Eat Cake

Planning to put your wedding cake outside?

We’ve all seen them. The photos of wedding receptions outside on beautiful wood tables or under large full trees. But something to keep in mind when having your reception out side and cake is involved.

Frosting is made with butter. It melts there is just no getting around it. Putting cakes outside exposes them to the elements. Heat, wind, dirt in the wind, birds (birds poop), squirrels, bugs, ants, as well as cats and dogs that may be part of the property or even part of the ceremony. Because incorporating your favorite fur baby into your ceremony can be a sweet personal touch. However pets don’t know they aren’t supposed to eat the cake or stick their snout up there and lick it.

While we’re talking about cake outside lets not forget about the ground. I have never encountered a patch of level dirt & grass suitable for the level needs of a cake table. Just putting a table outside and eyeballing its levity won’t cut it. You don’t want your cake to lean or fall do you? Neither do I. You will need to get wood and shims (shims are tapered wedges of work that you can get at any Lowes store or local Wal-mart ) and use a level. Make that table straight. Also putting a piece of plywood on the ground for the table to be placed on is a fantastic idea as often times the cake is heavy and the table legs can sink into the ground causing the table to become un-level again. The plywood stops the legs from sinking into the dirt.

I’ve had many clients ask which frosting doesn’t melt outside. My guess is they ask this because they know frosting melts but they want to have a way to get around not being able to stick their cake outside for hours with out trouble. The answer is have cake with no frosting. that means no yummy filling either. Why?

because it melts. Talk to your baker. Find out what their policy is for outdoor receptions. My policy, for fully decorated cakes. I watch the weather and if it’s going to be a scorcher I deliver the cake as close to ceremony time as possible with instructions that the bride and groom should do the cake cutting 1st thing after saying I do. Yes, before the meal and before the first dance. Butter in heat waits for no one even brides and grooms.

The photo below was at a wedding I did with Whitney Hewitt from Erica Weddings I placed a box (that I got from Aila’s Catering as they were setting up the bar) over the cake because the location of the ceremony and reception was at a family farm. It was a very pretty setting but, It came with cows, chickens, donkeys, you get the picture.  And LOTS of flies.

So if you’re planning to have outdoor reception.  Be mindful of the cake and the cake table.  Imagine yourself as the cake sitting on the table at least 1 hour before the reception and as long as it will take you to do the cake cutting.  Ask yourself these questions.

• Am I sitting in direct sunlight?
• Am I under a tree where squirrels and birds like to hang out and a random tree branch might decide to fall down on top of me?
• Are there animals near by like, cats, dogs, cows, goats etc.. that can get close to me?
• Is my table level
• Is the ground soft from a recent rain causing the table to sink into the dirt and become un-level
• Is there a lot of loose dirt around?  If the wind picks up will it blow dirt all over me?
• Is the tree stump cake stand level?  You don’t want to start leaning and fall over if it’s not.

And use them as a guide to make sure that your cake will not only be the beautiful wedding cake you deserve but that it is the centerpiece you want it to be and will have the environment it needs to be the sweet treat it was meant to be.