Wedding Cakes from Around the World
When you're studying the baking and pastry arts, you need to know how to create a beautiful wedding cake. But more than that, you should be familiar with wedding desserts from different countries and cultures. You never know what kind of request you're going to get at a bakery and the four-tiered white fondant cake may serve some of your clients, but definitely not all of them.
To help you prepare for your baking and pastry arts education, as well as your future, creating delicious desserts, here are a selection of traditional wedding cakes from around the world. So when a client orders a korovai, you know exactly what they're talking about.
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Croquembouche: A Tower from France
The name of this delectable tower of taste roughly translates to, "something that crunches in the mouth". It's traditional served at weddings, but can also be the centerpiece at baptisms and first communions. Originating from France, the dessert is made by piling profiteroles onto a cone and binding them together with spun sugar. Sometimes edible flowers, chocolate, or sugar almonds are added to finish off the dish.
Bridal Cakes: A Chinese Tradition
Although the history of this tradition has evolved over the years, some families will send out cakes with wedding invitations so that friends and family can share in the excitement. Originally called marry girl cake or dowry cake, this tradition is estimated to go back to the time of the Three Kingdoms, around 220-280 AD.
The cake has a sponge-cake like texture and is rather large for a pastry. There are multiple variations of the cakes. Some of the most popular ones incorporate duck egg, lotus seed, yellow green bean paste, or Terminalia walnut. A recent development has been a great-grandmother cake, sent to the bride's grandparents, if possible. The groom can send these cakes as a show of good faith.
Mujigae Tteok: A Korean Bridal Rice Cake
Tteok, also called dduk, is a versatile rice cake which is very popular. There are hundreds of different variations on this dish and they can be used for several different celebrations, such as birthdays or in everyday cooking. The type of tteok used in weddings is usually very colorful. Its name, mujigae tteok, translates to rainbow tteok.
Kransakaka: Scandinavian Tower of Confection
This dessert's name translates to "wreath cake" or "tower cake". Common in the Danish and Norwegian traditions, this confection is usually eaten for special events such as weddings and baptisms, or for holidays such as Christmas or New Year's Eve. The cake is made up multiple rings, each layered on top of each other and held together by white icing. Most of the kransakaka have 18 rings or even more!
Korovai: A Long History for a Slavic Delight
The korovai is a type of bread cake that has its origins in the ancient world. Everything, from baking to dividing the cake, has meaning and purpose. The bottom layer of the cake, the one shared with wedding guests and the musicians, is called the pidoshva. Sharing the bread cake symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the couple.
Are you hungry to start your career in the baking and pastry arts? If you'd like to learn more about earning a Baking and Pastry Arts Diploma, be sure to contact ECPI University today to discuss your options!
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