Since this is the wedding edition special, I thought I might enlighten you with wedding food factoids. But then I thought what food factoids are there? Either you are the party in question and have a rehearsal dinner with your wedding party or you’re a guest and attend a wedding brunch, lunch or dinner. As far as what you’re planning for your rehearsal or wedding meal, there are no rules or traditions. In fact, the bride and groom are usually so preoccupied with the total wedding and reception that they usually aren’t very hungry or sometimes don’t even remember what they’ve consumed. Hmm, some tradition for wedding food. But then I thought, there is usually one food constant to the wedding. The cake. And due to the popularity of the Food Network, the cake can account for quite a large chunk of the wedding expense.
Why Cake?
As it turns out, cake had no role in early wedding ceremonies. Back in the ages of the Roman Empire, the groom would break a loaf of bread over his brides head. Barbaric as that sounds, it seems like it would spice up modern wedding receptions. For some reason I get flashbacks to food fight scenes in Animal House. As cooking techniques and ingredients were refined, the bread eventually morphed into sweet pies then sweet breads and with the discovery of leavening agents, finally into the cake as we know it.
Originally wedding cakes were all made white simply because white symbolized purity. Thankfully color graces most modern wedding cakes which make newer versions a lot more appealing than the tiered stucco look of old. These days, brides not only choose vividly colored cakes, but square, triangular, oval, and even irregularly shaped cakes or cakes that appear to be stacked upside down, multiple cakes or pieces that don’t even resemble cake.
The History of Cake
Cake didn’t start out as we now know it. Early cakes were derived from their cousin, bread. Some of these yeasted cakes are still produced though usually only during the holiday season such as babka, stollen and kuchen. There are also non-yeasted, non-leavened cakes such as Angel’s Food cake which depends on air bubbles trapped in a protein matrix (egg whites) that support its structure. However this air-protein matrix is not stable enough to support multiple tiers and therefore wouldn’t make a good wedding cake.
The basic ingredients of cake include flour, sweetener, eggs, fats, milk and baking powder. From a nutritional point of view, I still chuckle when recalling an old skit from Bill Cosby when his wife tells him to make breakfast for the children. He asks his youngest daughter what she wants, “chocolate cake”. “Chocolate cake for breakfast”? he exclaims. Then his brain recalls the ingredients for chocolate cake. “Wheat, milk ,eggs… That’s nutrition”! “Chocolate cake it is”. Of course his wife discovers the chocolate cake breakfast and promptly sends him out of the kitchen back to bed for his ineptitude. Which is where he wanted to be in the first place. He states “men are dumb… but we are not so dumb”. But that’s another marriage tactic best left to another column or columnist.
After the basic ingredients, the sky’s the limit for whatever “additives” you desire. Cocoa powder and red food coloring for a Red Velvet cake, coconut milk and coconut flakes for a Haupia cake, chocolate and sour red cherries for a Black Forrest cake, you get the picture. There are also cakes which contain more fat (butter) to produce a richer end product and I consumed my fair share of Sarah Lee pound cake in the past to keep several cardiologists in business. There is also cheesecake – which I don’t consider a cake since some variations don’t even contain flour. They are more like cream cheese based pies. And while we’re on the subject of flour, many purists believe that you must use cake flour instead of all purpose flour. The difference? Cake flour has less protein (gluten) which has a tendency to toughen the delicate texture of some cakes. Cake flour also tends to be bleached more than usual all purpose flour. Do I use it? No, mainly because I don’t bake traditional airy cakes. Personally it’s much easier to purchase an Angel’s Food cake from the market or simply use the Duncan Hines mix when I do need an airy cake. Plus cake baking takes exact measurements – something I’ve never really done in the kitchen – to the point of weighing the flour instead of simply measuring it. Especially in Hawaii where the humidity varies from 60% all the way to 90+%. Therefore I’m more of a pound cake type of baker – albeit reduced butter type of pound cake. With their denser texture, they’re more forgiving to imperfect measurements.
How to eat the Cake
Traditionally, the newlyweds cut the first piece of cake – to much fanfare and photography – with the groom feeding the bride first then taking the second bite from his beloved. Sometimes the newlyweds slice additional pieces from the cake to serve their immediate families in a display of filial piety. Often the top tier of the cake is frozen and eaten on the 1st anniversary of the couple, sometimes pieces are distributed to unmarried maidens to leave under their pillows to dream of their future grooms. I guess it’s a lot more civil than breaking the cake over someone’s head. However if the ritual symbolizes the first meal together, I would opt for slicing a perfectly roasted chicken or tenderloin. Maybe spooning the perfect wild mushroom risotto as a display of affection. But I guess that doesn’t make for romantic photos in your wedding album. It also explains why I’m not a wedding planner by trade.
Over the Top or Not?
Since the ritual significance is in the feeding and not necessarily the viewing of the cake, my recommendation would be to spend less on the cake and more on the food… or the wine… or the photography. Of course if I planned my own wedding, most of the cost would be for food AND wine, we’d be registered at K & L Wines, Colorado Cyclist and REI and in place of cake I’d serve either a roasted banana tiramisu or mocha crème brulee. But I guess that’s why the future Mrs. does most of the wedding planning. So if the future Mrs. does indeed decide to contact Mike McCarey or Colette Peters for the wedding cake – which will set you back in the four-figure range – think of it as an investment. An investment in future peace of mind. You don’t want her reminding you that the wedding reception was spoiled because of that cheap $100 cake purchased from Safeway over the next 25 years do you? Makes that $3000 edible artwork seem kinda cheap now doesn’t it?
Why Cake?
As it turns out, cake had no role in early wedding ceremonies. Back in the ages of the Roman Empire, the groom would break a loaf of bread over his brides head. Barbaric as that sounds, it seems like it would spice up modern wedding receptions. For some reason I get flashbacks to food fight scenes in Animal House. As cooking techniques and ingredients were refined, the bread eventually morphed into sweet pies then sweet breads and with the discovery of leavening agents, finally into the cake as we know it.
Originally wedding cakes were all made white simply because white symbolized purity. Thankfully color graces most modern wedding cakes which make newer versions a lot more appealing than the tiered stucco look of old. These days, brides not only choose vividly colored cakes, but square, triangular, oval, and even irregularly shaped cakes or cakes that appear to be stacked upside down, multiple cakes or pieces that don’t even resemble cake.
The History of Cake
Cake didn’t start out as we now know it. Early cakes were derived from their cousin, bread. Some of these yeasted cakes are still produced though usually only during the holiday season such as babka, stollen and kuchen. There are also non-yeasted, non-leavened cakes such as Angel’s Food cake which depends on air bubbles trapped in a protein matrix (egg whites) that support its structure. However this air-protein matrix is not stable enough to support multiple tiers and therefore wouldn’t make a good wedding cake.
The basic ingredients of cake include flour, sweetener, eggs, fats, milk and baking powder. From a nutritional point of view, I still chuckle when recalling an old skit from Bill Cosby when his wife tells him to make breakfast for the children. He asks his youngest daughter what she wants, “chocolate cake”. “Chocolate cake for breakfast”? he exclaims. Then his brain recalls the ingredients for chocolate cake. “Wheat, milk ,eggs… That’s nutrition”! “Chocolate cake it is”. Of course his wife discovers the chocolate cake breakfast and promptly sends him out of the kitchen back to bed for his ineptitude. Which is where he wanted to be in the first place. He states “men are dumb… but we are not so dumb”. But that’s another marriage tactic best left to another column or columnist.
After the basic ingredients, the sky’s the limit for whatever “additives” you desire. Cocoa powder and red food coloring for a Red Velvet cake, coconut milk and coconut flakes for a Haupia cake, chocolate and sour red cherries for a Black Forrest cake, you get the picture. There are also cakes which contain more fat (butter) to produce a richer end product and I consumed my fair share of Sarah Lee pound cake in the past to keep several cardiologists in business. There is also cheesecake – which I don’t consider a cake since some variations don’t even contain flour. They are more like cream cheese based pies. And while we’re on the subject of flour, many purists believe that you must use cake flour instead of all purpose flour. The difference? Cake flour has less protein (gluten) which has a tendency to toughen the delicate texture of some cakes. Cake flour also tends to be bleached more than usual all purpose flour. Do I use it? No, mainly because I don’t bake traditional airy cakes. Personally it’s much easier to purchase an Angel’s Food cake from the market or simply use the Duncan Hines mix when I do need an airy cake. Plus cake baking takes exact measurements – something I’ve never really done in the kitchen – to the point of weighing the flour instead of simply measuring it. Especially in Hawaii where the humidity varies from 60% all the way to 90+%. Therefore I’m more of a pound cake type of baker – albeit reduced butter type of pound cake. With their denser texture, they’re more forgiving to imperfect measurements.
How to eat the Cake
Traditionally, the newlyweds cut the first piece of cake – to much fanfare and photography – with the groom feeding the bride first then taking the second bite from his beloved. Sometimes the newlyweds slice additional pieces from the cake to serve their immediate families in a display of filial piety. Often the top tier of the cake is frozen and eaten on the 1st anniversary of the couple, sometimes pieces are distributed to unmarried maidens to leave under their pillows to dream of their future grooms. I guess it’s a lot more civil than breaking the cake over someone’s head. However if the ritual symbolizes the first meal together, I would opt for slicing a perfectly roasted chicken or tenderloin. Maybe spooning the perfect wild mushroom risotto as a display of affection. But I guess that doesn’t make for romantic photos in your wedding album. It also explains why I’m not a wedding planner by trade.
Over the Top or Not?
Since the ritual significance is in the feeding and not necessarily the viewing of the cake, my recommendation would be to spend less on the cake and more on the food… or the wine… or the photography. Of course if I planned my own wedding, most of the cost would be for food AND wine, we’d be registered at K & L Wines, Colorado Cyclist and REI and in place of cake I’d serve either a roasted banana tiramisu or mocha crème brulee. But I guess that’s why the future Mrs. does most of the wedding planning. So if the future Mrs. does indeed decide to contact Mike McCarey or Colette Peters for the wedding cake – which will set you back in the four-figure range – think of it as an investment. An investment in future peace of mind. You don’t want her reminding you that the wedding reception was spoiled because of that cheap $100 cake purchased from Safeway over the next 25 years do you? Makes that $3000 edible artwork seem kinda cheap now doesn’t it?
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