Cambridge Edition March 2019

WEDD INGS

TAKING THE CAKE

Just like dresses and flowers, there are trends in wedding cakes, too. We spoke to Jessica Baines from One Part Love Bakery and Gemma Whiting from The Linton Kitchen to find out more about what’s big in baking, exciting in icing and current in cakes. MINIMALIST STYLING: “Semi-naked cakes are still a big trend,” says Jess. “Naked cakes have no icing at all, and semi-naked ones have just a fine covering of buttercream. This trend has been around for a couple of years now and we are still seeing lots of couples choosing it.” CAKESCAPES: “Weddings are very expensive, so one thing couples can do is go for a ‘cakescape’, which combines the cake and the dessert course in one,” explains Gemma. “This set-up is ideal for a more informal wedding, especially for couples who have chosen food trucks for the catering. It often includes a traditional cutting cake – to keep the parents happy – but also features towering brownie mountains, stacks of shortbread or oozing caramel bundts.” KEEP IT FRESH: “Fresh flowers are still a really big trend,” says Jess. “Couples can coordinate the look with their bouquets and table settings, and a bonus is that it’s a lot cheaper than having sugar flowers on your cake.” THE HARRY-AND-MEGHAN EFFECT: “Since the royal wedding last year, I’ve had lots of requests for lemon and elderflower cake,” says Jess. “No one ever asked for it before! It’s now on my list of flavours. Anything lemony is really popular now and it goes very well with buttercream.” opportunities at a wedding. “At The Linton Kitchen, we don’t just deliver a cake – we style it and place it in its setting,” says Gemma. “For example, the couple can choose an item that’s special to them – like a grandmother’s dressing table – and, in collaboration with Anna’s Flower Farm, we style the cakes in situ.” CHANGING SHAPES: “Although most people go for round cakes, occasionally a couple will request a more quirky tall, square cake”, reports Jess. “What we have noticed is that cakes are getting taller and thinner – still with three tiers but with each tier being higher. This can look really striking.” CLASSIC CAKES: “The vintage wedding trend is still going strong,” says Jess, “and a classic Victoria sponge works really well with this kind of wedding, so it’s becoming a very popular choice. However, we get virtually no requests for old-fashioned fruit cakes any more. Sometimes, a couple will get a mini fruit cake to please a relative who wants something traditional, but it’s never the main cake flavour any more.” FROMTHEGARDEN: “Inspiredby foraging,my love of gardening and seasonal ingredients, in 2019 I’ll be heading to the garden to seewhat’s looking and tasting good for the season and using flowers and herbs todelicately flavour The LintonKitchen bakes,” predicts Gemma. lintonkitchen.co.uk | onepartlove.co.uk CAKE TABLE STYLING: With Pinterest, Instagram and wedding hashtags, there are lots of photo

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