The Groom's Cake

Groom's Cake.  

Those two words are enough to send fear down my spine and panic in my bones, but they usually lead to my greatest gratification and sense of accomplishment in this crazy business of cakes.

I think the first time I ever heard mention of a groom's cake was in one of my favorite movies that I watched (and cried through) in my childhood -- Steal Magnolias.  Nobody could ever forget the infamous armadillo, made out of red velvet cake.  I sure didn't think much of it at the time, but it's a highlighted scene in the movie that you just don't forget.  And it's quite possibly what made the groom's cake so famous.

Back in those days (the 80s), the groom's cake was considered a Southern tradition, usually placed alongside the wedding cake (also known as the bride's cake) at a wedding reception.  And most typically it was a simple, "masculine," chocolate cake juxtaposed with a traditional, white tiered wedding cake.  

But these days it's rare to see a simple, chocolate cake for a groom's cake.  And more and more the groom's cake is served at the rehearsal dinner (since that's the night we celebrate the groom, after all).  I personally love this new strategy since it allows both cakes to be highlighted, admired and enjoyed separately, and therefore equally.  With all the crazy shapes and themes that groom's cakes come in now, it can sometimes overshadow the "simplicity" and elegance of a tiered wedding cake on the day when a wedding cake is supposed to be the centerpiece of an event.

I've done quite a few groom's cakes in my time, starting at the bakery where I interned just after graduating from Johnson and Wales.  And today, the sky's the limit...

Speaking of armadillos, just last summer I was finally asked to make an armadillo cake!!  This was actually for a teenager's birthday (she had always wanted an armadillo cake because of her love for the movie that made it so famous).   

And yes, it is red velvet cake inside!

  

Just a few weeks ago I created this record player shaped cake with the bride and groom figurines sitting atop.  All carrot cake and it was even transported to Winston Salem!

If he's not a music lover, he's probably sporty.

Snowboarder Groom's Cake

And you think practically everything has been done in this industry.  But I dare say that a giant yellow finch has not been created out of cake until just a few weeks ago.  This was for a groom by the last name of Finch.  Makes sense, eh?

All edible (except for the tail) and then transported to Durham on a tree stump!

Here is the process (with lots of the in between left out).

And if you love your dog, why not eat him?

For some reason all of the dog cakes that I've created look something like this!  I guess Golden Retriever owners just aren't the type to bring a knife to their "dog's" belly.

Lots of boys (especially the good ole' boys we have here, down South) like to hunt.  

Hunting is a very foreign concept to me (the men in my life wouldn't know the first thing about holding a gun), but I was game for making this duck hunting themed tiered cake.

And if you know boys, you know they love school pride.  I happen to make a lot of Tarheel cakes, which is fine by me since I'm a proud graduate myself!

My first Rameses head cake!

A little NYC, a little UNC.

I've seen this Carolina hat a time or 2 in my lifetime and I've made it out of sugar at least 10 times!

Men love their sports. I do a whole lotta sporty groom's cakes.  And I usually get my husband's approval on each of them before I let them out the door.  Sporty cakes is about all I know (or care) about most sports!

I've made jerseys, helmets, courts, stadiums... you name it.  I can barely stand to watch a minute of football.  But I'll spend a day or 2 making a football helmet.  Go Panthers!

Not just any baseball cake!  Yes, all edible!

And when they're not listening to music, killing animals, watching or playing sports, they're usually drinking.  Or smoking.  Or both.  Boys will be boys.

Maker's Mark shaped cake with personalized cigars!

And of course the famous wine bottle cake.  Done this one a million times (at least that's how it feels)!

And for the men who like to do what I enjoy most...EAT!  There's always some kind of food that I can turn into cake.   Here's a bucket of crabs, complete with the corn, Old Bay seasoning, and mallet!  All edible down to the newspaper.  (I probably could have saved myself the trouble and just used real newspaper now that I think about it.)

Groom's cakes come in all shapes and sizes and the options really are endless.

Here is a 4 tiered cake that I turned into a London phone booth!

They stress me out, big-time.  They cause me anxiety.  I don't know if they're going to "turn out", but somehow they always do.  

Groom's cakes can be the most challenging but they are usually the most rewarding in the end.

See lots more here.