Yummy Wedding Cake Flavors and Fillings: Tasteful Tips for You!

Butter? Lemon? Chocolate? Gone are the days of just these three traditional wedding cake flavors. Today, the sheer variety of flavors available—not to mention the fillings and frostings that accompany them—can be overwhelming!

Of course, your cake vendor will schedule a cake tasting for you to make your final selection But even before that point, it’s best to already narrow down your options by knowing what flavor options are out there. Get ready for a scrumptious survey!

Cake Flavors and Fillings: Making Sense of So Many Yummy Options!

Chocolate – This old favorite is still a wedding cake staple. But while it used to be hidden away underneath all the fancy frosting, an all-chocolate wedding cake (frosting included) is not unheard of nowadays! Plus, it can come in interesting variations like:

• German chocolate
• chocolate fudge
• chocolate peanut butter

Here are some examples:

1. Black Forest Cake via Baking a Moment
2. Decadent Chocolate Naked Wedding Cake via The Pastry Studio
3. Salted Caramel and Chocolate Truffle Wedding Cake via Marks and Spencer

Fruity flavors – For spring or summer weddings, especially those held outdoors, cakes with light and refreshing fruit flavors are particularly suited. Just imagine the distinct taste of these different fruits paired with the sweetness of the cake frosting—plus with actual fresh fruits as adornments:

• lemon
• orange
• cherry
• strawberry
• apple
• Banana

Here are some examples:

1. Citrus Fruit Wedding Cake via Maisie Fantaisie
2. Naked Berries Wedding Cake via Sugar Bee Sweets
3. Fig Handpainted Wedding Cake via Pollen and Pastry

Special or seasonal flavors – For weddings held in the fall or during the Christmas holidays, you can consider cake flavors associated with these seasons like:

• fruit cake
• spice cake
• rum butter cake
• carrot cake

Here are some examples:

1. Naked Carrot Wedding Cake via Korena in the Kitchen
2. Winter Sugar Frosted Naked Spice Cake via The Knot
3. Vegan Gluten Free Coconut Wedding Cake via That Damn Vegan

These denser cakes lend themselves well to the fondant type of icing (see description below) which needs a firmer base to be draped on.

Colored cakes – Aside from the enjoyment of your favorite flavor in your cake, there’s also the question of the visual effect once it’s sliced and served. If you’d like it to tie in with your overall wedding palette and decorations, you can always ask your cake decorator about these flavored colors:

• red velvet
• white amaretto, white almond, French vanilla
• golden yellow
• pistachio green
• cherry pink
• tiramisu
• chocolate marble
• chocolate guinness

Here are some examples:

1. Match Tea Cake via Dish Piglets
2. Naked Red Velvet Cake via Painting the Gown Red
3. Lemon Thyme Cake via Martha Stewart Weddings

Fillings – In between the cake layers, you can even specify equally delectable fillings. These can be made with fruit purees or tidbits, chopped nuts, liqueur, coffee, coconut, cheese, chocolate, mint chips, and many more.

Frostings – What will be visible to all at your reception and will create the overall impact of your cake will be its frosting. So it’s best that you become familiar with the three standard choices that your vendor is likely to offer or that you’ll see listed on online wedding cake sites:

• Swiss Meringue Buttercream – Classic “pastry” buttercream icing consists of fresh egg whites, butter, sugar, and pure vanilla. It can be flavored with white or dark chocolate, fresh citrus juices or zest, liqueurs, mocha, caramel, or praline paste.

• Ganache – This is a filling/frosting made from melted dark chocolate, heavy cream and sweet creamery butter; also known as “truffle filling.”

• Fondant – Highly popular for the clean finish it brings to a cake, this is a mixture of gelatin and food-grade glycerin that is rolled out into a pliable sheet then draped over the cake. It can also be molded into decorative embellishments.