The wedding cake these days is more than just dessert. This is why we thought that it would be a good idea to offer you more information on the history of the wedding cake and enrich your knowledge with a few important fun facts of this unique wedding centerpiece. The origin of the wedding cake is still unsolved, but some say that it can be traced back in the Romans’ empire.

The ancient wedding cake was not a beautiful confection filled with vanilla and decorated with smooth icing and frosting. That was the time when icing wasn’t even invented for desserts! You will be surprised to find that the ancient wedding cake was actually a loaf of barley bread. And this confection was not served at the reception as is today, but used during the ceremony. The groom was meant to eat a piece of the bread and then break the rest over the bride’s head.

The History Of Wedding Cakes (Source: media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com)

This sounds like a crazy an inappropriate thing to do at a wedding, right? Well, this rite is not for fun or for the bride’s annoying, but for a special significance. The symbolism of this rite is based on fact that the bride would benefit of things like prosperity, fertility, good luck and all good things in her life of a wife. The breaking of the cake over her head was a very serious and popular custom that nowadays is not practiced anymore. During the medieval times, especially in England, the wedding cakes were described as sweet foods based on flour.

The History Of Wedding Cakes (Source: media-cache0.pinterest.com)

The sweet element is the innovation that was added after the ancient era of flour-based plain breads during. The cakes now were sweet and tasty and easier to enjoy by the guests. The cake started to become a special treat at many celebrity feasts. But there is no other special type of confections that appear in wedding ceremonies at that time. Later on, during the 17^th century, the bride was honored to have her own wedding “pie”. This was her special thing and a very popular dish that was served during the wedding. This confection was at first a simple pie filled with sweet breads.

The History Of Wedding Cakes (Source: media-cache-lt0.pinterest.com)

We can also discuss of simple mutton pies and mince pies. These pies used to hide a glass ring. And those who had the luck to find the ring first were the next brides-to-be. The wedding cake became a popular wedding centerpiece during the late 19^th century. The bride’s pie was now replaced by the bride’s cake. The early wedding cakes were very simple, as we can see them now. The trend of simple single tiered cakes is coming back. The variety of colors, flavors and shapes dates from the 19^th century.

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Written by Postolache Ana-Maria, date Aug 07, 2012 in Wedding Cake Trends | no comments

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