History and Tradition of the wedding cake
The wedding cakes that we know and love today were not always what we have come to know.
The tradition of serving cake at a wedding goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. The newly wed couple would cut a sesame seed cake together to symbolize fertility and happiness it is from where we get our modern custom of cake cutting at a wedding.
The Romans did have a form of cake at their weddings, but instead of eating this wheat or barley cake, the groom would break it over the brides head, don’t know if there is any correlation to couples smashing the cakes into each other faces.
Then gathered up by the guests as tokens of good luck. A similar tradition of breaking a cake over the brides head continued for many centuries with some reports from Scotland dating as recently as the 19th century.
This custom slowly gave way to another whereby guests actually brought cakes to the reception. These cakes were then layered together using apple sauce the higher the cake, the more popular the bride. Another custom that was widely popular during the Middle Ages involved the guests bringing sticky buns to the reception and piling them up in front of the happy couple. If the couple were able to kiss over the top they were supposed to be blessed with a long and happy marriage.
In the eighteenth century brandied fruit cakes were a big hit because they were able to keep for so long. The Pilgrims brought this tradition over to the Americas and the fruit cake slowly evolved into the white, tiered cake that has come to symbolize wedding receptions.
The current wedding cakes, come in many different sizes, from 3 teared cakes to fancy skyscraper towers made with different kinds of ingredients. no matter what the cakes looks like, in the end most couples follow The two most popular traditions that have become standard in most wedding celebrations, cutting the cake and saving the cake top for the 1st anniversary.
Here are some tips on how to cut the wedding cake:
The bride and groom cut the cake together and the groom feeds a piece to the bride and then the bride feeds the groom.
You should cut the cake just before dessert at a luncheon or dinner reception and just after the guests have been greeted at a tea or cocktail reception.
This taste of the first slice serves as a symbol of the bride and groom’s willingness to share a household.
The top layer is saved and frozen for the bride and groom to eat on their first anniversary.
No matter what you do, a one year old piece of cake is not going to taste good. If you just want to follow this tradition, your best bet will be to wrap the top of the cake very carefully so that it is airtight before you freeze it.
