The Top Tier of your Wedding Cake - To keep or not to keep!
The long held tradition of keeping the top tier of your Wedding Cake, even though an old one, is still a very popular choice today when it comes to the planning of your Wedding Cake. The cake being kept for usually one of two reasons. To serve on the 1st Anniversary of your Wedding Day, or to keep as the celebration cake at the Christening of a first child.
Traditionally, if you are planning on keeping the top tier of your Wedding Cake, Fruit Cake is the best choice for this tier, due to it's preservation qualities, providing of course that it is stored properly. Although if neither of you are fans of the humble Fruit Cake, you can still choose to keep an alternative flavoured top tier, for eg.. Chocolate Mud Cake, although keep in mind it will not keep for nearly as long as a Fruit Cake will.
To keep the top tier of your cake, you will need to:
1. Ensure that your Reception Venue staff, in particular, the kitchen staff, are aware of your request. Perhaps ask if your Cake Decorator is able to supply a box in which the top tier can be put into once it is separated from the remainder of your cake. Alternatively, check with your Reception centre as they may supply a box as part of their service.
2. Organise for somebody to collect your cake at the end of the night from the kitchen staff. Perhaps a great job for the parents of the bride or groom.
3. If you are heading off on your honeymoon the next day, ensure that who ever has got your cake knows how to best keep it until your return.
4. Before preparing your cake for storage, you will need to ensure that any decorations, eg icing flowers, figurines, monograms etc have been removed from the top of your cake. You might want to check with your cake decorator before hand to ensure that if you want to keep these decorations, that they are attached to the cake whereby they are secure, but can be easily removed afterwards with hopefully, minimal damage, especially icing flowers as these are very fragile. Generally easing a knife gently under the base of the decorations is the best way to remove them.
5. Once your cake is free of any removable decorations, wrap it securely several times in gladwrap. Including the cakeboard that your top tier cake is attached to. Wrap it side to side in one direction, then again side to side in the other direction & check that there is no gaping holes in the wrapping.
6. Place your wrapped cake into a freezer bag & seal. Try to expel as much excess air from the freezer bag as possible at this stage. Tip.. Once your cake is in the bag, twist the open end of your bag shut, however insert a drinking straw into the bag opening before you start to twist the bag shut, so that one end of the straw is on the outside of the bag. Then draw out as much air as possible so that there is a vacuum inside the freezer bag. Remove the straw quickly without letting in extra air & tie the end of the bag in a knot.
7. Place your well wrapped cake in an airtight container, eg Tupperware, & place in the freezer.
8. Avoid defrosting your Wedding Cake until you actually want to use it
Nb.This information is based on your Wedding Cake being iced in the most commonly used type of wedding cake icing, RTR, fondant or sugardough as it is sometimes called.
You will find that a fruit cake stored this way should last for quite a few years, however it is only advisable to store a mud cake for 2 months. However, check with your cake decorator on recommended storage times for the cakes that they prepare for you.
Kylie Stidwell
www.divinecakedesign.com.au
kylie@divinecakedesign.com.au
Traditionally, if you are planning on keeping the top tier of your Wedding Cake, Fruit Cake is the best choice for this tier, due to it's preservation qualities, providing of course that it is stored properly. Although if neither of you are fans of the humble Fruit Cake, you can still choose to keep an alternative flavoured top tier, for eg.. Chocolate Mud Cake, although keep in mind it will not keep for nearly as long as a Fruit Cake will.
To keep the top tier of your cake, you will need to:
1. Ensure that your Reception Venue staff, in particular, the kitchen staff, are aware of your request. Perhaps ask if your Cake Decorator is able to supply a box in which the top tier can be put into once it is separated from the remainder of your cake. Alternatively, check with your Reception centre as they may supply a box as part of their service.
2. Organise for somebody to collect your cake at the end of the night from the kitchen staff. Perhaps a great job for the parents of the bride or groom.
3. If you are heading off on your honeymoon the next day, ensure that who ever has got your cake knows how to best keep it until your return.
4. Before preparing your cake for storage, you will need to ensure that any decorations, eg icing flowers, figurines, monograms etc have been removed from the top of your cake. You might want to check with your cake decorator before hand to ensure that if you want to keep these decorations, that they are attached to the cake whereby they are secure, but can be easily removed afterwards with hopefully, minimal damage, especially icing flowers as these are very fragile. Generally easing a knife gently under the base of the decorations is the best way to remove them.
5. Once your cake is free of any removable decorations, wrap it securely several times in gladwrap. Including the cakeboard that your top tier cake is attached to. Wrap it side to side in one direction, then again side to side in the other direction & check that there is no gaping holes in the wrapping.
6. Place your wrapped cake into a freezer bag & seal. Try to expel as much excess air from the freezer bag as possible at this stage. Tip.. Once your cake is in the bag, twist the open end of your bag shut, however insert a drinking straw into the bag opening before you start to twist the bag shut, so that one end of the straw is on the outside of the bag. Then draw out as much air as possible so that there is a vacuum inside the freezer bag. Remove the straw quickly without letting in extra air & tie the end of the bag in a knot.
7. Place your well wrapped cake in an airtight container, eg Tupperware, & place in the freezer.
8. Avoid defrosting your Wedding Cake until you actually want to use it
Nb.This information is based on your Wedding Cake being iced in the most commonly used type of wedding cake icing, RTR, fondant or sugardough as it is sometimes called.
You will find that a fruit cake stored this way should last for quite a few years, however it is only advisable to store a mud cake for 2 months. However, check with your cake decorator on recommended storage times for the cakes that they prepare for you.
Kylie Stidwell
www.divinecakedesign.com.au
kylie@divinecakedesign.com.au
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