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It's a privilege to be part of a couple's wedding. The discussions during the process of finding the perfect cake has led Mansfield Park to what it now stands for: Unique modern wedding cakes, sometimes with combinations that are even strange to me, but which represent the taste of the future spouses and from which their wedding guests should benefit at the wedding.
The most common design is definitely a two-tier semi-naked wedding cake. This is often used synonymously with "naked cakes", but that's not correct. The naked version is not coated with any cream on the outside, all cake layers are clearly visible, which corresponds to the "Mini" in my shop. The semi-naked design, which is slightly covered with cream, is associated with "Boho" and therefore still trendy. In my perfectionist mind, this variation is simple yet elegant, although it's not at all easy to apply the cake cream in a way that all cake layers are covered without any bumps and still shining through here and there. Crumbs are not allowed at my place. Sometimes it's a challenge, like with chocolate cakes or two-tiered cakes, which would benefit from additional stabilizing cream. That's why I came up with the barely naked version. It is utterly elegant, like a veil covering the wedding cake's pretty face.
While the semi-naked wedding cake is most often requested, but what Mansfield Park stands for, in my opinion, are colored cakes. They are truly modern wedding cakes - Monochrome or Ombré, bold and flawless. That's pure elegance with expressiveness and individuality for me. In the summer of 2020, almost all couples chose at least one colored tier, with individual colors that can be found at Pantone. I am especially happy to have bold couples, who think outside the box. It takes me up to half an hour to mix my base colors until I have the right shade of "Apricot Wash", midnight blue or black. It's totally worth it, because after all, my customers should get exactly what they wished for and an absolute unique cake.
You might have guessed already, but wedding cakes are not cheap. The price per piece increases with each tier, as more stabilization, i.e., more material needs to be used. A tier consists of four cake layers and inbetween that are three layers of various fillings. A single tier ends up to be about 13 cm tall. That's a lot of weight. In order to be able to carry it, a wide ring of cake cream is piped, so the wonderfully airy fillings don't squeeze outside and ruin the look. Consequently, the diameter is slightly increased compared to the single-tiered cakes. (And here is my a plea for a cake buffet: If you're planning a larger celebration, or can't decide on just two combinations of cake and fillings, I would always opt for several cakes in a homogeneous design. A small two-tiered cake, complemented by several single-tiered creations - that's impressive and more cost-effective for you.) To be able to carry the weight of the upper tier, several wooden sticks are inserted into the cake about the diameter of the upper tier. A central stick then fixes the second cake, resting on a thin cakeboard, so that it can't spontaneously shift during transport and remains nicely centered. For illustration:
Many hours of work go into it. Therefore, the cake is also calculated based on the number of pieces. The more pieces, the larger the cake, the more expensive the piece. The price for a slice of wedding cakes starts at 5.00€, which is actually quite cheap. If you you're on a tight budget, you can choose what I call an 'additional cake'. Its cake layers are cut thinner, so the cake reaches a lesser height and is smaller overall. This category is suitable if the cake serves only for the ceremonial cutting, other desserts or cakes are offered in parallel, or not every guest is supposed to eat a piece of it. But if it is going to be a main cake, then each piece will be about 2 cm wide. That's a lot, even if it might not seem like it at first. After all, remember that a piece consists of four cake and three filling layers, is about 13 cm high, and very stuffing.
When it gets to cutting the cake, there are two approaches to it, namely cutting it into the well known cake slices as usual all around (following illustration), or cutting wedges and then dividing them again (video).
And here's another plea - don't skimp on the cake, or believe you can save on it. What you find on Instagram or Pinterest and that looks so super nice also costs more money than those dusty traditional and flat cakes, which in the worst case are wrapped in fondant or arranged on an oldschool etagere. A lot of work goes into straight lines, smooth surfaces, and a sturdy structure.