Most people would agree that the wedding cake is a focal point in the American wedding tradition. It also plays a central role in the wedding traditions of other countries, often differing in form and in function.

The British have long laid claim to having been the place where the wedding cake tradition started. In medieval England, guests would bring small, home-baked cakes to the ceremony and present them as a gift to the bridal couple. It was traditional to pile the cakes in as high a stack as possible, making it a difficult challenge for the newlyweds to kiss one another over the top of the cake. If the couple managed the kiss, it was considered an auspicious symbol of prosperity. It is from this "over-the-top" kiss that little bride and groom cake toppers evolved. It was not until the reign of King Charles II that it became customary to stack the cakes neatly and frost them. This, of course, was the forerunner of today's tiered wedding cake. Usually multi-tiered and imposing, the wedding cake in Great Britain today, functions more as a symbol than as a dessert. The cake is a centerpiece for the reception. It is elaborately decorated and given a position of honor. It may also serve as the repository for small party favors, which the bride distributes to her guests as they leave.

The French also assert that the wedding cake tradition began in their country. Wedding cakes in France and Belgium tend to follow one of two styles. The more traditional style is the croquembouche, a cone made of round cream-filled pastries which is dipped in hot toffee. When the toffee cools, it hardens to form a solid structure upon which decorations are placed. The manner in which this cake is served is interesting and unusual, for each guest is served several pastries which are actually broken out from the main structure. The second style is baked as multiple round sponge cakes of graduated diameters. The cake is stacked with the largest on the bottom, tapering up to the smallest on the top. There can be as many as ten layers. With a cake this large, a center support through the middle of the cake is necessary to keep it upright. Presentation of the cake is reserved for the late hours of the reception, as a glorious ending to the meal.

Although we must admit that much of the tradition of the wedding cake may have its roots in European tradition, particularly in England, in our country we have taken the wedding cake to new extremes and made it the focal point of creativity and individual expression. The wedding cake, in the hands of a creative cake designer, can be a mechanism through which the bride and groom can reflect their individual lifestyles and their personalities. Wedding cakes in our country appear in a myriad of sizes, shapes, colors and flavors. We can also lay claim to creating the tradition of the groom's cake.

Wedding cakes in Australia also have their roots in the tradition of Great Britain, which probably explains the similarity in style between the Australian and the British wedding cake. Also multi-tiered, decorations on the Australian cake tend to have softer edges which, in turn, give the cake a rounder look. The top of the cake, usually free of decorations, sets the Australian cake apart from its British cousin. The base of the sides of the cake is generally piped with decorations.

In India, particularly in the southern part of the country, British influence is also obvious. The multi-tiered fruit-based cakes typical in the Christian population, take on a somewhat new twist. To avoid some of the expense of creating a large wedding cake, a high, "dummy cake," covered in sugar icing may be used. The cake cutting ceremony is still an integral part of the wedding, so a slice of real cake is inserted into the dummy cake for purpose of cake cutting. What the guests get to eat is not the cake, but instead, a piece of the icing. Traditional Japanese wedding cakes take on an entirely different form. Because cakes were much too expensive to make, in their stead artificial cakes, with "icing" of hard wax were used. So as not to eliminate the cake cutting, a slot was created in which the bride and groom could insert a knife, creating a symbolic cake ceremony. For added effect during cutting, some cakes were designed with a lever, which when depressed, would emit a burst of steam as the knife entered.

Large or small, real or not, here in the United States, or elsewhere, the wedding cake is likely to maintain its special place amongst treasured wedding traditions and customs.

©The right to download and store or output (e.g., print) materials found in Hudson Valley Weddings Web Site is granted for personal use only. Materials may not be reproduced in any edited form. Any other reproduction or editing by any means mechanical or electronic without the express written permission of Hudson Valley Weddings is strictly prohibited. Certain names, logos, and/or phrases on these pages may constitute trademarks or tradenames of Hudson Valley Weddings or its clients.