That takes the (wedding) cake
The wedding cake has always been important for the celebration of marriage. In Roman antiquity, the bread was broken over the head of the bride, which meant good luck for the couple. As time went on, different foods replaced the bread and it was piled high, the happy couple looking forward to leaning over it and kissing before dismantling and serving. The contents were made into scones and small cakes or pies, sometimes even meat pies eaten as part of the meal. But the symbolism has remained much the same, that of fertility and good fortune, as the newlyweds ceremoniously cut the cake and share it before their guests.
Contemporary cakes are often not even edible, but are simply disguised in cardboard or Styrofoam, elaborately decorated, and then brought to the kitchen where a simple cake is cut and served to unsuspecting guests. Traditionally, the top layer, often called the groom’s cake, is saved and eaten at a later date, or it can be separated entirely. At some weddings, the cake consists of cupcakes that are tiered for ease of serving, or displayed on an elaborate “sweet table” of desserts where guests can help themselves.
During Victorian Britain (1800s), royalty and the elite took the wedding cake to a new level (literally) with sweet cake and white icing as the status symbol of the bride and groom, exemplified by the lavish display they displayed. it was served at the 1871 wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Louise, which took three months to complete. One has to wonder how well it held up for literally all that time and if it was still edible. Apparently yes, since years later pieces of the original were auctioned. One purchaser described the texture as “firm,” certainly an understatement. Although most royals favor a lavish but somewhat traditional cake, elaborate reproductions of palaces and historic landmarks have been featured prominently at some elite children’s weddings.
No longer the traditional white cake or fruitcake (favored by the British), contemporary cakes have become artistic spectacles, with unique themes, sculptures, photos and even replicas of the bride and groom themselves. They can be carrot, chocolate or cheese cake, with colorful frosting and decorations of any flavor, and are often priced at far more than the price of the wedding dress. The specially trained pastry chefs compete on the Food Network and have their own businesses that exclusively create wedding cakes.
Possibly, the most famous wedding cake in history belongs to the character Miss Havisham from the mythical novel by Charles Dickens High expectations. The jilted spinster, left at the altar, spends the rest of her life in her bedroom in her wedding dress, the rotten wedding cake on display, covered in cobwebs. Although not as dramatic, here are some famous modern cakes that deserve a mention:
Actress Grace Kelly’s celebrated marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco featured a six-tiered wedding cake at their reception in 1956, representing a three-dimensional replica of Monaco’s Pink Palace, their future new home.
When a radiant Elizabeth Taylor cut a five-tier white cake at her lavish first wedding to hotel heir Nicky Hilton in 1950, it was covered in traditional wedding bells, created by the confectioner at California’s chichi Bel-Air Country Club. Just imagine the lucky bakers that were commissioned by Elizabeth Taylor and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Although the pies got smaller and smaller with each subsequent marriage, they still had excellent repeat business from each of the two actresses.
At the 1947 royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth, soon to become Queen of England, the 500-pound fruitcake (a traditional British favourite) stood 9 feet tall. It required 660 eggs, 300 pounds of nuts and dried fruit, and three and a half gallons of Navy rum. (And some of us grumble when we get a measly two-pound fruitcake at Christmas.)
The five-foot-tall cake of Prince Charles and Diana was festooned with marzipan Windsor coats of arms and was so important to the royal celebration that a duplicate copy was made, in case of accident. (Something like “an heir and a spare”).
When Kennedy’s daughter, Eunice, married Sargent Shriver, she had to stand on a stepladder to cut the cake, she was so tall (giving new meaning to the phrase “defend a wedding”).
Elvis Presley married Priscilla in 1967, where the wedding featured a large yellow cake, which was priced at $22,000, a staggering amount for 1967. Created by the pastry chef at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, it proudly proclaimed the layers of his masterpiece was filled with apricot jam and liqueur-flavored Bavarian cream, then glazed with fondant icing and topped with marzipan roses. Fit for a king.
Donald Trump and Melania’s cake cost $50,000 and could not be served to guests due to the amount of wiring used to keep it intact. The cake was reportedly a stunning seven-tiered work of art, weighing in at over 200 pounds and consisting of a yellow sponge cake flavored with orange zest, drenched in Grand Marnier, filled with buttercream and garnished. with 2000 individually constructed flowers spun with sugar. . (Author’s note: I don’t know anyone else, but it sounds so delicious that I would have gladly picked up the leads and gobbled it up.)
Without a doubt, the simple wedding cake has become an art form, where creativity and ingenuity know no limits. If you can dream it up and absorb the cost, you’ll find a willing and talented baker to create it. In the words of a famous French royal: “Let them eat cake.” Indeed.