So its no secret that I love sugar flowers on a cake. But what are the advantages of having sugar flowers and is it worth paying for handmade sugar flowers as opposed to having the cheaper option of fresh flowers? Both look beautiful so why have sugar flowers as opposed to fresh flowers?
I get many enquiries for wedding cakes with fresh flowers, they are especially popular on rustic semi naked and buttercream cakes but one thing to remember is that not all flowers are safe to put on a cake.
For example, I get many brides tell me that they plan to have gypsophila/baby’s breath on their cake, and although there seems to be many beautiful photos online showing cakes with gyp, it is in fact toxic and should never be placed on a cake. It is toxic if eaten, can irritate your nose and can cause asthma. It also has a very pungent smell. Other beautiful flowers that should be avoided are hydrangeas, calla lily, sweet peas and ranunculus to name a few. One of my favourite’s (and popular in bridal bouquets) is the hydrangea, so it’s a shame that it can’t be put on a cake.
Having sugar flowers means there is no restrictions to the flowers you have on your cake. Whatever the season, whatever your colour scheme, you can have whatever you like.
Another downside to having fresh flowers is that they have to been arranged on your cake as close to your wedding as possible so they look their best. If the room is very hot fresh flowers can wilt in a few hours. Sugar flowers will last a long time, and if stored correctly, will keep for years.
So why choose fresh flowers? Fresh flowers are cheaper than sugar flowers because sugar flowers are handmade and take a long time to make. There’s also no question that there is nothing like the real thing, but just keep some of these points in mind if you do opt for fresh flowers and always let your cake maker know what flowers you intend to have so we can make sure that they are cake safe.
Leanne x
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, ok, so how much cake will I need? First, I ask how many guests in total you will be having and also, how many tiers you’d like. Not so long-ago wedding cakes were large in diameter and around only 3 inches tall which is a huge contrast to the modern wedding cake where standard tiers are usually at least 5 inches tall, with some double-barrelled tiers being 8-10” tall! As cakes get taller, the diameter gets smaller, and this sometimes makes the portions deceiving.
I often get asked for 2 tier birthday cakes and when I ask how many portions are required most of the time the answer is ‘just around 10’. My response of ‘this cake will serve around 50 portions’ is usually met with a laugh "oh we won’t need all that"!
I realised that not everyone is aware of how much cake they will need and further more I was fully aware that most of the charts and portion guides on the internet were not accurate as they did not cater for today's tall cakes. So, I decided to create my own portions guide below to give you a more up to date guide. It’s based on a 1” x 1” x 5” tall finger portion, which most venues will cut as standard nowadays anyway. Hopefully this will help when trying to figure out what size you need.
Or if all else fails just ask me! 😊
Leanne x
| Round Cake Tier Size | Servings (1" x 1" x 5") |
|---|---|
| 4" | 10 |
| 5" | 15 |
| 6" | 20 |
| 7" | 30 |
| 8" | 40 |
| 9" | 50 |
| 10" | 60 |
| 11" | 75 |
| 12" | 90 |