Antoine’s Bakery is a Gretna bakery that operates a second location in Metairie. The bakery specializes in king and queen cakes, as well as pastries and cakes for special occasions. Antoine’s Bakery provides custom designed wedding cakes as well as grooms’ cakes, birthday cakes, and more.
Bittersweet Confections is a New Orleans bakery that was founded in 2002. The bakery offers a wide range of goods such as truffles, chocolate bark and roca, molded chocolates, chocolate-covered strawberries, caramels, cupcakes, cookies, and tarts. Bittersweet Confections also offers a wide range of custom designed wedding cakes and grooms’ cakes. The bakery also offers various items such as greeting cards, wedding favors, and more.
Charisma Cakes is a New Orleans bakery that was founded in 2011. The bakery specializes in custom cakes and desserts for a wide range of events. Charisma Cakes provides custom designed cakes for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, graduations, holidays, and religious events. The bakery provides a wide variety of cakes such as 3D cakes, carved cakes, character cakes, sports-themed cakes, and various other themed cakes.
Debbie Does Doberge is a New Orleans bakery that is owned and operated by Charlotte McGehee and Charles Mary IV. The bakery offers doberge cakes with a large variety of flavors available. Tiered doberge is available for limited dates. Debbie Does Doberge also operates Bakery Bar, a storefront with cakes, cocktails, and snacks available.
Gambino’s Bakery is a Metairie bakery that was founded in 1949. The bakery offers a wide range of products such as king cakes, Doberge cakes, layer cakes, French breads, Italian olive salads, and specialty treats such as pecan pies and dessert trays. The bakery also offers custom designed wedding cakes, grooms’ cakes, dessert tables, and shower cakes for customers.
Haydel’s Bakery is a family-owned and operated New Orleans bakery that was founded in 1959. The bakery specializes in cakes, pastries, taffy, cookies, pralines, and cupcakes. Haydel’s Bakery offers custom designed wedding cakes and grooms’ cakes in a large number of shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. The bakery also offers custom designed cakes for special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, graduations, baby and bridal showers, corporate events, and more.
La Louisiane Bakery is a Harahan bakery that serves numerous New Orleans restaurants, hotels, and cafes. The bakery produces goods such as handcrafted breads, king cakes, bagels, croissants, baguettes, and more. La Louisiane Bakery offers custom designed wedding cakes with a large number of flavors, fillings, icings, and toppings available. The bakery also provides dessert items such as cupcakes, pralines, cookies, cheesecakes, pastries, pies, and brownies.
Marguerite’s Cakes is a Slidell bakery that has been in business for over 30 years. Marguerite has nearly 40 years of baking experience and specializes in king cakes, 3D cakes, cookies, doberge cakes, cookie cakes, pies, cheesecakes, and more. She provides custom designed cakes for weddings as well as other special occasions such as birthdays.
Melissa’s Fine Pastries is a New Orleans bakery that was founded in 2008 by owner Melissa Melissa Samuels. The bakery offers cakes in a large assortment of flavors as well as pastry bars, gluten free cakes, vegan cakes, chocolate dipped strawberries, truffles, eclairs, tarts, petit-fours, tiramisu shots, macarons, and more. Melissa’s Fine Pastries also offers custom designed wedding cakes, grooms’ cakes, and cakes for special occasions.
Simply Sweet Shop is a Marrero bakery that was founded in 2012. The bakery offers a wide range of baked goods and specialty items such as cinnamon rolls, biscotti, cookies, cupcakes, cake pops, and dessert tables. Simply Sweet Shop provides custom designed wedding cakes as well as cakes for special occasions. The bakery also provides handmade craft items such as figurines, baby shower decorations, flowers, and bouquets.
Swiss Confectionery is a New Orleans bakery that was founded in 1921. The bakery has been family-owned and operated for five generations and creates traditional, contemporary, and European custom designed wedding cakes. The bakery also provides cakes in a wide range of designs for special events such as birthdays, showers, graduations, retirements, and more. Swiss Confectionery also offers various other items such as petit-fours, brownies, jelly rolls, macarons, doberge, and pastries.
The Royal Cakery is a New Orleans bakery that has been in business since 1995. The bakery was founded by owner Shirelle Royal and offers cakes with a wide range of flavors, fillings, icings, and toppings available. The Royal Cakery also provides cupcakes, novelty pastries, and other baked goods. The bakery offers custom designed cakes and cupcakes for weddings as well as for other special occasions such as birthdays.
The Sweet Life Bakery is a New Orleans bakery that specializes in custom cake design for classic and contemporary cakes. The bakery provides custom designed cakes for weddings, birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, grooms’ cakes, religious cakes, gender reveal cakes, and other special events. The bakery also offers a wide range of other items such as cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and more.
There are many different types of wedding cakes with various flavors, designs, and icing options, so the best wedding cake comes down to personal taste. Some of the most popular wedding cake flavors include vanilla cake with buttercream, red velvet, vanilla cake with blackberries and sugar flowers, and pumpkin spice with cinnamon fondant.
Wedding cakes can cost anywhere between $75 and $1,500. The price of a wedding cake is determined by size, ingredients, specialty toppings, and cake decorations, so specific prices can deviate from the average based on your needs.
The size and quantity of wedding cake you should order depend on how many guests will be attending your wedding. A standard three-tier cake serves between 50 and 100 guests, and a quarter sheet cake provides 54 servings. A half sheet cake serves 108 single slices.
There are many options for wedding cake flavors, and cakes can also be customized with nontraditional flavors. Common options include vanilla with buttercream frosting, red velvet with white buttercream frosting, chocolate and German chocolate, and marble cake. Less traditional options include lemon, carrot, and banana.
The most common flavor of a traditional wedding cake is vanilla cake with buttercream frosting. However, chocolate is also considered traditional, especially for groom's cakes. German chocolate, red velvet, and champagne flavored cakes are also popular and fall into the traditional category.
Traditional wedding cakes generally have three separate tiers, but cakes can be customized to meet the visions of the bride and groom. Each tier has its own significance. The top tier is to be saved by the bride and groom and eaten on the first wedding anniversary, and the bottom tier is to be served at the reception. The middle tier is distributed to guests after the wedding.
Wedding cakes can be purchased at standard bakeries and grocery stores. There are also bakers that specialize in wedding cakes. When deciding on a wedding cake, couples often meet with bakers to sample different flavors and cake textures as well as discuss their visions for cake designs and decorations.
Wedding cakes are prepared in the same fashion as all cakes. The batter is prepared, then poured into cake pans, and baked at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 minutes. Once the cake layers have cooled, they're either iced immediately or frozen until ready for decorating. Icing is then applied, followed by specialty sugared toppings and cake decorations.
Cakes have served as wedding centerpieces since medieval times when stacks of buns were placed in the center of the reception area to honor the bride and groom. Cutting the cake represents the first activity couples complete together as bride and groom, then the cake is served to guests at weddings as dessert following dinner.
Factors that can make a wedding cake expensive include cake size, ingredients, and decorations. Fondant icing or specialty sugar flowers are more expensive than basic buttercream frosting, and custom filling flavors also add to a cake's price. The baker's time and labor affect the overall price of a cake, especially for cakes with elaborate designs and intricate details.
Standard wedding cakes are priced by the slice, ranging from $1.50 to $12. Buttercream is the most common wedding cake icing, and specialty icing, such as fondant, can increase the price. On average, a standard wedding cake serving 50 guests at $1.50 per slice would cost around $75. For 100 guests, the average cost would be approximately $150, and for 150 guests, plan to pay around $225.
Wedding cakes and regular cakes are generally baked with the same types of ingredients. However, the difference between the two is that wedding cakes are specifically created for weddings, so they may be decorated and frosted to represent the bride and groom. Wedding cakes also often consist of three tiers, and the top tiers are saved by the bride and groom until their one-year anniversary.
On average, wedding cakes can range in price between $500 to $1,500, while cupcakes have an average cost of $3 apiece. In most cases, cupcakes would be a cheaper option, but it's important to factor in the number of guests attending your wedding. For example, a wedding with 300 guests would equal $900 for wedding cupcakes.
Wedding cakes can be made up to two weeks in advance of a wedding. The layers can be frozen up to a few days prior to the wedding, then thawed for a full day prior to icing. When ordering through a bakery, how long in advance a cake can be made depends on the specific policies of the business.
If your wedding reception is at a large venue with multiple guests, using a microphone to get everyone's attention to announce the cake cutting is a good idea. For smaller receptions, the caterer or someone in the wedding party can go table-to-table and let the guests know the cake's about to be cut.
It's considered customary for the bride and groom to cut the first pieces of the wedding cake, which is often followed by the feeding of the cake to one another. In certain cases, sheet cake is served to guests, which may be cut by a caterer prior to the reception.
A traditional Italian wedding cake is called a Millefoglie, and there are several variations of the recipe. The cake is made from multiple thin layers of filo pastry, and each layer is covered in cream or mascarpone and berries. The entire cake is then dusted with powdered sugar. Italian wedding cakes are sometimes referred to as thousand layer cakes.
It's a well-known tradition for couples to save the top tiers of wedding cakes as a symbol of prosperity and good luck throughout their marriages. The top tier of a wedding cake is generally placed in the freezer for one year, then enjoyed on the couple's wedding anniversary.
If possible, the wedding cake should be prefrozen without wrapping to allow the icing to harden. Wrap the cake or cake slices loosely in about three layers of plastic wrap, then place the cake in a box. Once the cake is boxed, wrap the box tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer.
Some people are natural bakers who require little to no training to become wedding cake bakers. For those who wish to open professional cake businesses, it's a good idea to obtain baker and cake decorator certifications. These certifications can be earned by taking courses through associations, such as the Retail Bakers Association and AIB International.
