Whatever the format of the wedding: from an intimate home to a luxurious banquet, traditionally, after the completion of the main menu, a wedding cake . To some extent, this is the culmination of the festive event, emphasizing the hospitality of the newlyweds who have become husband and wife, and the joint cutting of the cake and treating the guests to it is one of the brightest moments of the wedding ceremony, certainly captured by photo and video cameras.
Creating a real masterpiece out of a traditional wedding cake is probably the dream of any professional pastry chef. And the desire of the bride and groom to surprise guests with an original, exquisitely romantic dessert is quite understandable. Multi-level, with magnificent figures, sometimes real fairy-tale castles - the imagination of customers and wedding cake designers is sometimes so amazing that it’s a pity to even cut such a work of art.
Flowers certainly decorate a wedding cake - fresh or cream, they are an integral and romantic addition to the decor of this dessert.
Which flower design option should I choose ? For many, of course, cream roses are more familiar - from bright to pastel colors, very miniature or large blossoming sweet buds. Recently, ideas for edible decor are increasingly being replaced by original and, admittedly, more spectacular wedding cake decorations with fresh flowers. Of course, such floral decor is not edible, but it looks truly unusual, and therefore will be appreciated by the newlyweds and their guests.
Photo of a wedding cake with fresh flowers
Features of “living” decor
Decorating wedding cakes with fresh flowers is a relatively new fashion for this kind of confectionery, since previously professionals used exclusively creams and mastic. Today, everything can be combined.
- Using live plants on a cake allows you to create a real and unique work of art.
- Using flowers, you don’t have to worry about the tiers of the confectionery product; there can also be several of them.
- Whatever the flowers, they will certainly be an integral part of a romantic and desirable event.
- Fresh flowers look more original and impressive compared to cream ones, since live plants are not an imitation.
- Decorating cakes and cupcakes with fresh flowers is much cheaper than the usual cream decor or decor with mastic; moreover, the result does not disappoint, but, on the contrary, exceeds all the expectations of guests and newlyweds. Pastry chefs also like to prepare and decorate this kind of cakes because it takes less time.
- Flowers can be chosen in a wide variety of colors, so it will not be difficult to create a cake that will be the perfect complement to the style of the bride and the wedding as a whole.
- Fresh flowers are often complemented with various edible berries, which also look very good on a variety of confectionery products.
In general, we can say that for each wedding cake, decorations in the form of fresh flowers should be selected individually. For example, for wedding ceremonies at summer venues in the Provence style, experts recommend decorating cakes with wildflowers and daisies, and if we are talking about a classic wedding, the product can be decorated with peony roses.
You will learn how to decorate a cake with fresh flowers by watching the following video.
Big variety
On the Internet you can find a huge number of options for decorating wedding cakes with fresh flowers. Next, we’ll look at the most original and unusual ideas that you can use as the basis for your future wedding cake.
- A white cake with blue hydrangeas can look very elegant and modern. However, this option is usually chosen for a themed wedding, in which blue and light blue shades predominate.
- A white cake can be complemented with luxurious red roses. Scarlet peony roses located on a three-tier wedding confectionery look especially advantageous. The cake design itself can be smooth or complemented with various cream patterns.
- White roses with buds and decorative greenery can look great on a white or milky product. The relief textures of multi-tiered cakes look especially advantageous. Very often, specialists install sprigs of orchids on classic options.
How to make buttercream for cake decoration at home
Creams prepared for decorating cakes at home can be very different. The only thing they have in common is impeccable taste. But from my own experience I can say that butter cream is the incredibly delicate and lightest cream. It looks like white foam, with a rich, milky, neutral taste, which can be combined with various glaze and cream recipes. I guarantee that if you do everything correctly according to the specified recipe, the foam will be very stable and hold its shape for a long time, which is very beautiful when decorating cakes.
Vegetable cream is an emulsion of vegetable oil and fats, as well as stabilizers. The taste of this product is very similar to the natural one. The plant analogue is denser, thicker, with a stable consistency. According to the recipe given below, from one liter of such cream you can prepare three liters of whipped foam for decorating the cake. This cream is produced in containers with attachments that are convenient for decoration. You can often find them in markets - whipped cream in a can.
Natural cream is a very high-calorie, fatty product with a rich milk taste. They come in white or with a slightly yellow tint. Only those with a fat content exceeding 30% are suitable for decoration. Less fatty ones will either not be able to be whipped, or they will fall very quickly. They are less airy, unlike plant ones, and more capricious.
If the technology for preparing the sweet mass is not followed correctly, they will easily settle or spread. However, two weighty arguments can be put forward in their favor - taste and healthfulness, in contrast to the low-calorie nature of their plant counterpart.
Don't get too carried away with vegetable creams. They contain many preservatives and stabilizers. This is, rather, an emergency aid for the housewife when she simply doesn’t have enough time to tinker with a natural product. This cream does not use sugar, so it has a neutral milky taste. Thanks to this, vegetable cream can be combined with any type of baked goods. You can add powdered sugar to the cream, thereby sweetening the confectionery product.
It is perhaps beyond the power of other described masses to compete with natural whipped cream as a decoration for home-baked goods. As soon as you think about baking and decorating a cake with whipped cream at home for the first time, I advise you to choose an industrial product. The packaging will indicate the fat content percentage and shelf life of the cream.
The ideal option should not contain anything else other than the cream itself. The minimum percentage of fat content of industrial cream is 10, and the maximum is 42. In the market from grandmothers you can buy a product with a fat content of 50% or more, but you cannot get a high-quality cream from it. Based on the recipe, when whipping you will get natural butter, but not whipped cream. The optimal percentage of fat content of cream, which after whipping is suitable for decorating baked goods, is 30-40.
To create the creamy mass you will need:
- 200 g cream;
- 2 tbsp. l. sugar or powder;
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract.
Step-by-step recipe with photos
- Cool the cream thoroughly and pour into a clean, dry bowl.
- Add sugar and vanilla extract (you can use any other flavoring if you wish).
- I whip the cream with a whisk. It may be more tedious and longer, but the sugar has time to completely dissolve. Plus, when whipping with a mixer, you can overdo it and get butter. Gradually the cream thickens and increases in volume.
- Continue the process until the product is so fluffy and thick that it will hold its shape.
- Or it’s good to stay on the rim and not fall.
Video recipe for cake decorating cream
I want to share with you one recipe that I found on the Internet. There is a difference here from the classic whipped cream, and because of this it is more expensive, since cream cheese is also used. But the result exceeds all expectations. Having prepared such a sweet mass, all you need is your imagination on how to beautifully decorate the cake. Take a look and you won't regret it.
Wedding cake with flowers - 80 photos of stunningly realistic sweet decorations
If you want to surprise people close to you, then you can give them a gift in the form of a cake, but it should be unusual, and, for example, with flowers. Often such unusual delicacies can be seen at weddings.
Every bride wants this day to be different from everyone else’s, and wedding cakes without flowers are banal, so in order to add color and brightness to their cake, girls usually ask to decorate it with flowers.
No-bake cake covered with gelatin and fruit: detailed recipe
Do-it-yourself cheesecake with fruit jelly is a simple and very tasty option for holiday evenings in a small circle. Even those who don’t like sweets will like the unsweetened base combined with fruit. The classic cheesecake is decorated with strawberries and served with strawberry jam, but this won’t surprise anyone. But a delicate peach from your own garden and physalis will reveal this dessert in a new way.
Ingredients:
- — crumbly cookies – 250 gr.;
- — butter – 100 gr.;
- — cottage cheese – 400 gr.;
- — cream – 200 gr.;
- – sugar – 5 tbsp;
- — gelatin – 40 g;
- — clear juice or compote – 100 ml;
- - warm water - 100 ml;
- — peaches – 4 pcs.;
- — physalis – 1 pc.;
- - form with a removable bottom.
Process:
- 20 gr. Pour gelatin over half the cream and leave to swell.
- Remove the butter from the refrigerator until it becomes soft.
- Break the cookies into a deep bowl.
- Combine butter and cookies, knead the dough.
- Place the dough evenly on the bottom of the pan and press down.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining cream, cottage cheese and sugar.
- When a thick, airy cream forms, add the gelatin soaked in the cream and beat everything thoroughly again.
- Spread the cream onto the cookie base and smooth it out.
- Place the dessert in the refrigerator for about an hour until the cream hardens.
- Pour the remaining gelatin with a glass of warm water and leave to swell.
- If you want the jelly to be sweeter, add sugar to the juice and boil the liquid until it dissolves. Let cool.
- Wash the peaches and cut into thin slices.
- Lay out the slices in a spiral in a circle, starting from the center.
- Combine gelatin and juice. Mix well.
- Pour gelatin over everything evenly.
- Place physalis in the center.
- Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
This is a universal simple cake that, depending on the occasion, can be decorated in different ways and will harmoniously combine with the taste of any fruit.
Wedding cake
When choosing the design of your wedding, do not forget about the cake. It is also important to choose a cake design that will go well with the theme of your celebration.
Whether you're having a rustic wedding, a rich party, or a modern celebration, your confection will become part of your decor.
Wedding cakes can be decorated with frosting, which will be covered with hundreds of sugary flowers or decorated with fresh roses, peonies, greenery or other flowers used throughout the wedding.
No matter what type of style you choose, the latter is becoming increasingly popular for couples who want a natural-style celebration.
Wedding cake with fresh flowers and greenery
A wedding cake with fresh flowers and greenery is one of the most popular desserts for your big day, and for good reason!
These decorations add color to a simple cake at a relatively low cost. This allows the bride and groom to skip more expensive decorative techniques.
The advantage, of course, is artificial flowers, as they are cheaper than real flowers, and you also have an endless variety of design options.
When it comes to choosing decor for your ceremony and reception, it's no secret that brides pay a lot of attention to fresh flowers. Adding them to your wedding cake as well is a great way to tie the elements of your wedding together with the overall theme.
Incorporate fresh flowers into your cake, arrange the flowers in an elegant cascade down the confection, or add height to the design by incorporating floral tiers—the options are endless! You can see a photo of a wedding cake with flowers below.
White daisies
White daisies are considered a very delicate decoration for a cake, especially one intended for a girl. So, if you are preparing a delicacy for a young lady’s holiday, a decoration made from these innocent flowers will come in handy more than ever.
We decorate delicate cakes with daisies
What do you need to have?
- White confectionery paste;
- Yellow paste paste (or yellow food coloring);
- Chamomile shape for working with mastic;
- A round mold for working with confectionery paste or a cap from a plastic bottle;
- Purified water;
- Wooden toothpick;
- A small piece of gauze;
- Paint brush;
- Silicone rolling pin and silicone mat;
- Powdered sugar.
Preparation:
1 Roll out white mastic on a flat surface covered with a silicone mat.
Roll out the paste to 3 millimeters
2Take a “daisy” shape and press firmly onto the resulting white layer;
Chamomile shapes
3 Separate the resulting flower from the rest of the mass and place it on a baking sheet;
4 We take a toothpick, use it to align the petals of the flower and draw a relief on them so that the flower looks as much like a real one as possible;
The relief on the flower makes it more realistic
5 Take the chamomile shape again and squeeze the flower out of the layer;
6Align the petals, draw a relief, moisten the middle with water and place the previously obtained flower on top (it is necessary to apply it so that the chamomile appears lush and there are no gaps between the petals);
7 Roll out yellow mastic on a silicone surface or mix white with yellow dye and also turn it into a thin layer;
8 Take the gauze, place it on top of the yellow layer and press down firmly with a silicone roller or rolling pin;
9 Separate the gauze from the yellow mastic;
10Take a round mold or cork from a plastic bottle and cut out circles from yellow paste that will be the center of our flower;
The cores must be glued with the relief facing up
11 Wet the center of the resulting chamomile with water using a paint brush and attach the resulting yellow circle, with the relief surface facing up;
12Prick the chamomile onto a toothpick and leave to dry for at least two hours.
How safe is it?
Many people like this design, but they doubt the safety of such decoration. The use of flowers in making cakes has long been practiced, so it is completely safe.
Some flowers are naturally toxic to consume, others are harmful due to the use of pesticides.
A good florist can explain which flowers will be harmful for use in confectionery purposes. If you have special flowers that you would like to use, find out the origin of the plant before you can use it.
What flowers should I use?
It is recommended to use the following flowers:
- roses;
- gardenia;
- pansies;
- dandelions;
- violets;
You can use them and not be afraid of the consequences.
If you used non-edible flowers, be sure to remove them before serving the cake. If the flower is edible, you can serve the treat without removing it.
Guests can choose how adventurous they want to eat. Be sure to let them know that the flowers are edible.
Consider the length of time such decorations will remain on your cake. For example, a beautiful gardenia may not look very good if it sits in the sun for several hours. Thinner flowers may wilt.
Consider how the cake will be served and try to choose flowers that will last longer in their beauty.
Fresh flowers can be used directly on the cake, either by placing a thin arrangement on top of the cake or with a thin divider to keep the petals from sinking into your creation. Be sure to thoroughly wash and dry the flowers before placing them on the cake.
You can reap the benefits of using fresh flowers with minimal fuss by choosing just the petals.
Flower petals can add romance to your creation and can also be used to complement more sophisticated fresh floral designs.
If you don't have enough colors, you can use berries. A wedding cake with berries and flowers will definitely not leave anyone indifferent!
Paste flowers for beginners
The presented method does not require skill honed over years and special kitchen utensils. Everything that is found in the everyday life of every housewife is used.
So, we will sculpt voluminous daisies.
To do this, we need blue and yellow paste, a tube 15-20 centimeters long and 2-3 in diameter (maybe, for example, the handle of a rolling pin or some small case), a roller for rolling (a smooth glass or a flat bottle is often used), sharp knife, ruler, deep plate, plastic bottle cap), gauze.
Stage 1
1Roll out both pastas to a thickness of 3 millimeters, maybe a little thinner. Cover the yellow mastic with gauze and press it on top over the entire surface with a roller. We remove the gauze and get a relief surface.
2Next, take a cork from a plastic bottle and cut out twice as many circles from the resulting relief layer as there are planned flowers. Place the resulting elements on a separate surface, for example, a baking sheet.
Using gauze we get relief centers
Stage 2
3Roll out the blue paste to a similar thickness. We apply a ruler, cut the layer into even strips 0.5 centimeters wide and apply the middle of each strip to the tube, wrap it with the ends and glue it on the back side so that it looks like a balloon on a string.
Cut into thin strips
4 We fill the entire tube with such elements, let it dry a little and remove it, moving the mastic to the side. These will be the petals of our daisies and you will need a lot of them.
The ends of the strips must be glued well
Stage 3
5Now you need to connect the manufactured elements. To do this, place a cap from a plastic bottle in the middle of the recessed plate. Place a yellow mastic circle on top of it, with the relief surface facing down. Lightly moisten the top side with water.
Carefully attach the petals to the center
6If the petals have long tips, they must be cut to a length that is sufficient for the end of the petal to reach the center of the yellow circle.
The ends of the petals should not be long
7When pruning, make a sharp, triangular-shaped tip.
To obtain a three-dimensional flower, place the petals on the yellow center with the ribs up. So that the top view resembles a circle with rays.
8 It is recommended to attach the first four petals to the center on four sides. This method will allow you to produce an even flower. In this case, we glue the next 4 and 8 elements in the center of the already glued ones.
9 In order to make the flower double-sided, at the end we attach another center on the reverse side.
Ready-made daisies from mastic on a cake
10The finished flower must be dried for several hours and you can start decorating.
Wedding cakes with fresh flowers are bright masterpieces of culinary art
Flowers are a decoration that can be used not only for interior decoration, but also for cakes. Some inflorescences are edible, and it is them that modern confectioners use to decorate mainly wedding cakes.
Both candied fresh inflorescences and barely picked flowers without processing are used. The tradition of decorating cakes with flowers dates back to England in the 17th–18th centuries. It was then that traditional wedding buns were transformed by a French pastry chef into a cream cake, which began to be decorated with live buds.
How to decorate a wedding cake with fresh flowers: 5 tips
When decorating cakes with flowers, in particular hydrangea or calla lilies, you should remember that you are using live plants that may soon wither. To prevent damage to the cake due to wilting of the inflorescences, you need to follow a few simple tips.
Professional confectioners always follow these rules:
- You need to decorate the cake no earlier than two hours before serving. Otherwise, the petals will wither and make the dessert either tasteless or unattractive.
- It is necessary to select colors that contrast with the biscuit and its coating. For dark biscuits use light flowers, and vice versa.
- To ensure that the cake remains beautiful after the flowers are removed, it is better to use special flat plates for the buds. They are stuck on a thin short stem.
- Flowers that can be placed in plates are completely separated from the stem, and try to remove the core (cut off the stamens and pistils). Inflorescences that cannot be placed in special containers are mounted on a stalk. You need to trim it to 1.5–2 cm.
- To extend the life of flowers, you can place them in special containers with water or a foam sponge moistened with water.
Here you can learn how to properly process fresh flowers before decorating your dessert:
The petals, stem, and especially the roots should not be eaten or used for decoration.
Light creamy cream
People don’t like to work with cream when it comes to complex decor - it melts, flows and doesn’t hold its shape. Use our recipe and you can prepare roses from cream with cream without much effort:
- cream with a fat content of at least 33% - 500 ml;
- powdered sugar - 100 grams;
- leaf gelatin - 1 pc.
There is no recipe as such, just soak the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes, during which time heat the cream to 60 degrees.
Add gelatin to the cream and mix thoroughly until completely homogeneous.
Allow the cream to cool completely and refrigerate overnight for final stabilization.
Whip the cream to stiff peaks, stir in the powdered sugar, and that's it - ready to use!
