Celebrate your Destination wedding with a unique and traditional wedding cake designed by the traditions of the country that you are visiting! Leave the white confectionery cake at home, and let your Destination create your special cake!Wedding cakes have all kinds of significance, from the color of the icing, to the cutting of the cake. Every part of the tradition means something special, depending on the destination and its culture. For example, have you ever wondered why newlyweds smear cake on one another’s face? It is definitely a playful moment, but it is also part of a long tradition! In Ancient Rome, wedding cakes were not eaten, but instead they were broken over the bride’s head or thrown at the bride and groom as part of a fertility rite! Thank goodness we only do a little dab these days!
If you’re trying to choose the right cake for your big day take a look at our list below. We’ve compiled information on traditional wedding cakes from some popular destination wedding locations!
Hawaii
The traditional cake of Hawaii has been recently added to the wedding celebrations. For thousands of years, haupia, a coconut pudding cake has become the dessert choice of the islanders. The delicious coconut flavored cake is coated in the haupia pudding and beautifully decorated with fresh island flowers and ferns, making this cake a perfect choice for your Hawaiian Wedding celebration!
Jamaica
Like most of the Caribbean islands, black cake is the traditional wedding dessert. Black cake is a fruit cake, but unlike the typical North American fruit cake that we serve at Christmas. The Caribbean black cake is so moist and delicious as it is soaked in the islands rum for at least 6 months. Usually coated with a white frosting it makes a wonderful choice for your wedding cake.
Bermuda
Enjoy traditional Bermuda style wedding cakes, laced in gold and silver! In Bermuda, the groom’s cake is topped in gold, and the brides’ is coated in silver frosting…so luxurious! For an extra touch, a tiny cedar sapling tops the cake as a symbol of glowing love. After the bridal ceremony, the newlyweds take the sapling home to plant in their yard.
Caribbean
Caribbean couples traditionally feast on fruitcakes. The cake is often dark and filled with dried fruits and sherry, wine, or rum.
West Indies
Party guests in the West Indies pay for a lucky peek at the wedding cake hidden under a fine white tablecloth. Here a rum-laced fruitcake is the sweet of choice.
Norway
Shying away from cake altogether, Norwegians serve brudlaupskling, a type of wedding bread first developed when white flour was a rarity on farms in Norway. Any food containing wheat was once highly prized, so the wedding bread was considered a true treat. Topped with cheese, cream, and syrup, this unique bread is folded over and cut into small squares and served to all the guests.
Denmark
The traditional Kransekake is a dessert served by Scandinavia that has been around since the 1700’s. This delicious dessert consists of layered marzipan biscuits topped with party crackers or flags. Traditionally, this dessert was served at wedding ceremonies as the ring bearer. Both the bride and groom would pull off the top rings with their hands, and the number of layers still attached would predict how many children they will have.
Italy
Deciding on the type of wedding cake is one of the many fun choices a bride and groom get to make when planning their wedding. If you are in Italy, then you have a few wonderful options to choose from.
- Millefoglie– is a traditional Italian wedding cake, made of many extremely thin sheets of filo-like pastry, interspersed with a light cream and mascarpone, sometimes a little chocolate, and topped with fresh berries and a dusting of powdered sugar. Beautifully simple & delicious!
- Profiterole– choose this cake for an unquestionably delicious statement cake for your special day! The profiterole cake is in the shape of a tall conical tower, made with small cream filled pastries called profiteroles. These are coated in dark chocolate sauce or brittle caramel. Once these are made, then you begin creating a tower. Sticking the profiteroles one by one together with the hot chocolate or caramel sauce, you create your tower of
Love! - The Classic Tiered White Cake– Always a good choice for any wedding, with so many decorative ideas. Traditionally, the white icing symbolizes the bride’s purity and devotion to her new husband. Some say that this cake that we choose so often, originated in Italy.
- Crostata di Frutta– if you are not big on a cake, this is another delicious dessert for any Italian wedding. The “crostata di frutta”, or fruit tart, is a large custard tart topped with a whole rainbow of fresh colorful fruit. These may include kiwi, berries, apples, peaches and other fruit. Traditionally cakes with fruit were served at weddings as a wish for fertility and fortune!
If you are in the process of planning your Destination Wedding and are looking for more advise or help with bookings please contact Kelly@Lloydstravel.com or visit our Weddings Page.
Our Destination Wedding Specialists are here to help make your big day the dream that it deserves to be!