Did you Know the history of the wedding cake?

The origins of the wedding cake can be dated back as far as the Romans when a small cake made of wheat and salt was baked for the ceremony. Part was eaten by the groom and the rest was broken over the brides head as a blessing. Interestingly enough it was only the children born to the couple whose marriage had been celebrated this way,that could qualify for high office in Roman culture.

The origins of the wedding cake as we know it can be traced to Medieval England, where there was a custom of stacking small buns in a large pile in front of the newlyweds.

in the 1660’s a French chef who was travelling through England noticed the inconvenience of piling smaller cakes into a mound and conceived the idea of constructing them into a solid stacked system, thereby creating the first tiered wedding cake.

As the cakes became more elaborate, they needed to be prepared earlier and in order to keep them fresh the wedding cakes were frosted in lard which was then scraped off just before serving.

Later on sugar was added to improve the taste of the lard and allowed the lard to be left on the wedding cake as a decorative icing.

When three-tiered cakes became popular, the top tier was often left over. A subsequent christening provided a perfect opportunity to finish the wedding cake. Couples could then logically rationalize the need for three tiers, the bottom tier for the reception, the middle tier for distributing and the top for the christening.

In the 17th Century it was thought that to sleep with a piece of wedding cake under your pillow meant you would dream of your future spouse. This superstition is thought to be the origin for the tradition of giving cake as a gift.