Naked and Semi Dressed Cakes

The "naked" wedding cake trend has been around now for a few years and it is increasing in popularity, at least in my area.  So some of you may be asking what is a naked cake?  It is called naked because it is un-iced.  There is usually some type of buttercream or filling between the cake layers but the top and sides remain un-iced.  Most of the time, the cake is decorated with fresh flowers, fruit, or both.

I actually like these cakes because I think they are lighter and less sweet.  One thing to keep in mind is that icing also serves to help keep the cake from drying out.  One thing I like to do when making these cakes is brush the layers and tops with a gelatin-sugar mixture that helps seal the cake and keep it from drying out so fast.

There are many variations of the naked cake.  It can be simply a naked cake with

a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  This one only has buttercream frosting between the cake layers and it does not extend onto the sides of the cake layers.

Another way to make a naked cake is to apply a kind of spackle effect.  On this one, I piped extra icing in between the layers and then used my bench scraper to swipe the excess onto the sides of the cake.











You may notice on the cake above, I piped a scalloped pattern of buttercream on the very top.









Finally, there is a semi-dressed or semi-naked cake.  On this cake, the sides are

left unfrosted, but a design is piped on.


















These naked cake designs work especially well for a rustic-themed wedding.  If you are getting married in the northwest MS area and like the look of these naked and semi-naked cakes, I would be happy to discuss the options with you.

Cinderella Dress Cupcake Cake Repin Love

I use Pinterest as my picture gallery on this blog.  Pinterest is easy, free and has it has many, many users.  One of the neat things about it is that other users can "repin" one of my pictures to their Pinterest boards.  When I view my own boards, I can see stats like how many times a picture has been repinned.

+

Up until recently, this picture of a sheet cake I did with lattice work and buttercream roses pretty much held the record for the most repins of all my cakes.

I was very happy with this cake when I made it years ago but it's funny that a simple sheet cake was the most repinned out of all my cakes.

You may notice that I said until recently this sheet cake was the most repinned.

 Just in the past few weeks, another one of my cakes has been getting repinned like crazy.  This Cinderella dress cupcake cake has been repinned so much lately that it has now surpassed the rose sheet cake to take the #1 slot.

Every time one of my pictures is repinned, I get an email from Pinterest.  Over the past few weeks, I have been getting several emails per day letting me know that this cake has been repinned.

I am happy that I made something that other people look to for inspiration.  I enjoyed making this Cinderella dress cupcake cake for Emma's birthday party as well as a cake for her handmade crown.

Non-Traditional Wedding Cakes

So, you are getting married but you don't want the standard 3-tier white wedding cake.  Good news - you don't have to.  Today, there are many options for couples wanting a little something different for their wedding cake.

Maybe you want the tiered cake, but your style is a little more bold than "vanilla".  Here is a 3-tiered setup in purple and black













The "naked cake" is a trend that is still going strong.  If you aren't a big fan of cake icing, perhaps this option is for you.  Here is a small two-tiered one that I

did recently.














Or, maybe you want a cake that reflects the interests of you and your significant other.  This cake is three single layers of cake decorated to look like books.

This chess board cake with chocolate chess pieces would also make a tasty and unusual wedding cake.

If you have dreamed of having a fairy-tale wedding, maybe you would like a castle wedding cake.

If you are planning a simple and small wedding reception, perhaps a classic white-on-white sheet cake fits the bill.

Of course, we can't leave out the extreme chocolate lover.  This decadent dessert with layers of chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, cream cheese buttercream and covered in dark chocolate ganache will satisfy even the die-hard chocolate lover.

Wedding cakes no longer have to look like the traditional 3-tier white wedding cake.  I hope I have given you some ideas if you want something a little different.