The sweetest part of planning your wedding is selecting your wedding cake, and we have everything you need to know about wedding cake decorations, shapes, and creative adornments. By the time you've started thinking about your wedding cake, you should already have figured out your wedding theme, wedding venue, wedding caterer, reception menu and the overall feel that you're going for. Aside from your main wedding cake, you may also want to consider having a groom's cake or having a dessert bar to give your guests a sweet treat as well.
Below, we've listed some popular wedding cake terms to help you de-code what your baker is talking about. Remember -- when you know some wedding cake decoration lingo, you'll make your life -- and your bakers -- much easier!
Ganache: A rich chocolate icing made of semisweet chocolate and whipping cream that are heated and stirred together until the chocolate has melted.
Gateau: A dessert made from layers of sponge cake or piecrust interspersed with a variety of sweet fillings.
Genoise: A delicate, buttery sponge cake.
Groom's Cake: A smaller cake prepared for the reception and either served along with the 'bride's" wedding cake or boxed and sent home with guests. In the past, the groom's cake was traditionally a fruitcake. Today, however, the groom's cake is generally a dark chocolate cake.
Gum Paste: A mixture of confectioners' sugar, water, cream of tartar and tragacanth gum that can be molded like clay and turns hard and brittle as it dries. Often used for cake decorations. Also known as candy dough or sugar dough.
Icing: A sugar and water-based paste used to coat and decorate cakes and other desserts. Depending on the type of icing, other ingredients may be added.
Individual Wedding Cakes: Single serving mini-cakes served in place of a traditional wedding cake.
Lattice Work: A method of icing a cake using criss-cross patterns. The icing is applied using a pastry bag with a fine tip.
Marzipan: A sweet, pliable mixture of ground almonds, sugar and sometimes unbeaten egg whites. It's often tinted with food coloring and molded into a variety of forms. Also known as almond paste.
Meringue: A mixture of egg white, caster sugar and air that is whisked and dried in a slow oven. Meringue should be shaped before drying.
Mousse: A stiff foam made of whipped cream, egg whites and sometimes gelatin. A variety of ingredients may be added to flavor the mousse.
Read more about Wedding Cakes:
Wedding Cakes Glossary A-B
Wedding Cakes Glossary C
Wedding Cakes Glossary D-F
Wedding Cakes N-R
Wedding Cakes Glossary S-Z
Find more ideas and inspiration in our wedding cake photo galleries
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