Cake Flavours

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Hello hello hello. I have a question, please: Which is better for a 3-tiered wedding cake covered in fondant, where the cakes will all not be eaten the same day, but kept for a few more days: to layer different cake flavours (e.g. chocolate, red velvet and vanilla) for each tier or to layer same flavour for each different tier?
 
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It's most common to have a different flavour for each tier - usually with the most popular flavour for the biggest one, and the least popular as the smallest one. However you can do it however you like! If you want a mix of flavours for the layers you could do chocolate, vanilla and strawberry like Neopolitan ice-cream :)
 
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Hi.
Which cake flavours is best used with fondant for a wedding cake?

Hey Akos,

Red velvet is not a flavor, it’s chocolate cake with a ton of red food dye. It was “invented” by the Adams Extact company to sell more extract and food dye. And the amount of food dye required is really unhealthy. Red food dye is one that is associated with health problems in children, so in the EU and US some red dyes have been banned. The push back by consumers has been strong enough that major corporations are voluntarily removing these dyes from their products.


Using a single flavor in a tier is always a good approach as it allows the cake flavor to shine on its own. But some brides insist on mixing flavors in a tier.


The general guidelines on mixing flavors in a single tier is to use complimenting flavors and colors. You want the cake and filling layers to coordinate both in flavor and color.


Generally it’s not a good idea to mix more than two flavors in a single tier. I also think it’s best to use a single filling that compliments the two flavors. If two different flavors of fillings are used with two different flavors of cake, it becomes a muddled mess.


Too many options also creates a lot of work and increases expense, especially when flavors require special ingredients.


When mixing flavors in a tier, cake formulas should be the same or similar in each tier. For example you can mix layers of butter cake and pound cake, but not chiffon and pound cake as a chiffon cake it too light to hold up a pound cake layer. So you would not use a butter vanilla cake layer and a pink champagne chiffon cake layer in the same tier.


The cake formula must be considered when they decorations are heavy. Fondant is very heavy. So a fragile cake formula like chiffon isn’t the best choice if there is going to be a lot of heavy gum paste/fondant decorations in addition to the fondant covering.


If the cake that will be consumed later has already been sliced, then place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the cut cake surface. Then place the cake in an air tight container.


Since fondant does not refrigerate well, you should not use a filling that requires refrigeration. So no custard or fruit purée fillings UNLESS it’s a commercially produced product formulated to stand at room temperature. If making a ganache filling use ultra pasteurized cream to delay develop of harmful bacterial.


If the leftover fondant cake is going to be refrigerated, instruct the client to store it in a sealed heavy cardboard box to mitigate against condensation. Then before serving leave it in the cardboard box on the counter for a couple of hours to warm up.


But warn them that any colored fondant on the cake may run due to condensation.


As for the best recipe for a fondant cake...unfortunately fondant doesn’t taste good. Flavor-wise it adds nothing to the enjoyment of eating cake. The texture is unpleasant as well. Fondant is so awful that pastry chef Duff Goldman, who makes the most extravagant fondant cakes in the US, recommends guests peel the fondant off and just eat the cake.


Bakers have known for years that few guests actually eat the wedding cake because the cake taste so awful with the fondant.

In the US, fondant is not as poplar in the high end cake market because it’s not enjoyable to eat. Its such a waste of money. It’s becoming more common here for brides to order a beautifully decorated dummy cakes with one real tier for the cake cutting. Then a delicious buttercream sheet cake that’s keep out of sight from guests is actually sliced and served for eating.
 
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Wow, wow, wow. Thanks a bunch for the,insight. It'll help me when making cake flavours for my customers.

Over here in Ghana, the craze for wedding cakes are chocolate, vanilla and red velvet. Few will opt for fruit cake. I'm learning a lot on the forum to be different from my competitors here. Thanks once again.
 
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i would say chocolate or maybe mocha as it is my personal favorite flavor but nothing could go wrong with a classic vanilla flavor for a wedding.
 

J13

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When it came to my wedding cake, I did think about flavors we two liked, but I also I thought about flavors that I thought most of my guests would like. Some people don't like chocolate, and while vanilla can be utterly delicious, there is tendency for guests to see a white cake and think "I'll pass..." They mistakingly think it's going to be dull.

I wanted something that, when the slice was presented to them, they'd be interested in trying it. And no, I didn't think of different flavor layers, as that seemed a bit much (making sure everyone knew there were different flavors and slicing different layers to give each person the flavor they wanted...etc.)

I went for spice cake with spiced buttercream frosting. It was light, moist, not too sweet, and had a wonderful aroma of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and such. Very much like a coffee cake which I felt really went well with, well, coffee and tea. I still think it's one of the best flavors for a wedding, as most people get that slice, inhale that wonderful smell, and want to try it. And also usually like it.
 
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J13

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What are the best flavours for kids graduation fondant cake?
By kids do you mean young kids (graduating elementary school) or older (high school/college)?

If for younger kids, you might want to try this one which is very playful and full of sprinkles: https://milkbarstore.com/blogs/recipes/birthday-cake

If high school, I'd go with the kid's favorite flavor. Because the day should be all about them; this is a milestone for them, almost an adulthood ritual. The cake should be the flavor they like best. If college, I'd find out what the immediate family likes—the favorite cake of the family as a whole. Because having a kid graduate from college is often a very big day for the immediate family, and the cake should feel like a family celebration. So, if the family has a recipe for, say, "grandma's red velvet cake" for special family occasions, then that should be the flavor of this cake.
 
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What are the best flavours for kids graduation fondant cake?

Kids can be very particular and they are more swayed by fads and trends than adults. What is popular one season, will not be popular the next season. The best you can do is track what the young people in your family and community show interest in. If you have nieces and nephews that use social media follow them. You don’t necessarily have to comment on any of their postings. But following them gives you an idea of their fashion and food trends.
 
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Hello @Norcalbaker59. As always ready to help. Your reply is reasonable and logical. Kids want what's trendy in their world. Thank you.

You are welcome. Even the young ones are swayed by trends. My 7 yr old niece asked for a mermaid cake several months before her birthday. Then a couple weeks before the party she changed it a unicorn cake and specifically stated only chocolate cake inside. Which I made.

When my brother bought a cake for a play date party, he bought a vanilla cake. My niece refused to eat the cake. She told him, “No, I only eat chocolate cake.”:confused:
 

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