Weddings
- What are the fillings?
- Chocolate
- Yagodnaya
- Fruity
- Walnut
- Caramel
- Honey
A cake at a wedding is a universal and important element, which simultaneously applies to the design of the banquet hall and, of course, to the festive menu. To make this dessert look beautiful and fit organically into the atmosphere of the celebration, its design is thought out in detail. Well, in order to strengthen and complement the positive impression made by the appearance of the cake, you need to carefully plan its composition. Most often, newlyweds choose sponge cakes, since they are universal and can be combined with any cream, impregnation, in a word, filling.
By the way, as far as the filling is concerned, it is much more difficult to settle on just one option, unlike the cake layers, due to the incredible variety that confectioners offer.
Mousse-jelly filling for wedding cake
Wedding cake filled with chocolate cream and nuts
What are the fillings?
In one article it is hardly possible to cover all the variations of dessert fillings that exist in gastronomy; there are really a lot of them. In addition, if you wish, it is quite possible to come up with your own unique filling if you know the basic rules of product compatibility. Below we will consider only the most popular standard types that undoubtedly deserve attention.
Chocolate
The most curious thing is that chocolate cream (aka ganache) goes best with chocolate sponge cake. This tandem of cakes and filling is very harmonious and there can be no talk of any “overdoing” here: if the recipe and proportions are followed, the dessert will not turn out cloying. The most famous example confirming this is the Prague chocolate cake.
Cake "Prague" for a wedding
Yagodnaya
This type of filling is especially popular at the height of the berry season, that is, in the summer. And not only because of the low cost and freshness of the fruit, although this factor undoubtedly plays a significant role. A juicy, low-calorie filling will make the cake lighter, which is extremely important in the hot season.
Berries are often used as a layer for so-called “naked” cakes, when the sides of the cakes are not covered with cream, and the entire composition of the dessert is clearly visible.
Bright fruits give the delicacy rich colors and a truly festive look.
As an example for a berry cake that is a success, we can name two options at once:
- “Red velvet” with strawberries;
- “Black Forest” and “White Forest” with cherries.
Also worth mentioning here is the Tyrolean pie. Although it is not a cake, it may well become the main wedding dessert if the celebration is planned to be small, with loved ones.
Red velvet cake with strawberries and red currants
Black Forest cake for a wedding outside
Black Forest Cake: a piece with a cherry filling
Fruity
Nature has generously gifted humanity with a variety of fruits; everyone will surely find a fruit to their liking. And if you have any special preference, you can safely inform the pastry chef about it. We dare to assure you that absolutely any fruit is appropriate in baking, and especially in cakes, if you choose the appropriate cream for it.
For example, peaches and bananas are perfectly combined with cottage cheese or sour cream, making the sponge cake taste especially tender and airy
We also include dried fruits in this type of filling. Dried apricots and prunes are in particular demand as cake fillings. Dried apricots, like fresh ones, are best added to the cake together with butter, curd and sour cream. But prunes are harmonious with absolutely any product, including chocolate ganache and boiled condensed milk.
Wedding cake filled with different fruits
Walnut
Any nuts are a very high-calorie product. However, for a wedding, this filling option is not so rarely chosen, and even in combination with no less nutritious boiled condensed milk as a cream. And all because the dessert with nut filling is incredibly delicious! After all, how often do you have to attend someone's wedding? On such an important day, you can temporarily forget about all diets and, succumbing to temptation, enjoy a tasty morsel. The most famous cakes containing nuts are “Kyiv” and “Polyot”.
Walnut and meringue cake for a wedding
Caramel
Of course, this filling is more often found in croissants, muffins and various pastries, but sometimes cake layers are also coated with it. The result is quite juicy, not cloying. Some confectioners also add liquid caramel to the dough so that the biscuit has a characteristic taste and smell. First of all, the filling here means a soft and delicate mass, but if you make it thicker, you get the ideal basis for decorating the dessert. For example, you can caramelize pieces of fruit, as in the exquisite Aristocrat cake with a complex composition.
A piece of wedding cake with caramel filling
Honey
This option, however, like the others, should be chosen only after first making sure that none of those invited to the event have allergic reactions to this product. Honey is known to have a sweet taste, but this is not the reason why it is so valued by confectioners. After all, there is sugar to add sweetness, but the rich and at the same time light aroma cannot be compared with anything, much less replace it. You don’t have to think long about what example of a popular dessert to give here, because many people have been familiar with the “Honey cake” cake since childhood.
Cutaway honey cake with berries
Delicious cake filling: what principle to choose?
The filling for the cake sets the taste of the entire dessert, so it is very important to choose exactly the option that seems most ideal to you for the festive evening. You can choose a layer for cakes according to various criteria.
Selecting the filling for the dessert:
- According to the theme of the wedding. Before choosing fillings for cakes, be sure to look through dozens of photos of your favorite desserts. Often the newlyweds associate the choice of wedding cake with the style of the holiday. So, for a wedding in a nautical style, a cake in mint-blue tones with mint aroma would be suitable, and for a lemon wedding, a lemon-banana dessert would be ideal.
- By price. Wedding cake fillings come in a wide range of prices. Newlyweds cannot always afford to pay a large sum for a birthday cake, but this does not mean that your dessert will not be tasty at all. Among the possible inexpensive fillings that have a mild, pleasant taste, you can choose yoghurt, sour cream or curd. These ingredients can be found in almost any store, and a skilled confectioner can use them to create a real sweet masterpiece. You can also choose an alternative to a wedding cake and order cupcakes, cake pops or cakes for your guests.
- By shelf life. Despite the fact that a wedding dessert is made immediately before the wedding and confectioners guarantee its freshness if stored correctly, you should definitely find out how long desserts with a particular filling can be stored. Your guests may want to take a piece of the cake home and enjoy it later, but the shelf life of this dessert may be very limited. The shortest possible time, namely 6 hours, can be stored for a cake with sour cream filling. Desserts filled with custard, butter or curd cream can be stored for 18 hours. Cake with yogurt cream should be stored for no more than 36 hours. Whipped protein cream as a filling option for a wedding cake will retain its properties for 72 hours. Fresh fruits also quickly lose their appearance and taste, but canned fruits as a layer will last a little longer. Also remember how important it is to properly store your dessert in the refrigerator: the best temperature is 2-6 degrees.
- In terms of taste. If you are not limited in finances and do not intend to store your wedding dessert for a long time after the celebration, you can choose almost any filling for your wedding cake that seems most delicious and unusual to you.
The most useful filling
Most fillings in desserts are compatible with each other in terms of taste. But as for the impact of sweet and high-calorie dishes on health, all nutritionists unanimously convince us of the dangers and undesirability of consuming such products in general. However, since we are talking about benefits, the first thing we should highlight, of course, are fruits and berries: the more of them in the cake, the better.
It is better not to mix sweet and sour fruits with each other, but to choose one. Fruits also go well with nuts: this tandem is both tasty and healthy
Which cake filling to choose: 5 best options
We sincerely want your cake to be the most delicious, and the choice of filling for the cake does not cause disputes in your couple. We bring to your attention options for fillings that have not become boring and pleasantly surprise with their flavor notes.
Three chocolates
Everyone loves chocolate, so the “three chocolates” filling will definitely please your guests. Chocolate mousse is laid out on a light sponge cake in three layers: bitter, milky and white. At the request of the newlyweds, the cake can be soaked in liqueur or sweet syrup with your favorite flavor (coconut, honey, banana, vanilla).
Fruit and berry fillings
Juicy and tasty gifts of nature not only help create a magnificent dessert decor, but also burst the cake with bright flavors. Fruits and berries can be used both fresh and as jam. In addition, confectioners offer fruit (berry) soufflé as an option for filling the cake!
By the way, naked wedding cakes have been gaining popularity in recent years. And, as a rule, it is precisely such desserts that actively saturate the mood with fruit and berries.
Curd and yoghurt filling
It is difficult to find a person who does not like wedding cakes with curd or yogurt filling. Such ingredients are rightfully recognized as the best, because they go well with almost any cake and make an excellent tandem with berries or fruits. The only thing that couples should take into account is that curd cakes are quite heavy.
Sour cream based cream
Another option for a light but surprisingly tasty filling for cakes is with sour cream. The wedding dessert will not only look beautiful in the photo, but will also delight you with its taste. Sour cream is the basis of the filling for everyone's favorite honey cake.
Please note that sour cream quickly deteriorates in the heat, so it is better to avoid this option if you are planning a summer wedding.
Mascorpone cheese and cream
The combination of mascorpone and cream is ideal for a dessert that you want to pleasantly surprise and pamper your guests at the end of a wonderful holiday. Confectioners offer various options for combining mascorpone in cake fillings: fruits, berries, chocolate. And all so that you get your perfect wedding cake!
What if the cake is not sponge cake?
Above we looked at fillings for sponge cakes and paid a lot of attention to them, since such cakes are considered the most popular for weddings. But you don’t have to be “like everyone else,” because other dessert options are no less tasty. For example, why not choose:
- waffle cake with boiled condensed milk and crushed nuts;
- shortbread cakes combined with weightless mousse cream and pieces of fruit;
- curd cakes with sour cream and berries;
- meringue cake, which is undesirable to combine with juicy fruits, but prunes and nuts will complement its refined and light taste.
Wedding cake on shortbread with chocolate mousse filling and bananas
Two tastes at once
Delicious fillings for wedding cakes are not uncommon. Therefore, it is likely that the groom will like one, and the bride another. This is not a reason for disagreement. Before the wedding, you can combine both options in one dessert. Most cakes are made multi-tiered, each of which can use different fillings. Below is a photo of what a wedding cake with two fillings might look like:
In addition, even in a single-tier dessert, it is possible to combine different fillings if they are combined with each other. They are not mixed, but simply distributed between different cake layers. The main thing, in an effort to make your life together sweet, is not to make the dessert too sugary.
What filling can you choose for a wedding cake:
- chocolate buttercream or spread on the bottom and banana or strawberry soufflé on top;
- vanilla cream and coffee mousse;
- yoghurt cream and fruit filling;
- curd soufflé and fruit jelly;
- custard and whipped cream with lemon zest and vanilla;
- chocolate and vanilla filling.
A wedding cake with two fillings is not the limit. If desired, one cake can even have three different fillings. This way, the newlyweds will be able to satisfy the tastes of the majority of those present at the wedding, and everyone will get different options.
Fillings for wedding cakes
Fillings for wedding cakes! Useful information from pastry chef Anna Shamanina:
“Today I invite you to talk about what is the key to a stable multi-tiered cake that can survive delivery and often sit for a couple of hours in a restaurant before being served.
Like many aspiring pastry chefs, I had a bitter experience with one of my first wedding cakes. Two years ago I received an order for a three-tier wedding cake with a buttercream topping. The main difficulty was delivery: 105 km outside the city. And the fact is that the bride really wanted a delicate creamy curd cream. I guessed that problems might arise, but I still did “the client’s desire is the law” , contrary to common sense. The cake consisted of thin sponge cakes and that very desired cream. It was his thick layer that played a fatal role in this story. The road turned out to be difficult, August in the south is merciless. Arriving at the destination, the lower tier gave way and developed a huge crack. Attempts were made to fix everything, but still, after a short period of time, the crack insidiously began to appear through fresh strokes of cream. I am still grateful to the bride, who treated the situation with understanding and, by the way, is still my customer. We decorated the crack with flowers and shifted the time of serving the cake, leaving the cake to fate. Everything went well.
But naturally, I couldn’t let go of this situation so easily. It took a lot of time and practice to sort out all the mistakes and understand how to avoid them. These are the practical points I would like to share with you:
The basis of everything is the correct distribution of fillings among the tiers and reliable supports. If the customer insists on thin sponge cakes and delicate mousse cream, we can do this, but only in the upper tiers, which are subject to less pressure and have a small diameter.
Yes, even if you have good supports, the large-diameter tier is still under pressure from its own weight, and if the proportions of cream and biscuit are not correct, after a while we can get cracks. Therefore, in the lower tiers you need to use the most stable fillings with butter-based cream, such as cream cheese with butter or Italian meringue and cream cheese with cream in the proportions of 2 parts cheese and 0.5 parts cream 30%. Also, in the lower tiers, I would advise changing the ratio of cream and biscuit. So, working with proportions of 1/1, the portion of the biscuit should be increased by a third . To summarize, I want to say that I am grateful to fate for that sad experience and believe that thanks to my advice, you will be able to avoid this.
Since that moment, I have worked for two wedding seasons without any failures, and I sincerely hope that there will never be another.
Good luck to you! And remember, proper distribution of fillings, reliable supports, and success awaits you!”
