Cakes and Catering

The original ‘wedding cake’, a flat wheat biscuit, was broken over the bride’s head in order to secure her future fertility as well as good fortune in her marriage. The guests would scramble for a crumb for themselves, a custom that led to the sharing of the modern traditional wedding cake.

During these times, each guest was required to bring a cake to the wedding ceremony. These cakes were then stacked on top of each other in different layers and levels. The bride and groom were then requested to kiss over the top of the ‘layered cake’, consummation of which symbolized the beginning of good fortune and happiness. A French chef visiting London at the time observed the cake piling ceremony and happily recreated it – and so we have the layered cake as we know it today!

Another wonderful tradition perpetuated by some in our modern society is to save the top tier of the wedding cake for one’s first-year anniversary or the christening of one’s first child. I asked Gayle from Vanilla House about this tradition and this is what she had to say, “As far as we know the top tier of the cake is traditionally kept for the christening of the first child (back in the day, people had kids fairly soon after marrying). A good old fruit cake would be the only option to keep for that length of time; a year old choc cake definitely wouldn’t go down well. The fruit cake, with all its natural and added sugars, as well as the brandy soaking, helps to preserve it for this length of time. She also adds that “this is something that is seldom requested nowadays, as the cake is usually used as a dessert on the big day. Also, the christening cake has become quite a big custom in itself. “

Emerging from its somewhat bizarre past, today’s wedding cake embraces a truly anything goes attitude. Designs and styles respect no boundaries of propriety.

I contacted the terrifically experienced Wade van der Merwe from Cakes by Wade to share in his expertise.



Do you have any recommendations for our brides with regards to their wedding cake?

The wedding cake needs to complement the colours as well as the style of the décor for it to form part of the final look as well as to be certain that it pulls everything together. It should be designed to match the at least one of the following:

· The venue
· The theme colours
· The invitations
· The dress detail

What to look for when deciding on a cake/design?

Brides need to consider several key factors when selecting the design as well as the filling:

- Will the cake be served with coffee or will it be the dessert or part thereof?
-The expected weather during that time of the year
- Whether or not the venue is air-conditioned

What to look for in a cake designer – quality wise?

You need to feel comfortable with the person you choose. He or she has a good reputation and is ideally recommended by somebody - word of mouth is still your best way of securing the best quality.

Recommendations from suppliers are also a good idea as they see and experience a variety of goods supplied by service providers and tend to be more critical.

Do you suggest the taste of the cake complement the taste of the food being served on the day, or can one choose each separately?

If the cake forms part of the menu like the main dessert it is best for the cake to complement the rest of the menu. Be certain to choose a filling that most people would enjoy like chocolate for instance - cakes with nuts are not recommended as the most common allergy is nut. If the cake is served with coffee you can have more variety and can have different flavours for some of the tiers which can be sliced up in the kitchen and served with the coffee.

From its origin as a mere wheat biscuit, the wedding cake has undergone a colourful evolution to assume centre stage at any reception. The modern wedding cake effectively dispels all restrictions of shape, design, size and colour, allowing the bride another channel for creative expression. For this reason, the cake is wonderfully conducive to enhancing just about any wedding theme, conventional or no. It is the perfect accompaniment to letting your imagination run wild! For more information regarding cakes and catering, please visit www.saweddings.co.za.