Oh, go on then!

Discover what’s hot for 2023 in the wonderful world of wedding cakes

Impressionist Inspiration

Floriana from Let Them Eat Cakes says, “This year is seeing a greater emphasis on messier and organic artful styles. I’m seeing more perfectly imperfect-looking cakes, incorporating buttercream palette painting and sculptured flowers. Think of them as edible impressionist works of art that guests can admire throughout the day before indulging in the deliciousness – the perfect combination of visuals and flavours.”

Floral Fun

Greta from Gauer Sugarcraft says, “I’ve noticed a continuous increase in requests for sugar flowers in 2023. These can be designed in many different shapes, colours and styles, from traditional roses to the most exotic varieties in order to match different cake styles. Traditional wedding cakes with an emphasis on floral decoration and textures have enchanted a great number of couples.”

Claudia from Purple Flour too is receiving a lot of requests for floral designs, “I’m seeing a lot of sugar flowers and edible pressed, organic flowers in gorgeous, vibrant colours on my sketch pad, more so than in previous seasons.”

Full Circle

Claudia from Purple Flour says, “Where the last couple of years have been dominated by semi-naked and fully buttercream covered cakes, I’m seeing a shift towards wedding cake tiers covered in white chocolate ganache and sugar paste again. These are more stable in warmer weather than buttercream, and my recommendation to couples, especially with summer weddings, is to consider a classically covered cake as a canvas for all decorations.”

Sue at All Shapes & Slices too has noticed old favourites making a comeback: “I’m finding fondant-iced cakes decorated with sugar flowers are coming back into fashion. Also, cake tables are receiving plenty of interest and make a stunning and mouthwatering display at a wedding reception.”

Small Is Mighty

“Intimate weddings with guest numbers from around 10 to 50 are ever-popular in the wake of the pandemic,” say Erica and Charlie from Bluebell Kitchen. “We’re all about creating small cakes with big wow factor. We love to achieve this with amazing oversized sugar flowers, designed to work in harmony with a couple’s palette and other florals.

“Another way to bring big impact to a small cake is to make them appear larger using acrylic separators to magically multiply tiers.”

Sky High

Indeed, all agree that Perspex tiers and playing with height are taking on a major role in wedding cake design in 2023. Claudia says, “As many more couples are environmentally conscious, the use of tall cake stands or Perspex tiers are always preferable to the covering of dummy polystyrene layers that can’t be recycled and end up in landfill.”

Floriana adds, “As well as playing around with height, being creative with formation is a further emerging trend, which again moves us away from formality and uniformity towards a more relaxed and informal look.”

Towering Treats

Greta says, “In order to make sweet options more diverse, we’re offering two new products this year: the macaron tower and the cupcake tower. Macarons, in addition to being gluten

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“Wedding cupcakes are a great option for those who opt for a smaller wedding cake and would like to complement it with another sweet treat. Cupcakes are full of elegance and can also be given as wedding favours guaranteed to delight your guests.” As well as a macaron version, Sue has another towering option to bring to the party..., “I now offer doughnut towers,” she tells us.

It seems that delicious macarons are where it's at this year, as Claudia is in a agreement and has joined the bite-size revolution.

“Macarons as table favours are requested more and more and I’m offering them to all my couples alongside the well-established and much-loved cookie favours,” she says.

“Macarons make a decadent little treat, can be completely tailored to the colours and theme of your wedding, and the fillings I’ve chosen for this season are delicious. White chocolate and passion fruit, lemon and lemon curd, vanilla and raspberry are already the most popular.”

If your budget won’t stretch to a cake and these tasty morsels, but you love the idea, Erica and Charlie from Bluebell Kitchen have the solution: “It’s possible to create a tasty tower of macarons topped with a tier of cake in your favourite flavour. We love this combination and it gives our couples a little extra flexibility with flavour too.”

We love how versatile these moreish little bites of joy are! The ladies from Bluebell Kitchen continue, “We’ve noticed an evolution from simple macaron favour boxes to gourmet, handpainted, personalised versions for each guest. We’ve had couples ask to add a personalised macaron at each place setting, with each of their guests’ initials painted onto them in an ornate design.”

All In Hand

Greta says, “In my opinion, contemporary cakes with clean decoration, marble effects and muted tones are the biggest trends so far.” This is something that Erica and Charlie have noticed too, taking it to the next level. “Handpainted wedding cakes have been around for a while, so have marble versions, but what makes ours different is that we combine the two! Our unusual, abstract marble effect is hand-painted almost like oil on a canvas, acting as a themefitting background to sugar flowers.”

| © www.fionakellyphotography.com

All Shapes and Slices, www.allshapesandslices.co.uk

Bluebell Kitchen, www.bluebellkitchen.co.uk

Gauer Sugarcraft, https://gauersugarcraft.co.uk

Let Them Eat Cakes, www.letthemeatcakesuk.com

Purple Flour, https://purpleflour.co.uk