This information is for inspirational purposes only. To learn more about Frost Artisan Bakery’s current menu and custom baked goods, please contact us.
As the centerpiece of your wedding reception, a wedding cake is an edible art form. Whether bedecked with fondant, frosting, crystallized flowers, or other decorative elements, your wedding cake should look as good as it tastes and taste as good as it looks. Scheduling a wedding cake tasting well in advance of your wedding will ensure you get exactly the flavors and decorations you desire for your special day.
When Should You Schedule a Wedding Cake Tasting?
It’s best to schedule a wedding cake tasting about six months before your wedding. This timeline will give your bakery plenty of time to get your wedding onto its baking schedule, especially during the height of wedding season.
What Should You Do to Prepare for Your Wedding Cake Tasting?
Before you arrive at your cake tasting, it’s best to have decided on the design aesthetic of your wedding so that your wedding cake team can create a cake that complements your style.
It’s often helpful to bring examples of wedding cake inspiration images that you may gather from bridal magazines, the internet, or photos from weddings you’ve attended to help you when choosing a wedding cake. Highlight what you like and don’t like about the cakes so that your bakery representative can take notes.
Be sure you and your partner are clear about your intended budget for the wedding cake before arriving at the bakery. Also consider what you want from the overall experience for your wedding cake. Do you want only one tiered wedding cake that will serve all your guests, or do you want a simple cake that you and your partner will cut for photos and individual cupcakes that you’ll distribute to guests?
What Happens at a Wedding Cake Tasting?
During the wedding cake tasting, you’ll be able to talk about what you want and don’t want in your wedding cake’s design as you “build” the cake with your bakery representative.
It wouldn’t be a cake tasting if you didn’t get to taste samples! Your bakery will present several cake bases, frostings, and filling flavors to try. During the cake tasting, you’ll be able to talk through your preferences so that you can decide how you’d like your cake to taste.
To ensure you’re not rushing the process, reserve an hour or so for the tasting session. This will give you time for the tasting as well as an opportunity to ask questions.
Points to Keep in Mind During Your Cake Tasting
As you evaluate flavors and textures, keep the following points in mind about frosting and decorations for your cake:
Types of Frosting
- Italian and Swiss meringue buttercream frostings offer a smooth finish to cake tiers. These frostings also lend themselves to decorative piping techniques.
- American buttercream has a flavor that some couples like, but because of its high butter content, it will not hold up in very warm conditions.
Types of Decorations
Decorations add the finishing touches to a truly special wedding cake. As you think about how you’d like to embellish your cake, consider the following:
- Edible flowers, fresh herbs, and seasonal fruits can add natural beauty to the wedding cake.
- Decorative frosting techniques such as basket weave patterns, ruffles, and quilting techniques add texture to frosted cake layers, creating three-dimensional effects.
- Marzipan, a confection made from sugar and ground almonds, can be used to create flowers, ribbons, flourishes, and other decorations to adorn the tiers of a wedding cake.
Create Your Dream Wedding Cake with Frost
Your dream wedding cake begins at Frost Artisan Bakery. Contact us today to arrange a wedding cake tasting appointment, and let us help you achieve the cake of your dreams.
