Cake Creations and Sweet Sensations

If you say the words ‘wedding cake’ to an American or British person, an image will immediately pop into their mind. It’s usually a huge creation, composed of many layers, adorned with flowers, ribbons, sugar paste decorations, or a combination of all three. It’s usually white, and there’s probably a little bride and groom perched on the top. Interestingly, if you say ‘torta nuziale’ (that’s wedding cake, to you and me) to an Italian, they’ll have a very different image in mind.

When you come to Italy to get married, it’s important to talk to your Wedding Planner about your choice so that they can find the perfect supplier for you – as with many things in Italy, there’s no big bakery which can make whichever kind of cake you want. A delicious Italian wedding cake will be made by a specialist pastry chef, while a stunning American-style creation will be made by a different kind of baker. To help you decide, let me talk you through the options:

Left to right: Frutti di bosco cake, Torta Cappelliera, Traditional Italian Cake on three levels
Photo credit: The Happy Couple via brides.com / Emma Innocenti of Innocenti Studio via weddingchicks.com / Kate Headley via brides.com

If what you're after is traditional, you have lots of different types of cake to choose from. The truly traditional Italian-style wedding cake is on just one level, or perhaps on a couple of very low levels, but what it loses in height, it makes up for in diameter - they're often over a metre across! These cakes can be made in various geometric shapes, or even shaped like a heart. To non-Italians, these seem more like a dessert than a cake, and can be made with any combination of flavours and fillings. They are often based on classics such as millefeuille (many layers of thin pastry with cream in between), charlotte (a semifreddo with fruit), or mimosa cake (made with liquor, syrup, and a citrus curd), although other types are possible and your best bet to know what you like is to get tasting!

The torta cappelliera is the middle road between an Italian cake and an English/American one. Filled with the flavours of Italy, the cake is stacked higher than traditional ones, making it stand out a little more. Flavours are very similar to the traditional cakes, meaning dessert-like tastes and textures, and plenty of cream or fruit, or both!

As far as decorations are concerned, traditional Italian cakes are often covered with a cream-based topping, with meringue pieces, or even fresh fruit. The focus is more on the taste than the appearance, so while they’re certainly not as spectacular as English/American wedding cakes, Italian pasticcieri (bakers) have been practicing their recipes for centuries, and the results are truly delicious - and they aren't bad looking, either! A further bonus of the typical Italian cake is the price – compared to a towering American cake, this option comes out much less expensive. It also may be the best choice to make your guests feel truly immersed in Italian culture – you can get an English/American-style cake in Italy, but you certainly can’t get an authentic Italian cake in the UK or US!  

 

Photo credit clockwise from top left: Vasia Weddings via stylemepretty.com,
Rachel Whyte via weddingchicks.com, jldesigns.blogspot.com, fabulousfoodblog.com via Pinterest

Also popular in Italy are satellite or multiple multi-level cakes. Three, five, or even ten cakes are displayed on separate stands and on different levels, either in a tower, or more randomly spread out over a table. This solution allows you to have an impressive display, but composed of cakes which wouldn't necessarily be strong or dense enough to support the weight of each other. This option also makes cutting and sharing an easy job, and means you could even have different flavours to please even your choosiest guests!

Photo credit left to right: Meg Perotti via elizabethannedesigns.com, Keller+Keller via bostonmagazine.com, Taylor Rae Photography via stylemepretty.com

English or American cakes are becoming increasingly popular in Italy. These tend to have either circular or square layers one on top of the other, and are a bit more fancy and extravagant than the other options, which is reflected in the price.

In Italy, they are usually made with fairly dense sponge cake (as the cake must be strong enough to support the weight of the upper layers!), and covered in a royal icing/sugar paste layer, or perhaps buttercream. On the whole, there aren’t so many flavour options available as there would be abroad, and the cake itself is not exactly like those in Britain or America, but in recent years, Italian ‘cake designers’, as they have branded themselves, have started to experiment with new recipes and flavours, creating a fusion between the classic wedding cake and the taste of Italy. 

Especially with these cakes, choosing your supplier is key. Some suppliers will not meet your expectations, but fear not - your wedding planner will have tried and trusted bakers who won't disappoint you. These cakes are edible works of art, and sometimes it almost seems a shame to eat them… oh, just kidding! 

Photo credit left-right: Hazelwood Photo via weddingwire.com, cottonandcrumbs.co.uk, Studio222 Photography via weddingchicks.com

If none of those tickle your fancy, how about a single portion solution? Also increasing in popularity here in Italy are cupcakes, and a cupcake display means individual portions, no cutting, and a fun, playful feel. Cupcakes can of course be decorated and personalised to look just as special as bigger cakes, so you won't be limited. You could also have a very small cake at the top of the tower for you two, so you won't miss out on the all-important cutting element.


We'll have a slice of each, please!