If cake is on your list for your upcoming wedding, your friends, family and baker may have already asked whether you’re saving the top layer. Maybe you’ve pondered the issue, and you’re not sure yet what you’ll do, or you have concerns about preserving or even eating a year-old cake. Perhaps you feel perplexed because you’re not even sure about the tradition’s origins and whether you’re on board with it. Knowing how the custom began along with some storage tips and alternative suggestions can help you decide.
“First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage…”
Bridal Guide writer Kelsie Allen proposes one possible origin story for the cake-saving custom. In Western societies, most people assumed that happy newlyweds would have a child within the first year. Christenings were celebrated with a cake of its own, but married pairs began to preserve the leftover top layer of their sweetened towers with the expectation that they'd eat it again when a new baby arrived. Allen speculates that many people forgot the original reasons and the practice became enshrined as a superstition to observe on the first anniversary instead.
Is Eating Year-Old Frozen Cake Safe?
It’s natural to be concerned about consuming cake that’s been in the freezer, but writer Corey Plante clarifies in a 2017 Inverse Science article that freezer storage only affects the quality of the final product. When proper procedures to prepare and store the dessert are followed, the extreme cold of the freezer prevents the growth of harmful organisms.
Of course, whether it’s judicious to even attempt the maneuver depends on the condition of the cake at the end of the day. Confections with cream cheese icing that have set out in the sun, as Plante points out, pose a risk and shouldn’t be preserved. Moist cakes, oil-based desserts, chocolate flavors and those without fruit filling will survive a year in the freezer better than most.
Tips for Wedding Cake Deep Storage
If freezing your cake’s top layer sounds doable, you’ll need to do some pre-planning. In a 2016 Brides article, Erin Celletti outlined some important steps that can keep it as fresh and intact as possible.
- Enlist someone to place the top layer in a freezer to harden the icing.
- Wrap the entire tier loosely in freezer-safe plastic wrap, making sure you cover all surfaces.
- Store your wrapped layer in a prepared cake box.
- Encase the cake box inside another tight layer of plastic wrap.
- Place the wrapped box back in the freezer.
TheKnot posted similar instructions for preservation, but its version recommends removing sugar flowers and exterior decorations first, then chilling it in the fridge as opposed to the freezer to solidify the frosting. In the end, your best bet is to consult with your bakery for advice specifically tailored to your own cake.
Relive the Flavor With a Fresh Layer
Unable to preserve your cake or prefer a fresher taste to your anniversary dessert? Don’t forget that you also have the option to instruct your bakery to recreate the top tier. It should have the original cake order on file, but hanging on to your own notes or Pinterest boards after your nuptials isn’t a bad idea if this is your aim.
Wedding traditions have many unique and surprising origin stories, and it’s up to each couple to choose what they incorporate and what they decide to leave aside. If you want to deep-freeze your top cake tier, remember that certain kinds freeze better than others and follow safe preservation steps. If all else fails, ask your bakery to remake your original dessert. Observing safety tips and best practices will ensure you can partake in cake next year and relive your happy memories.
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