Once you have selected the style, flavor and filling for your wedding
cake it is
time to decide on the frosting. Although it may seem simple and
straight forward – there are several different types of icing
available and what you choose will definitely affect that kind of
finish your cake will have and what kind of decorations can be put
on it.
The most common and by far the frosting most used on traditional
wedding cakes is buttercream. This creamy, light frosting is made
with sugar, butter and eggs and can easily be flavored or colored.
Buttercream is so popular because
is can be used to make a wide range of beautiful designs and decorations
while also being a very tasting filling.
One of the trendiest frostings currently being used by cake designers
everywhere is the fondant or rolled fondant icing. Made from glucose
or corn syrup and shortening, fondant not only holds up well under
most conditions, but it can also be given a shimmery look that adds
extra dazzle to a wedding cake. Fondant can be draped to look like
yards of ribbon, twisted, folded and applied easily to the surface
of a wedding cake – making it a tasty, versatile and beautiful
frosting.
An old favorite with cake designers every where is Marzipan. This
rich and tasty treat is made with crushed almonds, eggs and sugar.
It can be made to look like fondant, but it’s exorbitant cost
makes it better suited to fashioning flowers, leaves, seashells
and other decorative elements from its flavorful paste. However,
if a cake has marzipan accents it must be sealed properly before
being placed in a refrigerator as any moisture will affect the way
the confections look.
A frosting that is quickly gaining in favor is rolled chocolate
– otherwise called chocolate fondant, chocolate plastic or
plastique. Chocolate is melted with glycerine or corn syrup to create
this lovely covering that is being used more and more often for
wedding cakes as well as groom’s cakes.
If your cake requires a lot of delicate lace work you can be sure
that the cake designer will use royal icing. This pure white and
very hard frosting is the ideal medium of creating intricate designs
and decorations. Since it cannot be refrigerated, it is not advisable
to frost the entire cake in it.
