gift to a bride and groom. The customized gift with personal touches will make them feel special and the greatest part is that they will be surprised to receive the gift. This will also add special touches to their wedding day.

In the recent days, people order for wedding cake favors through the internet. There are several sites that offer choices of cake toppers and accept orders from the customers. If necessary they also make custom cake for their customers according to their instructions or requirements.

Since there are several kinds of custom cake, at times it becomes difficult to select the right one. Here are few tips for help.

o A custom cake should be based on the personality of the bride groom. It should be memorable for the couple. A thorough research about the different available toppers can help to make a better selection of the customized cake toppers.

o The material used for the favors is also essential because at times the style of the wedding cake toppers depend on the material used.

So in the wide variety of choices, it is always better to take sufficient time in order to pick up the best topper.

Since the such cake is the next important thing in the occasion after the bride and the groom, it is essential to pay special attention to the cake topper. A custom wedding cake topper can also be

made the center of attraction. This will make the wedding party more special and unique. Among the several online sites that offer custom wedding cake topper, hea

dbobble.com is the best. Wedding cake toppers of various kinds will be available here at cheaper rates. Moreover, a customer will not face any difficulty to choose the best topper for the cake. Several people have benefited from this site. The reviews of the customers can be checked to develop a fair idea about the site and then go for the purchase.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clara_Ghomes

How To Pick The Perfect Wedding Cake

Your wedding is your special day. Of course, you want everything to be absolute perfection. You have to get yourself the best dress money can buy. You have to have your ceremony and reception in the most gorgeous setting. And, of course, you want to have the best cake ever - by far the most fun part of your wedding planning efforts.

The Look

Common advice dictates that you should not judge a book by its cover. You can ignore such advice in this case. When choosing your wedding cake, the look does matter, more than any other.

When you're picking a wedding cake, take the time to browse through several cake shops and browse through color catalogs to find one that fits your wedding theme and motif perfectly. Better yet, if your budget permits, you can get a cake customized especially for your wedding. This way your cake will seamlessly blend in with the decor, complimenting the overall look and feel of your wedding.

Why is this important? Simply put, your wedding cake is the centerpiece of the reception. It is by far the most unique and the most admired of all your wedding trappings. It's meant to stand out, yes, not as a wallflower, but as the ultimate topper of your wedding decor.

The Taste

Beauty is more than skin deep. This is especially true in wedding cakes. Your cake is gorgeous and it will capture the admiration of your guests, so it's only fitting that it's tastes good as well. Suffice to say, your cake should literally be good enough to eat.

Most cake shops offer samples for tasting purposes. You should definitely take advantage of this opportunity. Take the time to sample different combinations of icing, flavors, and fillings.

So what should you look for in a good wedding cake? First of all, consider the icing. You can go for fondant or royal icing. Your icing should be sweet, but not overly so. You don't want to your icing to dominate the whole cake. If your cake has flowerettes and other decorations on it made of marzipan, fondant, or any other confection, sample those as well.

Next, consider the cake itself. You can have your choice of chiffon, sponge, and many more. These often come in different flavors that you can choose from. A good cake is soft enough to melt in your mouth, but not crumble when cut by a knife or fork. Also, the flavor has to be noticeable, but not overwhelmingly so.

Lastly, consider the cake's filling. Most cake shops also offer different options for this, and you can choose one perfect for your palate. The filling should be creamy and should blend perfectly with the icing and the cake itself. Of course, if you've chosen a tiered cake and are having a hard time figuring out which combination to go for, you can always request a different one for each tier.

Indeed, as hectic as planning a wedding could be, picking a wedding cake takes the strain out of everything else. This is a good opportunity to put the fun back in your wedding planning. Of course, with all the tasting, don't get carried away or else you won't fit in your dress!

Put as much effort in thinking of groomsmen gift ideas as you would in picking your wedding cake. Consider personalized pub signs or Zippo products. Visit ExecutiveGiftShoppe.com today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bradlley_Mckoy

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Dos dan Don'ts of Wedding Cake Decorating

The wedding cake decorating is one thing you want to get right on the biggest day of your life. There's no bigger occasion than a wedding and there's no bigger central piece than the wedding cake. We all want it to be the best cake possible and this can be achieved by following the dos and don'ts of wedding cake decorating in this article.

Do:

- Buy a small practice cake and test out different types of cake decorating designs. By the end of this, you would have a better idea as to what kind of decorating would look best for your wedding cake

- Look at other wedding cakes in town and get ideas and draw inspiration from them

- Get advice and/or help from a professional cake decorator if you don't believe that you can come up with a decent wedding cake. If you have no idea, then it is best to hire a professional.

Don't:

- Go overboard with the amount of decorations on the cake otherwise you risk detracting from the appearance of the cake.

- Buy the cheapest icing available as this probably means that it's already out of date. High quality icing may cost more but it is certainly worth it when it comes to making spectacular wedding cake decorations.

- Forget to add sentimental items on the cake to symbolize the union of man and woman. This is what a wedding is about and because of that the cake should have a personal touch from both the bride and groom.

By simply following the dos and don'ts of wedding cake decorating outlined in this article, you will

be on your way to having a wonderful and memorable wedding day. Martin Sejas is a guest writer of http://www.CleverCakes.com/, a website focused on providing individuals practical tips and advice on wedding cake decorating a

nd other important issues related to cakes to make incredible cake decorations for all occasions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Sejas

Beach Wedding Cakes

After the wedding ceremony the much awaited wedding reception follows. Aside from the main courses the wedding cake plays a very important part of the wedding reception as the traditional cake cutting and cake sharing of the bride and groom is a romantic and well applauded part of the reception. It, especially beach wedding cakes, usually measures at least 1 meter high, flavored with all of the necessary sweetness and glamour that couples find tasty and just right for the cutting ceremony of the said cake during the wedding. The wedding couple, their immediate family, close friends, relatives and other visitors will surely appreciate these beach wedding cakes during the ceremony, since it is one of the most sweet and highly remembered parts during the wedding itself.

These cakes are usually multi-flavored, containing numerous different delicious and enticing flavors ranging from the traditional chocolate to the now modern mocha and strawberry flavors. These cakes also contain numerous beach inspired designs like surf boards and yachts that can are edible and made of the finest and tastiest ingredients. A slice of these cakes will surely take the wedding couple to a different kind of ecstasy that they can only feel during once or twice in their lifetime. Whether you are a sweet and loving couple or a modern day couple, you will surely be able to enjoy yourselves with a slice of these yummy beach inspired cakes during the course of your wedding ceremony.

Become one of the thousands and thousands of individuals located in several regions of the United States that have tasted these cakes! Break free from the traditional formal weddings that can exhaust you and your love ones! Try a beach wedding and have your very own beach

induced wedding cakes for you and your love ones to enjoy! Learn more about beach wedding cakes, please visit http://www.gsyywz.com/women

/wonderful-designs-for-beach-wedding-cakes/. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pinky_Savika

Decorating a Wedding Cake

Nearly every family or social occasion includes the eating of food and the drinking or liquids in the celebration. Consider Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings. In this piece of writing, I would like to speak about that centre piece of the wedding reception: the wedding cake.

The guests come to eat, drink and be merry and the bride's parents always put a great deal of effort into the organization of the wedding reception. The wedding cake is the focal point of the top table and the whole reception in general. The wedding cake has traditional importance and it is often considered bad luck not to have a slice of the wedding cake.

There are precise rules for the timing of the cutting of the wedding cake that have become part of tradition. For instance, if the wedding reception takes place at lunch or dinner, it is traditional to cut the wedding cake just before the dessert is presented.

However, if the reception is held in the late afternoon or early evening, the cake is served as soon as the guests arrive. In some traditions the bride and groom cut and eat the first slice together as a symbol of their vows to love, honour and obey each other. The remainder of the cake is usually cut by one of the helpers, like the maid of honour or a family relative.

It can be quite hard to choose the wedding cake. Traditionally, people go for a white cake with white icing for weddings, however these days, people are becoming more adventurous and are picking more exotic flavours and colours.

Some people choose to have a wedding cake which has different flavours on each tier. While white icing is still the overwhelming favourite, people do order other colours like pink and yellow. Chocolate and mocha are also popular. These days you can have what you like. It is your day, after all.

Everyone enjoys the wedding reception. It is the favourite part of the wedding day and everyone looks forward to seeing the cake cut and sharing it with the bride and groom.

If you are thinking about becoming a cake decorator, you have a couple of options to go about it. You could buy a book or a course or get a video in order to teach yourself how to decorate cakes from the simple to the ornate. You could also go to a night school class to learn the art or cake decoration.

Without a doubt, the very best way to learn cake decorating is to take a class. DVD's, videos, and books are all well and good, but you cannot converse with them or ask questions. If you take a class for three months or more you will learn more and get a more profound understanding of the art of cake decoration. You will learn how to put real feeling into the decoration of the cake and you will be able to translate the wedding couple's desires into a cake that you and they can be proud of.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Owen_Jones

The History of the Wedding Cake Topper

Everyone looks forward to their wedding day. What a glorious and beautiful occasion, often symbolized by the wedding cake. Small, medium, or large, single layer or 3-Tier, the happy couple are often looking for a way to make this cake "unique". Enter the humble (or not-so-humble) wedding cake topper. This simple idea has certainly grown and evolved over the years. In this article we will be defining wedding cake toppers, describing some of the modern ones, and examining the history behind them.

So, just what is a "wedding cake topper"? Formally speaking, a wedding cake topper is a small figure or model, often made from light-weight plastic or acrylic, that sits on top of a wedding cake. Traditionally it depicts the bride and groom, often dressed in gown and tux.

With the description out of the way, where did they come from? We have no exact records to verify the first time that someone put a figure or model on top of this special cake, but do know that the tradition dates back to well over 100 years ago.

One possible scenario is described in the following story... The daughter of a baker was getting married, and she wanted to figure out something that would be unique...a symbol of the love that she shared with her future husband. She asked her dad to think of something, and being a baker, he came up with the idea of putting two small figurines on top of the cake he was making for the glorious day. One of these figures would depict his daughter, and the other, his future son-in-law.

Let's fast forward to our "almost" modern day, the 1950's. This was the time of Elvis and roller derby. The future "baby boomers" were being born and growing up, and the "topper" was as popular as ever. Sadly Elvis has passed on, but it looks like the "topper" is here to stay. With the modern era new styles and versions have emerged. For example, today you can get toppers where the bride and groom are of different races, and same sex wedding toppers as well.

A cottage industry of "humorous" toppers has taken off. In one figure, the bride has the groom's leg and is dragging him back to the wedding altar. In another model, he is trying to run away, but she grabs him by the collar to stop his escape.

You can also get "personalized" toppers...with initials of the bride and groom, or a photo, or even a special saying, such as: "Two Hearts Beating as One".

If you would like more information on this subject, or to see examples of some of the more popular toppers, check out the blog at: www.SpecialWeddingCakeToppers.com

Bobby A. Spider writes for the blog: http://www.SpecialWeddingCakeToppers.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bobby_A._Spider