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The secret life of wedding cakes
That confection has many secrets, legends and superstitions beneath its icing, writer Janine Good discovered.
The first wedding cakes were actually loaves of bread sometimes baked in the shape of birds.
Ancient Romans used to crumble wedding cakes made of barley over the bride’s head to encourage fertility.
In the middle ages, instead of a cake, a mound of sweet rolls was piled high between the bride and groom. If the couple were able kiss over the mound without toppling it over, they would have many children.
Cakes were originally covered in lard to keep them moist before icing was invented. Gross! The lard was removed before serving.
Among previous generations, the groom's cake was cut into small pieces and boxed. An unmarried girl would take a piece home and put it under her pillow to dream on.
Nowadays, a groom's cake reflects his hobbies. You'll find such cakes shaped like boats, dogs, fishing equipment or golf gear.
The first wedding cake as we know it today commemorated Queen Victoria's daughter's marriage in 1859.
Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1986 wedding cake was seven feet high, had eight tiers and weighed 425 pounds! Yikes! That ain't no petit four!
The bottom cake layer represents the couple as a family and the top represents them as a couple. Each layer in between represents a child they will bear.
A Jamaican wedding cake is made of dark fruitcake soaked in rum. The couple mails pieces to relatives and friends who couldn't make it to the wedding.
When the bride and groom cut the first slice of wedding cake, it symbolizes the beginning of their life together and commitment to each other.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's wedding cake measured nine feet around.
In Bermuda, the main wedding cake is covered with a silver leaf and a young cedar sapling. This symbolizes the growth of the couple's love.
In the 19th century, broom handles were the pillars that held up the layers of the wedding cake.
Wedding cake tiers symbolize prosperity. White icing symbolizes purity.
In Ancient Rome, after the cake was crumbled over the bride's head, guests would scramble to get some good fortune for themselves.
The top layer of a wedding cake usually is frozen and then eaten by the couple on their first wedding anniversary. In other cultures, this top layer is preserved for the christening of the couple's first child.
Superstition requires that the bride cut the first piece. The groom feeds the bride, and then she in turn feeds him.
In the past, many believed the size of the wedding cake determined the bride's popularity. Guests would bring apple-sauce-filled layers of cake to the reception and stack them in a large pile.
The maid of honour would keep a piece of cake in her pocket for the duration of the couple's honeymoon if she planned to get married soon herself.
In Britain before 1859, cakes were flat and round. They contained fruit and nuts, which in those days symbolized fertility.
In Yorkshire, a plate holding a piece of wedding cake would be thrown out the window. If the plate broke, it was thought that the bride would have a happy marriage. If it stayed intact, her future would be grim.
An English tradition was to bake a ring inside the wedding cake. The guest who found the ring in his/her piece would be ensured happiness in the coming year.
A bride should never partake in the baking of her own wedding cake. This is said to be bad luck.
If guests refuse a piece of cake, it is seen as wishing ill upon the bride.
In Victorian times, the white icing on a traditional wedding cake was a symbol of affluence since it was made of expensive refined sugar.
In the past, the bride alone would cut the first piece to demonstrate her ability to distribute food without waste, which meant she was a good housekeeper. Glad times have changed!
Most couples allot about 2 percent of their total wedding budget for the wedding cake.
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