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Seeing the White
Everything old is new again, as the intricate tone-on-tone wedding
cake makes a sweet comeback.
By Mary Beth Leone-Getten
In recent years, the classic white decorated wedding
cake has taken a back seat to those adorned with sugared fruit,
dark chocolate curls, or, most commonly, fresh or dried flowers.
Today, though, the most modern celebratory confections seem to be
completely white or ivory cakes, painstakingly piped and decorated
with buttercream, royal icing, ganache, pastillage and fondant.
For current brides seeking something both contemporary and classic,
the options are varied and easily tailored. All cakes start with
a base of icing-a blank slate-onto which other adornments are affixed.
For a matte finish, pastry chefs advise choosing rolled fondant,
white chocolate clay or marzipan. For added sheen, try a cake topped
with ganache, a poured glaze of chocolate and heavy cream. Or rely
on the sweet standards: buttercream and whipped cream icing.
"I see a return to simplicity in all facets of the wedding," notes
April Wysocki of the Country Cake Cupboard. Many modern cakes with
a traditional twist are so understated that they merely whisper
for attention. Indeed, there is nothing quite like the elegantly
fitted look of rolled fondant or poured white chocolate ganache.
Equally beautiful in its simplicity is a cake decked with nothing
but white chocolate curls, or a smooth coat of buttercream layered
with handfuls of scattered Swiss dots.
"Many brides are drawn to a certain texture," offers Mary Zahasky
of A Piece of Cake. Zahasky says she has worked with clients who
requested the stucco look of cornelli lace, a basket weave pattern,
or a style that uses fondant cut-outs to create the appearance of
quilted fabric.
But cakes inspired by traditional white designs need not be plain
and simple. Paul Suplee, executive pastry chef at Lunds and Byerly's,
notes a rise in requests for elaborate Victorian-style ivory, white
or ecru cakes.
For more on the tone-on-tone trend, see the current newsstand
issue of Minnesota Bride.
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