HomeStyle Bakery is a family-owned, full-line bakery that has served Nashville for over 30 years. The company’s wedding cake designers have more than 100 years of combined experience. Cake tasting appointments are available Monday through Saturday, and couples can choose up to four of the bakery’s 17 cake flavors to sample. HomeStyle Bakery also makes groom’s cakes ranging in price from $50 to $500.
Ivey Cake is a gourmet bakery in Franklin and Brentwood. Clients schedule wedding cake consultations at the Brentwood location. The bakery specializes in tiered cupcake stands with a small cutting cake on top, but it also offers two-tiered cakes with other cakes available at a dessert stand.
Jo’s Custom Cakes & Catering in Smyrna provides customers with luxury desserts, catering, and more for special events in the Middle Tennessee region. The company’s signature cake is a white chocolate, but its motto is, “There’s no cake we cannot bake!” Jo’s Custom Cakes & Catering has 24 standard and four specialty cake flavors, as well as six icing types. The company does not charge extra for more than one flavor for its wedding cakes. Cake tastings are free, last between 60-90 minutes, and typically take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.
La Creme Wedding Cakes in Murfreesboro has specialized in custom-designed cakes for Nashville area weddings since 2011. The bakery offers 15 different flavors of cakes at a cost of $4.50 per serving, which includes a choice of fondant or buttercream icing and simple decorations. The company won WeddingWire Couples’ Choice awards each of the last three years. La Creme Wedding Cakes also creates groom’s cakes and wedding cupcakes for the dessert stand. One client said, “Everything was amazing. Everyone at my wedding raved about how delicious the cupcakes were.”
Nashville Sweets is a boutique bakery that has created custom homemade desserts, including cakes, cupcakes, and cake pops for five years in East Nashville. The company offers complimentary wedding cake tastings by appointment only. Real flowers, fresh fruit, cake stands, and platters are available upon request for an additional cost. Nashville Sweets was named a Best of B&B winner for wedding cakes and desserts by Borrowed and Blue website. One client praised, “We met with an entire list of cake vendors, and Nashville Sweets was the only one worthy of hiring.”
Pink Blossom Bakery in Nashville evolved from a cake pops company that opened six years ago to a full-service bakery. The bakery offers three simple and nine gourmet flavors for its wedding cakes, as well as six fillings and specialty buttercreams. One client praised after her wedding, “I went to four or five bakeries looking for someone who could make my dream wedding cake, which was a purple ombre cake pop cake. Finally, I found Julie Parker! She had exactly what I wanted and worked closely with me to make sure everything was perfect.”
Puffy Muffin is a bakery and restaurant that has served the Nashville area from its Brentwood and Franklin locations for 30 years. Puffy Muffin creates cakes for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events. The bakery offers 13 different cake flavors. The bakery won three 2016 Best of Brentwood awards by Brentwood Lifestyle magazine.
The Cupcake Collection is a bakery in Nashville and Donelson that has made wedding cakes along with its signature cupcakes since opening eight years ago. The owner and her Wedding Cake Collection team work with clients from the initial consultation, which includes a sampling of cake flavors, to the special day. Her motto is, “Our cupcakes are made with love. Our wedding cakes are made because of it.”
Tiffany’s Cakes is a bakeshop that makes wedding cakes for clients in Nashville. The bakeshop believes that milestones, holidays, and special occasions should be celebrated with cakes. It considers the act of giving cakes to loved ones as an expression of love, celebration, and happiness. Tiffany’s Cakes bakes custom cakes for various occasions, such as birthdays, weddings, and graduations. Baked products are made in a private kitchen which encourages product specialization, creativity, and customization for the target markets.
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.
