Weddings are no doubt grand affairs these days. If it brings in excitement for the bride and groom and fun and frolic for the relatives, it also brings in loads of preparations for the family. Gone are those days when one would have just a tent outside which has now been taken over by 'destination weddings'.
Including celebrations in a huge Rajasthani palace or on the beaches anywhere in the world, everything with regard to weddings is changing, be the food, dress and people with modern times are open to experimenting new things and want to add that 'different' touch to their weddings so that it's an 'affair to remember'.
Whatever changes, one thing that remains is the sweet touch to any event. And going by the developments, one thing that has newly hit the Indian wedding scenario is the trend for wedding cakes. The West believes that cutting a wedding cake brings in luck, love and happiness to the newlyweds and that is why these days they are found everywhere, be it at an engagement, reception, wedding cakes are slowly replacing our traditional sweets, including ladoos.
Every year the trends change with regard to the flavour, theme, and even the place where they are being built. As per Anupama Gupta, founder of Eclairs, Gurgaon, who recently won two Gold Awards for the 'Best Wedding Cake' at the GIWA Nite, the trend for 2017 are "bold colours where everyone wants something quirky and out of the box". The company, Gupta said, is one the pioneers in specialising in 'destination wedding cakes' where they actually go to the place of the wedding and make the cake. She also said that the wedding cake season this year would be about "Indian motifs which are vibrant and match the dresses of the bride and groom along with mehndi and zardozi designs. Lace and intricate embroidery motifs are going out and more of traditional motifs are making their presence felt".
Yes, the season this year would all be about Paisley themes and floral embroidery, something like a show stopper at the wedding.
Radhieka Mittal, owner Exotic Cakes and Desserts, Delhi, said the trend is moving away from "intricate embroideries to bolder and big flowers along with being ornamental in nature like copying a jewellery piece which the bride is wearing"
Along with the themes and vibrant colours, even shapes and sizes matter. Rinku Amit Gokarn of D Cake Creations said that in the previous years, people wanted small cakes of one to three tier, but this year the demand has gone up to five- and six-tier cakes. And if the cakes are going higher, the concept of 'chandelier cakes' cannot be ruled out too.
Gokarn specialises in these types of cakes with the first cake being made in 2014. But she says that if some people are going in for bold colours, some still want the elegant and stylish colours, hence sticking to the old gold and white. Talking about the different cakes, Gupta's Eclairs specialises in what they call a four-dimension cake where lights and movements are added to give a grand effect. They also have started the concept of a 'fifth dimension' in cake making where the cakes are actually floating in air. Now that's what is called creativity!
After all the over the top decorations, what matters most is the lingering flavour it leaves in the mouth and that's changing, too. While Mittal says that people in Delhi are going more experimental and wanting fruity flavours, Gokarn states that Mumbai still favours the traditional flavours like vanilla, strawberry where chocolate remains the favourite in the palette. Gupta of Eclairs, however, says that it's a mix of both and the people are in a mood to experiment. For that, the wedding cakes are now coming in various flavours and in fact, they are specialising Baklava cakes and New York Cheese cakes and also offer a pre-tasting session with the clients before they place the orders.
As the wedding cake approaches, so do the bulk load of the cakes where the orders can go up to three to five cakes per day, according to Gupta to around 10 cakes of 25 – 50 kgs cake a month.
The cakes become famous due to its clientele and everyone boasts of doing celebrity functions. The D Cake Creations made a huge 25 kg cake for RJ Archana in Lavassa, while Eclairs made an extravagant cake for designer Rohit Bal.
Apart from all this, the return gifts are also going out of the box and they are in the form of macarons, cookies each having some Indian traditional motif keeping the flavour of an Indian wedding.
The wedding cake themes are these days so popular that mostly all the premier baking houses have collaborated with top notch five-star hotels where they can be easily accessed and orders executed. So, what are you waiting for, the next time you have a wedding in the family, just order a thematic wedding cake and make it like a show stopper as happens in any grand fashion show.
After all, weddings take place once in a lifetime!
...& ANALYSIS
- The season this year is about Paisley themes and floral embroidery
- ‘Destination wedding cake,’ which is baked at the wedding, is in vogue
- Flavours like New York Cheese, Baklava rule; wedding hosts see high demand
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