It’s a Sweet Life
By Sarah Farmer

Around the world, in 192 different countries and 6,912 different languages, weddings share a common thread: the wedding cake! From English fruitcake to Danish cornucopia to Ukrainian korovai, the symbolism and magic of a wedding cake is enhanced by the cultural diversity and traditions of generations past. Here in the United States, where we enjoy a melting pot of ethnic and religious backgrounds, the opportunity to bear witness to the traditions of other cultures is highly accessible, providing us with a multitude of ways to celebrate our heritage—especially if ours is a mix of several different cultures. Wedding cakes provide not only a culinary outlet for such expression, but also an artistic medium that allows for visual expression of who we are, where we come from, and who we shall be ever after. 
   For those planning a reception with a decidedly French flair, what better dessert to feature than the awe-inspiring croquembouche? The word croquembouche comes from the French words “croque” for both “crunch” and “bite” and “bouche” for “mouth,” and means both “bite-size” and “crunchy in the mouth.”  It is the traditional sweet treat at French  weddings, baptisms, christenings, and other gatherings. It dates back to the medieval tables of French royalty and nobility, and was popularized by Antoine Carême (1783-1833), the most famous chef of his generation who created confectionary masterpieces in the form of Turkish mosques, Persian pavilions, Gothic towers, and other pièces montées.
   In its traditional form, this dessert features small creampuffs called profiteroles, filled with pastry cream or crème pâtissière, piled high into a conical tower and held together with delicate spun sugar known as cheveux d’ange or angel hair. Although traditionally decorated with sugared almonds, many couples opt for delicate and fragrant fresh flowers, handcrafted sugar flowers, cascades of satiny ribbons or a willowy web of spun sugar. Fresh flowers or foliage around the base is particularly suitable for country weddings. 
    The croquembouche can also be made with a flat top for displaying a cake topper, be it sugar figures, flowers or a vintage bride-and-groom. For something truly decadent, your croquembouche can be drizzled with rich dark chocolate and surrounded with fresh berries around the base, or chocolate glaze can be supplied ready for pouring over the top rather than attempting a traditional cake cutting. To finish off the look, rest this delightful pyramid of profiteroles on a base made of edible nougatine, a mixture of caramel and chopped almonds, or showcase it on any number of ornate silver or gold cake pedestals provided by your cake maker.
  As with traditional wedding cake cutting, couples pose with a knife against the croquembouche for photos and then serve each other the first “slice” before it is taken away for serving. Unlike tiered cakes for formal and informal receptions, the croquembouche is ideal for leaving on the buffet table for guests to pick at during the reception. Traditionally, the croquembouche is served by hitting it hard with a sword, with the bridesmaids catching the pieces in a tablecloth.
   When sizing your croquembouche, take into consideration the size of the cream puffs and allow for the proper number per guest. Three is the most suitable quantity.  They can be plated with a sauce such as caramel, ganache or fruit coulis. This provides not only a delicious compliment to the dessert itself but an artistic framework for a truly tasteful presentation.
        Whatever your heritage, your dessert table will be a greatly anticipated part of your event and incorporating elements of your past and that of your betrothed which allows your guests to take a bite out of history and share with you all of the sweetness of marriage and love.

BERMUDA
Islanders top their tiered wedding cakes with a tiny sapling. The newlyweds plant the tree at their home, where they can watch it grow as their marriage grows.

CARIBBEAN
A rich black cake baked with dried fruits and rum is especially popular on the islands of Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia. The recipe, handed down from mother to daughter, calls for a pound each of flour, dark brown sugar, butter, glace cherries, raisins, prunes, currants, plus a dozen eggs and flavorings. The dried fruits are soaked in rum and kept in a crock for two weeks to six months.

DENMARK  
The traditional wedding cake is the cornucopia cake or Danish marzipan ring cake, made of almond cake, gum paste of pastillage, and marzipan, beautifully decorated with sugarwork. It is filled to the brim with the good things in life: candies, almond cakes, perhaps fresh fruit and sorbet, and could also be decorated with marzipan medallions bearing portraits of the bride and groom

ENGLAND
The traditional wedding cake is a fruitcake. The top tier is called the “christening cake” and it is saved for the baptism of the couple’s first child. The cake is typically made of raisins, ground almonds and cherries, and it is topped with called marzipan.

HOLLAND
Dutch weddings traditionally include a sweetmeat called “bridal sugar” and spiced wine called “bride’s tears.”

ICELAND
Icelanders enjoy kransakaka—ring-shaped almond pastries piled on top of one another to form a pyramid. The hollow center of the tower is filled with fine chocolates or candies.

IRELAND
The traditional wedding cake of the Emerald Isle is a rich fruitcake. In true Irish spirit, the recipe is laced with brandy or bourbon.

JAMAICA
A dark wedding fruitcake lace with run.  Slices are mailed to the friends and relatives who were unable to attend the reception.

GERMANY
A rich nut or genoise sponge cake is a popular choice, laced with liqueur or syrup and usually filled with jam, spread with marzipan or nougat and covered in fondant or ganache, a misture of chopped chocolate and heavy cream.

WEST INDIES
It is also customary to have two wedding cakes, a bride’s cake and a groom’s cake—one of which might be the traditional fruit-and-rum cake of the island. The cakes are surrounded by a single ivy wreath to symbolize the couple’s love for each other and are covered with a fine white tablecloth.  Guests  pay for a lucky peek.

ITALY
No Italian wedding would be complete without zuppa inglese or English soup.  Scrumptiously filled with chocolate custard, vanilla custard, rum cream and fruit, tiers of pound cake are elaborately trimmed with flower blooms of royal icing.

LITHUANIA
Now here’s an interesting twist on the traditional wedding cake: a cookie-like pastry shaped into a Christmas tree. Baked to a sunny yellow hue, the pastry, called a sakotis, displays fresh flowers and herbs protruding from the top peak.

NORWAY
Norwegians serve brudlaupskling, a type of wheat bread topped with cheese, cream and syrup, folded over and cut into small squares.

GREECE
The traditional Greek wedding cake consists of honey, sesame seed, and quince, which is said to symbolize the couple’s enduring commitment to each other. Sourdough wedding bread decorated with beads and blossoms is also a traditional treat and a flourless almond cake, filled with vanilla custard and fruit and covered with sliced almonds.