Your Top Tier on Your One Year

I've talked to numerous friends about the tradition of the Wedding Cake. Most of you know the deal- boxing up the top tier after your wedding, freezing it, and eating it on your first anniversary. Adorable idea right? Imagine: a romantic dinner over candlelight, sipping champagne with your special someone while indulging in decadence that sends you on a buttercream-filled journey back to that beautiful day.....ahhh, could not get much better. As wonderful as that sounds, that journey can take a "chilling" turn from warm and fuzzy to, well, cold and still fuzzy-when you unwrap your cake to find a freezer burned mass with the consistency of a week-old toasted bagel in front of you.
We've done some research, and have found what we think is the best way to preserve your cake so it can be delicious 365 days later.

Here at the EP, we always delicately box up your top tier and send it home safely with you. Once it's home, our friends at The Knot recommend that you should do the following:

1. Remove the sugar flowers and set them aside.
2. If your cake is on cardboard, remove and put on a plate, or wrap the cardboard in plastic wrap. This will prevent your cake from tasting like cardboard. (Yuck!)
3. Chill the cake well before wrapping it up so that the icing hardens. This way it won't stick to the plastic wrap and make a mess.
4. Wrap the cake in several layers of plastic wrap -- not aluminum foil, which can cause freezer burn. Make sure to wrap it as tight as possible. Some bakerys recommend getting a sealing device for the best results.

Remember:

Some cakes freeze better than others. The more delicate the cake ingredients, the drier your cake will become in the freezer. Cakes with a longer shelf life: Chocolate, hazelnut, almond, and carrot cake. Cakes that may not last as long in the freezer: white cake, cake with fresh fruit, and cakes with whipped cream fillings.

Consider Ordering A Copycat Cake

If you have a cake that won't hold up in the freezer, do as many couples do and order a fresh cake tier in the same flavor as your original wedding cake for your one-year anniversary. Even if you have a heartier cake, Sylvia Weinstock, of Sylvia Weinstock Cakes in New York, recommends storing cakes for no longer than two months, and forgoing the first-anniversary tradition. Like anything else, after a year in the freezer, any cake will be a bit stale. If you do decide to save your cake for the full year, focus on the nostalgia, not the flavor. 

*for more ideas on preserving your wedding cake, visit www.theknot.com. 

As always, happy planning,...and happy eating!