Weddings & Cakes

The sweetest part of planning your wedding is selecting your wedding cake, and we have everything you need to know about wedding cake decorations, shapes, and creative adornments. By the time you've started thinking about your wedding cake, you should already have figured out your wedding theme, wedding venue, wedding caterer, reception menu and the overall feel that you're going for. Aside from your main wedding cake, you may also want to consider having a groom's cake or having a dessert bar to give your guests a sweet treat as well.


Below, we've listed some popular wedding cake terms to help you de-code what your baker is talking about. Remember -- when you know some wedding cake decoration lingo, you'll make your life -- and your bakers -- much easier!



Fondant Icing: A thick icing made from confectioners' sugar, mixed with water, gelatin.May be molded into a variety of forms. Also known as plastic icing.

Baked Alaska: A sponge cake topped with extremely cold ice cream and coated with meringue. The dessert is baked until the meringue is browned while the ice cream remains cold.

Basketweave: A common cake decoration in which icing is applied to the cake in a woven pattern, similar to a handmade basket. Buttercream and royal icing are often used and the icing is applied using special basketweave tips on the pastry bag.

Bavarian Cream: A molded cream that is made from custard sauce or sweetened fruit puree bound with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream. Bavarian cream can be served on its own or used as a filling for cold charlottes or molded cakes.

Butter Cake: A type of cake made from flower, milk, eggs and a significant amount of butter. Characteristically moist and rich.

Buttercream: A light, creamy frosting made with softened butter, confectioners' sugar, egg yolks and milk or light cream. This uncooked frosting is beaten until light and creamy.