Let Them Eat Cake Jewels
Can we talk about something? Yeah, this cake jewelry thing…I have to say that I’m not so sure about it. I mean, I’m down with brides wearing as many jewels as they can fit on themselves, so long as they like it and can afford it. That’s cool by me. I didn’t do it and probably wouldn’t, but that’s a very personal choice and I absolutely support those who choose a different path than I did.
But cake jewelry. Jewelry for cakes. Actual pieces of metal and crystal on cakes.
Okay, as a cake topper, that’s fine. Again, not my choice, but not a problem. Everyone expects a cake topper to come off the cake, and most couples just take the top tier (where the topper resides) away and save it for later, anyway. I’m fine with making that topper whatever the hell you like. Put a crown on top. It’s cool.
Even the ones done as picks, while I’m still not exactly wild about them, I can accept. It’s clear that they’re to be removed before eating and they’re really easy to see, and pulling them out doesn’t make a mess or really harm the look of the cake before it’s sliced. I’m thinking about something like this:
Not my style, but not bad.
What worries me are the pieces that sit right splat on the icing like this:
One of those could be missed. Somebody might think it was edible and get a nasty surprise.
The ones that get placed on silk ribbons around the cake don’t do that much for me, either, I have to say. There’s the hassle of getting the ribbon to sit straight, pinning on the jewelry so it doesn’t drag the ribbon down…and then before you can cut the cake, you have to undo all that work and wind up with a slice of cake that has no design left when it gets to the guest.
Call me wacky, but I have this funny belief that if something is going on a cake, ideally it ought to be as edible as the cake itself. I’d rather have it decorated with modeling chocolate, piped icing, or sugar flowers. In fact, when my brother the alpaca rancher got married, my mother and I spent an evening dipping real flowers (edible ones) in a sugar syrup. When they dried, they went right on the cake. It was pretty, it was a simple thing to do, and the decorations could be eaten along with the cake.
It’s up to you, of course. If you want to dot your cake with real rhinestones, that’s your absolute right. I just think a cake can be gorgeous without them. That’s my two cents’ worth.
I, also, am a firm believer that everything on a cake should be edible. It’s part of the art of cake design.
NtB, you read my mind! Count me as another member of the “if you can’t eat it, it doesn’t belong on a cake” club. But I think we’re a minority. While searching online for unique cake toppers, I came across something called “cake charms,” tiny little metal charms used to decorate the cake. Yeah, because the best gift you can give your guests is lead poisoning.
… oops. Meant to say, “Twistie, you read my mind!”
Whoops!
I say to each their own, but I do get a tad disappointed when I see what I think is a lovely edible decoration on a cake only to find out that, no, I can’t get a piece. I read that once upon a time, when wedding cake was more like a savory wedding pie, the baker would bake a glass ring right into the pie. Whoever found the ring was supposed to be lucky or fertile or something like that… but imagine biting down on a glass ring? Ouch!
The reason marzipan exists is so that people can make edible trinkets for cakes. If one wishes to go All Out, then crushed pearls or 24-k gold leaf (yes, seriously) can be used – but I would rather wear UNCRUSHED pearls and karat jewelry, myself; if I’m going to gild something, I’ll use egg or saffron. But 24-k gold leaf food decorations are edible, if you plan to waste – er, spend – your money that way.
La Bella Donna, you and I are on the same page…though you are welcome to all my marzipan since I cordially detest the flavor.
Egg or saffron for me, too!
Hi. I am going to check it, since I saw a comment in another site regarding \”Manolo for the Brides\”. Someone related to chocolate decoration cake. Thanks anyway.