Love Beauty >> Love Beauty >  >> Health and Wellness >> Womens Issues

Wedding Dessert Alternatives: Why Brides Skip the Cake

src="http://www.favorideas.com/images/let-them-eat-cake.gif"
width="150" height="155" hspace="8" vspace="4" border="0"
align="right"> It’s a fact, however odd it seems, that some
brides don’t like cake — and don’t want one at their wedding
reception. Others like cake just fine, but prefer to serve
something a little more distinctive for dessert. On the whole,
brides pass up cake at their wedding because they:


  • don’t like it
  • want something nontraditional and edgy and
    are bored by “the norm”
  • want something that more personally
    represents them or their geographical area
  • attended too
    many catered weddings where no one touches the cake because
    they’d already had a full meal plus dessert
  • have a venue
    that tacks on high cake serving fees
I must admit I’m
tempted to stare when someone tells me “they just don’t like
cake.” Because, as everyone knows, wedding cake is no longer
just cake. Wedding cake has morphed into something that, in the
right hands, borders on a religious experience.

Today’s chefs know that a good cake — one light years away from
the “packing material” type cake of old — is full of delicious,
creamy fat. And not that horrifying vegetable shortening,
either. The modern wedding cake is loaded with real butter,
moist base material (poppy seed cake, pound cake, carrot cake,
banana, chocolate, red velvet and more) and tempting fillings
(amaretto, chocolate mousse, tiramisu, raspberry, white
chocolate).

The exterior, too, has gotten sleeker and lovelier in response
to today’s streamlined bridal fashions. All the former hallmarks
of questionable taste — fountains, pillars, mugging couples on
a cake topper — are gone. So how can any bride resist?

Many don’t, but a few persevere in wanting something else.
Fortunately, weddings these days are about personal choice and
individuality — they don’t have to have one. And the
alternatives to cake are many.

The secret to a satisfying wedding cake alternative is simple –
presentation. Whatever you’re serving, stack it in tiers. Follow
this simple tip and you can turn almost anything into food fit
for the most special occasion.

Tiered puddings and mousses

Pre-chill wine or champagne glasses, and fill with:


  • Chocolate, chocolate orange, lemon mousse
  • Rice, coconut
    rice or wild rice pudding
  • Raspberry, hazelnut or regular
    tiramisu
  • White chocolate, key lime, blackberry or biscotti
    parfaits
  • Heavy whipped cream, topped with sweet in-season
    berries
If your budget’s ample, you can also stack up
individual-sized
  • Caramel, anise, pumpkin flan

  • Crème brulee — regular, eggnog, blueberry, espresso,
    coconut
Tiered Pastries

Cream puffs are king — and for good reason. Remember that cream
puffs don’t have to be round; you can use cookie cutters to
fashion them into lots of creative shapes. You can also go
beyond them and stack up:

  • Gooey cinnamon rolls

  • Funnel cakes
  • Baklava
  • Soufflés served in individual
    custard cups
  • Cream horns, éclairs, St. Joseph’s pastries,
    sfogliatelle, cannoli, napoleons, baba rum
Straight from
the Shelf

You won’t be the first bride to try this. Stack those tiers high
and proud or create an entire freestanding “cake” with:


  • Sno Balls, Suzy Qs, HoHos, Ding Dongs, Twinkies
  • Krispy
    Kreme donuts, Moon Pies
Other Options

  • Chocolate-dipped fruit
  • Chocolate truffles
  • A chocolate
    fountain
  • Sugar cookies or brownies with your initials in
    cellophane wrappers
  • Fancy pies: key lime, lemon, chocolate
    pecan, coconut custard, cranberry apple, macadamia nut, peanut
    butter and white chocolate cream.
Whatever you choose, try
to retain the cake-cutting part of your ceremony. The cutting of
the cake is an ancient ritual and a powerful symbol of unity
between the couple and their guests. It doesn’t matter if you’re
really digging into a lemon meringue pie — your guests will
still want to ooh and ahh as you cut it together and feed each
other.