If you’re a bride-to-be with a sweet tooth, choosing a wedding cake is likely to be one of the best parts of your wedding planning schedule.
However, although cake sampling may sound like a dream come true, not all of us possess the baking wisdom of Mary Berry, so enlisting the guidance of an experienced cake designer or baker is essential.
So, for those who are eager to start the taste testing but are out of the loop on current cake trends, we’ve decided to give you a unique insight into the trials and tribulations of wedding cake design from four of the UK’s finest bakers.
Meet the bakers
Chris, Tuck-Box Cakes
An artist-cum-baker who learned his trade during an apprenticeship with a renowned celebrity wedding-cake designer, Chris was recently nominated for the Wedding Cake Designer of the Year award. He has designed cakes for the likes of Jimmy Choo and Charles Saatchi.
'I studied fine art at university but always had a love of food and cooking. When I left uni I decided to pursue baking, in particular because I felt like you could be really creative with it.’
Rachel, Rachelle’s Beautiful Bespoke Cakes
Rachel is a London-based cake designer whose work is regularly featured in many of the leading bridal magazines. She also supplies cakes to some of London’s most prestigious hotels and has been nominated for numerous baking industry awards.
‘It’s a fab job as it incorporates my love of design, floristry, architecture and baking, all rolled into one.’
Abigail, The Abigail Bloom Cake Company
Abigail has trained at the Cordon Bleu School in London and now runs a renowned boutique cake company which supplies a host of iconic and prestigious venues and event planners.
‘I love all things food. From junior cook of the year as a teenager, then the Cordon Bleu later on, followed by a hospitality degree, it’s something that I think is in my genes.’
Asma, The Sugared Saffron Cake Studio
After starting her cake studio back in 2011, Asma has seen her designs featured in magazines such as Brides and Perfect Wedding. Her work is also featured in the cake-decorating book Cupcakes and Mini Cakes, published by Dorling Kindersley.
‘After a request from my best friend to make a wedding cake, I became obsessed with “sugarcraft” and quickly became addicted to cake forums.’
Where do you go for inspiration for your baking designs? Who or what is inspiring you at the moment?
Chris: Inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere, there is no effect that cannot be replicated on a cake – I was even carving a cake with a chisel the other day! Sugar flowers will always be popular, of course, so nature is the first port of call with projects like that. However, arranging flowers is another discipline entirely, I find that Pinterest is a great source of inspiration during these times!
Abigail: I get my inspiration from everything from fashion to architecture to interior design, even theatre sometimes.
Rachel: I mostly get inspiration from my clients. They tell me their colours or theme and then I try to design the cake around them as a person. I often like it when a client has a quirky idea that I can work on, like a love of tattoos, or shoes, so I can create something a little bit different and personal.
Asma: Interior design is great at showing different colour and texture combinations. Watching what up-and-coming florists are doing is also a great way to work new looks into my own sugar flowers.
What has been your most ambitious project to date?
Asma: I think the largest wedding cake so far has been the one I did at Jumeirah Carlton. It was over five feet tall and almost touched the ceiling!
Rachel: Once, I decided to put London on a cake – that was quite fun. It wasn’t a big cake, just a fun, challenging one. I also designed a cake around a girl who was obsessed with a particular shoe designer. It was very unusual but totally bespoke to her.
Chris: Every project has its challenges but perhaps the hardest was when Brides magazine asked me to make a 'gravity-defying cake' for their show. I decided to make a cake with bluebirds hovering mid-air, as if they were dressing the cake with flower garlands (a bit like in Cinderella). Needless to say, it required a lot of patience, not to mention strong wire.
Abigail: We made a huge ten-tier cake for The Ritz last year. However, our most ambitious is probably an eight-tier cake but with pillars in between each tier. This meant it was nearly 12ft tall once it was on the table.
If you’re looking for more insightful tips and advice for your big day, take a look at our blog and news section for more wedding inspiration.
What is currently trending in wedding cake design?
Abigail: Having seen the naked cake become so popular in the last couple of years, I can see a trend towards semi-naked wedding cakes too. Metallics and lace are still key features, as are watercolours.
Chris: Sharp edges and clean lines. Also, more creativity with the flowers, so things like succulents with eucalyptus hues and silvery highlights and wafer paper flowers. I personally love airbrush effects; it worked great for some glass bottles I was doing the other day, but I don't know whether it's catching on so much in the wider cake world.
Asma: Metallics without a doubt! Gold and silver leaves are all over wedding cakes this year and people are really starting to experiment with colour.
Rachel: Lots of cakes are going back to the bare basics. This means cakes that are simply iced, or not iced at all, with fresh flowers and fruit to decorate – the more natural and earthy look I would say, rather than anything over the top and glamourous.
Photo ©Liam Collard
What advice can you give to couples who are currently searching for their perfect wedding cake?
Rachel: Try to make your choices really personal and not just run of the mill. It’s much more fun to have something quirky that speaks of you as a couple and it’s much more fun for me to make too!
Asma: If you're trying to find someone to make it for you, don't feel you have to go with whoever the venue recommends. There are literally hundreds of cake makers local to you; you just have to get out there and find them. Also, never choose your cake based on what you think other people will think of it.
Abigail: Have a good look on Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration and then start to get an idea on price by speaking to cake companies. In nearly all cases you really do get what you are paying for and any decent cake which is finished well with great sponges should start at the £5/£6 per portion mark.
Chris: Trust your chosen cake maker, they are the ones who work with cake day in and day out, so they know what works best. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get yourself a custom-made edible sculpture, so be bold, don't be boring. However, don't try and put too many ideas into one cake, sometimes it's best to stick to a few cohesive ones and keep it simple. Remember, wedding cakes are richer than your average birthday cake so it really doesn't need to be huge. Saying that, if you want it to be the centrepiece of the room, you may want to consider 'dummy tiers' (fake tiers iced as normal to give height).
If you’re looking for more wedding inspiration, check out our brand new quiz to find out what your perfect wedding venue would be.