Much Ado About Groom's Cakes

I'll admit, as a damn Yankee, having grown up in New Hampshire, the first time I ever heard the words "groom's cake" was well into my adulthood. With the majority of my cake-making history having been rooted in Georgia, however, the concept of creating a groom's cake to accompany the wedding cake is not foreign to me.

The concept of the groom's cake originated in Victorian times, but is most frequently attributed to the American South. The idea was that, back in the day, the bridal cake was pretty boring. It was usually a white or vanilla cake, frosted with vanilla buttercream, with white decorations. Yawn.

So it became commonplace for the groom to order a chocolate cake for himself, often frosted with chocolate frosting and decorated with fruit, to add a little variety to the dessert selection, and provide something that wouldn't put him and the groomsmen to sleep.

The groom's cake has evolved greatly over the years, however, with much of the transformation happening in the short time I have been in the cake industry.

At first, the groom would order a logo on top of the chocolate cake instead of fruit. Usually it was an alma mater or a fraternity.

Then it started to incorporate sculpted elements, maybe a solid chocolate replica of his pet, or something having to do with his profession.

Which then, of course, evolved into the sculpted groom's cake as we know them today. Now, I frequently create three-dimensional sports stadiums for the groom's cake, which can sometimes cost up to thousands of dollars. Oftentimes, the cake is something that reflects an interest that both the bride and the groom have.

Some of my favorite groom's cakes have included:

1) A half-constructed house, with the construction-worker groom outside in hunting garb, and a scared-looking deer peeking around the corner of the house.

2) A replica of Clemson's football stadium, with the bride and the groom tailgating out in the cake-parking-lot.

3) Han Solo in Carbonite.

4) A cruise ship pulling a dinghy with the groom hanging pathetically out of it, with a banner reading "You Have Been Adrift Long Enough".

5) A fondant cut-out of the couple's dog drinking a Dos Equis, with the description "The Most Interesting Dog in the World".

So as you can see, the sky is the limit when it comes to groom's cakes! And listen - it doesn't have to be chocolate anymore, either! Usually the groom's cake is still a fun flavor. We often create them out of banana cake, red velvet, or chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse.

So start making a list of all your groom's favorite things, now!

The Birth of a Cake Blog

When I began my foray into the wild and wonderful world of cake design, I was 18. I was a sophomore at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the high tuition of art school was running me dry. I had worked since I was 13, so I was accustomed to working hard, and a job at the local ice cream shop seemed like a piece of cake (no pun intended) after some of the jobs I'd had in my early teen years.

But it wasn't. Oh, it wasn't. The customers were harsh, I was picking up shifts for almost everyone I worked with, and the co-workers I was blessed to be spending 4pm-midnight with were crass and rude.

When I told a friend of mine about how worn down I was feeling about the dead-end retail job I was working, he said "you decorate cakes, right? Why don't you go see if my mom needs any help?"

I knew who his mom was. Most of Savannah did. Minette operated Custom Cakes, the finest in Savannah's high-end cakes. But what she did included chocolate cake sculpted into bulldogs wearing UGA jerseys, and 6 tier wedding cakes that were immaculate and elegant. What I did was scribble "Happy Birthday" on a frozen slab of ice cream with a mushy bag of frosting. It was hardly the same thing.

But Minette took me in. It was hardly a reprieve from the hard work at the ice cream shop, at first. I worked late into the night with her and her small staff. I was on my feet all day, and sometimes there wasn't any time to sit down.

But this was different than the ice cream shop. I was sculpted food into art. I remembered being young, and the life-size paper-mache animals I used to create when I came home from middle school. This was the same thing! And I was getting paid for it.

Minette was generous in giving me a lot of creative freedom. She will still tell the story of the globe cake we one day had to create, and she needed to be away from the shop while the cake was still just un-frosted cake. Knowing we were in a time crunch, I took it upon myself to finish the damn globe cake. And I did. Without ever being shown how to use fondant before. And it was awesome.

The cake industry has been good to me since then. I have since participated in five episodes of Food Network Challenge, one episode of TLC Ultimate Cake Off, and taught classes all over the country.

Last November, however, I left Minette's wing to start my new venture, TIER Luxury Cakes. The quaint cake design in the heart of downtown Savannah has afforded me all kinds of new adventures. I hope to share with you, my brides and my community, what I have learned so far.

Lord knows it has already been quite the journey.