10 Best Wedding Cake Flavors to Consider for your Dream Wedding Cake
Updated: May 3, 2022
Wedding cakes and their alternates are all the rage nowadays. So many couples are opting for an alternate choice than a traditional wedding cake. However, it doesn’t seem like the wedding cake tradition will go out of trend. For the past many and many years, wedding cakes have been an integral part of weddings. They add extra charm to the weddings and of course, the pictures come out looking great. So no matter how many couples go for alternate wedding desserts, I think wedding cakes will never go completely out of the lane.
Now, at the time of wedding cake shopping, apart from determining your budget (obviously) there are other things you have to consider as well. These are the wedding cake flavors you want, the filling to go in your cake, the frosting you would like best and the kind of cake decor that you think will suit best for your wedding.
One more important thing to keep note of is the time of year that your wedding will happen. According to Brides.com, "I advise my couples to consider the time of year or if they're getting married by the ocean because depending on the heat or whether certain flavors may be more challenging for the cake-maker to create," says Jasmine de Lung, a cake artist and owner of San Francisco-based Jasmine Rae Cakes.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A WEDDING CAKE TASTING?
For all the above, wedding cake tastings are scheduled with your baker where some of the best wedding cake flavors and fillings are available for you to taste. They are a fun activity, after all, you get to spend hours trying out different flavors and textures. You fulfill your sweet-tooth craving while blessing your eyes with pretty colors.
During wedding cake tastings, there are some things you have to take care of and do some preparations. Some of them are:
Do your research.
Plan a budget and stick to it.
Collect your inspirations and pictures you look up to for your wedding cake.
List down your favorites and not-so-favorites and tell your baker about them. This should be done before the tasting.
Share your wedding timeline with your baker so the wedding cake-making coincides with it.
Take a pen and some paper with you to take notes for future reference.
Keep a bottle of water to stay hydrated and cleanse your palate while tasting.
Taste all the elements separately and then in combination. Pay special attention to the combinations you want to have at your wedding.
Make a list of important questions to ask your baker before you sign off the contract.
Do not schedule multiple tastings in a single day or you will end up overwhelmed.
Do not include too many people in your entourage.
(To learn more about wedding cake tasting, give our blog on wedding cake tasting a read.)
But before you go to your baker you should have a fair bit of idea about some of the common and best wedding cake flavors that are there in the market. You will certainly get professional help at the bakery, but knowing your flavors beforehand is helpful in decision-making too.
Below we have mentioned some of the best wedding cake flavors which also fall into the category of the most common wedding cake flavors by the industry experts.
10 Best Wedding Cake Flavors to Consider
VANILLA
Surprised? Well, don’t be. Vanilla is the most common, safest, and one of the best wedding cake flavors option of all time. It is loved by many because of its light and sweet traditional flavor. One of its greatest virtue is that it works with any kind of frosting and filling. Do you want to take your wedding cake up a notch? Twist your filling and frosting a bit in your vanilla cake and people will still love it. However, the classic vanilla cake with the vanilla buttercream combo is still loved by many.
According to Jennifer Toce, owner of Birchgrove Baking in Montpelier, Vermont, "We get quite a few requests for vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. It's a classic for a reason!"
CHOCOLATE
When at a loss, go chocolate. It never ever, ever goes wrong or out of style. This is like the rich twin to vanilla.
This is one of the best wedding cake flavors. To complement this flavorful dessert, caramel, raspberries, and buttercream taste the best. There are variations of chocolate cake like dark chocolate cake, German chocolate, or chocolate fudge cake which are equally good as the original.
LEMON
If you have an outdoor, summery, or beach wedding, this light, and citrusy cake is the best wedding cake flavor choice. This will complement the wedding like no other. It is fresh and light with just the right zest of lemon to level it up. Its tangy and refreshing flavor pairs best with raspberries and berry filling, lemon frosting, and vanilla buttercream. The combo is perfectly sweet and zesty to freshen up a warm-weather wedding.
RICH FLAVOR
These are rich, heavy, bold, and some of the best wedding cake flavors. Couples marrying in winters generally opt for these flavors to offset the chilly weather with some rich and heavy dessert.
Commonly, they include red velvet, salted caramel, and dark chocolate to name a few.
Red Velvet
It is a famous red-colored chocolate cake that is layered with vanilla buttercream and covered by red crumbs. It tastes like chocolate cake but the visuals are the brightest and the most fun.
Salted Caramel
According to Brides.com "Salted Caramel" honestly doesn't do this combination justice. Think Vanilla-bean-browned-butter cake, salted caramel mousse, and a baked crumble like the topping of a pie. You are sure to fall deeper and deeper in love with this one.
SPICE CAKES
Like the hot chocolate with a sprinkle of cinnamon on frosty winter nights, spice cakes exude the same warmth in winter weddings. Ginger spice and carrot cakes are some of the commonly chosen best wedding cake flavors. They give a homely warm feeling and the guests are sure to enjoy the winter wedding even more.
Ginger Spice
A ginger spice cake with vanilla icing, lemon filling for that extra kick, and a little hot chocolate to wrap it all up nicely.
According to Patti Paige of Baked Ideas in New York City, serve “gingery spice cake with real maple frosting and vanilla bean icing along with a little cup of strong hot chocolate.” Top off the frosting with walnuts for an added crunch.
Carrot Cake
A moist carrot cake filled with delicious buttercream is always a treat! The pecan nuts give this cake that bonus crunch.
ALMOND CAKE
A perfect and versatile tea-time cake to serve as a light dessert. It's sweet, crunchy, nutty, and light enough to go in every weather. Serve it with some tea and you are sure to surprise your guests.
FUNFETTI
Funfetti cakes get their name because of the fun elements in their presentation. Simple on the outside and party inside, the colorful sprinkles added in the batter before baking look like confetti. It looks so cute when the couple cuts the cake and you get to see the fun sprinkles in the moist sponge. Pair it with vanilla buttercream and frosting for a traditional outlook.
UNIQUE FLAVORS
Not every couple wants to go down the traditional or the common pathway when choosing wedding cake flavors. Some opt for unique and even other-worldly flavors for their wedding cake. Some unique and common wedding flavors are pink champagne, coffee and cream, banana foster, key lime, and peanut butter cup. Having unique wedding cake flavors is not unusual. Couples who are daring and want to go bold on their day usually go down this road. It is also one of the best ways they can express themselves through their wedding cake flavor at their wedding.
According to de Lung, "The most unusual flavor combination I made that a couple ordered for their wedding was a sake wine cake with black sesame paste, wasabi buttercream, and nori flakes. Suffice to say, it was controversially loved and hated."
Now that you are done with your bit of research about the common and best wedding cake flavors, you should also listen to what your baker says. These professionals sometimes come up with a combination that may seem strange at first but they turn out the absolute best and may even become your or your guests’ favorite.
We recommend you A Love For Cakes for your wedding cakes. We are a New York-based cake bakery specializing in customized cakes and wedding cakes. Our wedding cake bakers are the most experienced in the industry, having a career spanning several years. Our cakes are made using the finest ingredients. Most importantly, we offer our clients several wedding cake fillings and flavor options for their cakes so they can have the cake of their dreams that is also within their given budget.
For further queries about us, feel free to contact us or visit our website.
QUESTIONS TO ASK FROM YOUR BAKER
Before you finish off and consider signing the contract, ask some of the questions from your baker. WeddingWire has made a list of the commonest questions you need to ask your baker.
When will the cake be made? Do you deliver? What’s the fee? When will it be delivered?
Note these down so you can include these in your wedding timeline. Schedule the time of delivery in your schedule and inform your wedding planner and vendor manager so they can coordinate and receive the cake.
What is the sponge made from? What about the frosting?
Which decorations cost extra? How much?
If there is an heirloom cake topper or a cake stand you have that you want to use, tell that to your baker. Tell them about your preference for the kind and type of flowers you want. Any extra costs that you will be charged need to be included in your wedding budget.
What’s the difference in price between a sheet cake and a tiered cake?
Some couples prefer to have a "fake cake" with a real cake tier at the bottom and the top ones made of styrofoam. this cake is used for ceremony, display, and photography. for dessert, they have a separate sheet cake prepared to be served to the guests. inquire about the price difference so you have an option to cut down cake expenses.
How large a slice do you consider one serving?
Every bakery has a different way and size of cutting its slices. If the bakery cuts their slices big, you can order a smaller cake and cut thinner slices yourself. This will save up your budget as well as be sufficient for your wedding.
Will this cake hold up in hot weather?
If you are having an outdoor or summer wedding, this question is important. Buttercream cakes, in comparison to fondant ones, melt in the hot weather so you will need to have extra measures taken to keep your wedding cake intact until it is time to serve it. You also need to ask whether the bakery will provide you with those measures to keep your cake in good condition.
Finally, when it comes to choosing the best wedding cake flavors for your wedding cake, the choice should be one (or several) that you adore. Don't think too much and overwhelm yourself about it, and if you're unsure, remember that you always have the option of choosing multiple flavors for the different tiers. Your guests will also have multiple options to choose from as well.
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