Wedding Cakes, Cupcakes, Desserts? The Sky's the Limit!
So, traditionally of course, a wedding cake is what everyone chooses for the dessert at their wedding reception but are you up to breaking that tradition??
What is your favorite dessert: cake, cupcake, pie, or whoopie pie for that matter? These days it seems like just about anything goes at a wedding. I say go for it! Let the food, especially the dessert, be a reflection of you and your fiance. Don't worry if you don't have that top tier of a wedding cake at your year anniversary. It doesn't mean you are doomed for disaster, it means you did what you wanted at your wedding, not what everyone else convinced you to do. Good for you!
I have done thousands of cakes and I don't believe the wedding cake tradition is going to stop anytime soon (good for me). But, if cake isn't your thing, here are some other ideas, for example..... Cupcakes! They are very trendy right now. Not only that, you can dress them up or dress them down. Sometimes they'll be decorated towards the theme of the day. For example, a fondant fall leaf, your monogram, or a flower to match the flowers you are using at your wedding. Some may be less match-y..maybe more dessert-y. You could do a display of cupcakes that are decorated per the flavor of the cupcake like white chocolate curls on top of white chocolate buttercream-topped red velvet cupcakes or peanut butter cups on top of chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing to name a few. The possibilities are endless. How do you display them you ask??? I've seen a few ways. You could have them on pedestals in the center of each table. Or, on different height stands on one dessert table. We traditionally have made a stand out of upturned clay pots and covered wooden board that "tier up" to take the shape of a wedding cake. Some people have stacked wooden crate in declining size and place them along the edges. Again, endless possibilities. But let's say you are thinking no cake at all....
How about whoopie pies! A Central PA favorite and lots of fun! How about different flavors of brownies...how many flavors can you come up with. Maybe compliment with an ice cream bar, yum! How about a Pie Buffet! Apple, cherry, blueberry, peanut butter, lemon meringue, what your favorite diner pie! How about just an Ice Cream Bar with different flavors of ice cream and topping, cones and fun dishes, how much fun can that be! Or how about all of it! Have a Dessert Buffet, include all of the above, that way, you can have your traditional cake to cut into and save, your mom with be pleased and then your favorite sweets to go along with it. Your guests will not forget that display and it will be a representation of you!
I started Delectable Delights as a side business to make a little extra money when I started at Penn State as the Assistant Pastry Chef. 20+ years later, I'm now the Executive Pastry Chef at the Penn State Bakery and my husband Keith and I along with our 4 kids, continue Delectable Delights out of our Centre Hall home. We have done thousands of wedding, birthday and special occasion cakes along the way. We hope the tradition will continue on for many years to come. Delectable Delights by Heather Luse 332 North Pennsylvania Avenue Center Hall, PA 16828 (814) 364-2995 hlh2@psu.edu www.delectabledelightsbyheather.com
