Choosing the perfect cake for an event

Whether you are getting married, celebrating a graduation or any other special event or milestone, nothing marks out an important occasion better than producing a superbly-crafted, personalised cake. The days of the old-fashioned three-tier affair are truly last season when it comes to choosing a cake to mark your event, giving you lots of scope to design and create to your heart’s content.

Birthdays, Christmas and Easter all have traditional cakes associated with them. Whether your passion is for a glamorous iced affair with all the embellishments, or a simple fruit cake laden with brandy, there is no need to be bound by traditional rules when it comes to marking out your special celebration. These days, anything goes when it comes to rounding off your Wedding Breakfast or loading a gateau with candles to mark a special anniversary. The following tips are designed to help you seize upon the ideal concept for your cake, which captures your personality and the theme of your event perfectly.

Undertake a bespoke commission

Instead of being restricted by what is available out there when you come to choose a cake for your celebration, why not commission your own? If you are choosing for a birthday or anniversary, you won’t be short of ideas for celebrating. Certain people have their own distinct hobbies, interests and personalities, so whether you are designing a cake for someone special, or to mark out an event, you can be guided by circumstance when it comes to choosing your ideas.

Many cake manufacturers take bespoke commissions at a fraction of the price which they used to command. Why not consider getting a favourite photograph etched on to your design, or ask the confectioner to get nifty with icing to reproduce a hobby, sport or memorable event?

Make your own

It may seem like a tall order, but making your own cake is easier than it sounds. If you don’t know where to start, there are courses all over the UK offering cake making and decoration workshops to give you skills, ideas and inspiration. From whipping up the perfect batter right through to the finishing touches like life modelling with icing or decorating to a set theme, a workshop will help you work out exactly what you want to create, and give you all the tools and techniques you need to make it happen. When creativity is in your own hands, there is no limitation to what you can achieve.

Commission a friend

Most of us know someone who is handy with a piping bag. Asking someone close to you and your event to create something on your behalf helps to get a personal touch that a professional confectioner may not manage to produce. Even a novice cake maker will be flattered to be asked, and you can guarantee they will go all out to create a spectacular cake to mark your special event in style. If it is less than perfect, who cares? At least a lot of thought and affection will have gone in to the production.

Think differently

Gone are the days when marzipan and white icing were your only option for celebration cakes. These days, cupcake towers, exotic flavours and bespoke themed cakes are in fashion, leaving you with a wealth of ideas to try when it comes to designing your own. Don’t be afraid to be a little quirky with your cake – no-one expects tradition at a time when anything goes!

Take ideas from other people

One of the best ways to find new ideas is to look at what other people are doing. When you go to weddings, check out what the bride and groom have done to see if it may suit your own occasion. Similarly, you can browse cake shop windows for ideas, explore online or canvass friends and family for ideas about what they would like to see on the big day. By exploring your options, you will be likely to stumble across an idea which seems just right to suit you and your special occasion.

Posted by Jonathan Grice on 6 September 2010 | 0 Comments

Tags: Wedding, Cake, Special, Bespoke, Ideas, Personal, DIY, Ceremony