We’ve been making cakes for amazing clients for over 5 years and the style and design of your wedding cake is only half of the story: it doesn’t matter how delicious your cake looks, if it doesn’t taste right! That’s why our cake flavour menu has been a labour of love, and we’ve carefully and lovingly curated an array of mouthwatering cake flavours that cater for everyone. Our aim is very simple: that there won’t be a slice leftover at the end! If you’re thinking about your wedding cake, and you’ve got questions – maybe you want to know the best wedding cake flavours, popular wedding cake flavours, or perhaps you even want to go for totally unique wedding cake flavours – then we’ve got you.
What are the traditional wedding cake flavours?
If we say the words ‘wedding cake’, what do you imagine? We’re willing to bet it was a tiered cake, covered in white icing. And the chances are, if you cut into that cake in your mind it would be a rich fruit cake. It’s been the traditional choice in the UK, and has topped the list of most popular wedding cake flavours here for centuries now! However, we’re cake makers on a mission to share more unique wedding cake flavours with the world.
What are the most popular wedding cake flavours?
But that was then; what about now? With the rise of dessert tables and alternative wedding styles, you might be wondering if wedding cakes are still popular. The answer, we’re very happy to report, is yes: more so than ever!
Alongside rich fruit cake, the most popular wedding cake flavours nowadays are vanilla sponge, chocolate and lemon.
Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with these flavours – they’re classics for a reason – but the choice of flavours out there is endless. It might be time to get a tad more adventurous.
Alternatively, if those still seem like the best wedding cake flavours you could ever dream of, you could get adventurous with these flavours. Why not take those popular wedding cake flavours, but elevate them into a unique wedding cake flavour instead? Where before, you might have had Victoria sponge – or Vanilla Berry as we call it, thanks to the summer berry jam that accompanies the silky buttercream and Madagascan vanilla sponge – you could opt for a ‘grown up’ version laced with tipsy champagne and strawberry. Or, perhaps peach is more your thing – peach melba is a luscious twist on the classic lemon and one of the most popular flavours in our ever growing wedding cake menu.
What flavour is best for my wedding day?
Let’s reframe this focus, from ‘what are the best wedding cake flavours’ to ‘what are the best wedding cake flavours for my wedding day’. That’s important, because the golden rule of wedding planning, ‘your day your way’, applies to cakes too!
We believe your wedding cake – and its flavours in particular – should be talked about for years after the day itself. With this in mind, we always recommend experimenting with more unique wedding cake flavours, even if just for one of your tiers. It’ll make your cake more ‘you’! That’s why, when we send couples our tasting boxes, we include a unique flavour they might not have heard of alongside some of our takes on trusty favourites. Keep an open-minded approach to your tasting, and you might just find a new addition to your list of best wedding cake flavours…
Another thing to consider when thinking about flavours is what you’re having for the dessert course of your wedding breakfast. You want to ensure that your cake isn’t competing with the dessert but instead complementing it; this will ultimately encourage more guests to try both.
Think about how your cake and dessert will sit together: if you’re having a very rich chocolate caramel pudding, how about a light fruity or citrussy cake? Or, if you can’t resist double chocolate (and really, who can?) you could opt for a refreshing Valencian chocolate orange or crisp mint chocolate instead.
What can I have instead of a chocolate or boozy wedding cake?
Speaking of decadence – when we talk about decadent flavours, it’s common to jump straight to chocolate or boozy flavours. However, decadence and luxury can be so much more, too. For example, our orange blossom and almond flavour is a sumptuous selection which will transport you right to the glittering Island of Capri.
At the other end of the spectrum of unique wedding cake flavours – but no less decadently – sits our toffee apple and cinnamon wedding cake, which is rich, gooey, sticky deliciousness. Either way, your guests are coming back for a second slice!
How do you pick just one flavour?
Well, here’s the good news: you don’t have to. Why not mix and match? As wedding cakes are traditionally tiered, you can have each tier be a totally different flavour. Go wild with 3 totally unique wedding cake flavours, or choose 3 that are along the same kind of lines but each offer a different taste sensation.
And don’t worry – we don’t expect you to remember which tier is which on the day. We always include flavour cards for your venue to place next to the cake when it’s cut and served, informing your guests what the unique wedding cake flavours per tier are. You could even use your wedding cake sketch as part of your menu; be sure to include all of the flavour details alongside their names, and you’ll have your guests salivating before they’ve even started on the bread basket…
What are the best wedding cake flavours and combinations?
Getting flavour combinations just right is definitely an art form. It’s a delicate balancing act, so when we’re recipe testing we’re always looking for a combination that feels harmonious.
For example, after the royal wedding a few years ago, elderflower and lemon was everywhere! We spent a long time experimenting with this combination, as elderflower is so subtle and delicate that it can easily be overwhelmed by a zesty lemon. We found the best way to incorporate both flavours was to make a very light lemony sponge using only lemon curd rather than strong lemon oils or zest. More recently, Biscoff has also become a massive trend (remember how it was everywhere during the first lockdown in 2020?) but on its own it can be quite dry and cloying. However it works fantastically well with salted caramel, adding a real crunch to what can be a very sweet sponge. It’s also vegan, which is pretty amazing as we’re always looking for fantastic vegan combos!
Essentially, the best wedding cake flavour combinations are ones that let all of the elements shine through, rather than having one totally overpower.
Should I have seasonal flavours?
We’ve talked about the best wedding cake flavours for people already, but what about the best wedding cake flavours for the planet? Using seasonal produce wherever possible is an excellent way of keeping your wedding sustainable and eco-friendly.
Fruit flavours are a particularly great way to celebrate the seasons and support the earth; nothing tastes sweeter than the glorious British summertime! That’s why we make a lot of the delicious jams and conserves that we use in our wedding cakes. It’s why we call our Victoria Sponge the ‘Vanilla Berry’ flavour: because the berry jam is just so good, it deserves top billing too.
We always try to use fruit sourced locally from us here in Kent, and make our jams and preserves in small batches so that none go to waste. That’s another reason why our menu is so full of unique wedding cake flavours: because everything really is made, with love, from scratch. In fact the only jam we buy in is the boozy jam for our signature tipsy champagne and strawberry, and even this is from another small batch maker, the wonderful Claire’s Handmade Jams.
I’ve got guests who are coeliac, can they eat wedding cake?
Almost every one of our clients has a or multiple guests with specific dietary requirements, and we’ll work with you to see how we can best cater for them. Depending on the style and design of your cake and the dietary requirement in question, it might be possible to include a vegan or dairy free tier as part of the design. Another option is a kitchen cutting cake, which can be clearly labelled and delivered straight to the kitchen. They’ll cut it up and serve it with the rest of your cake, and your guests will never need to know it wasn’t part of the cake they saw when they entered!
Whilst it’s true that some flavours work better for specific diets than others (for example, gluten-free or vegan, which have a reputation for being a little hit and miss flavour wise), we’ve worked really hard to make sure that’s not the case with us! Most of our flavours can be adapted brilliantly, ensuring nothing is sacrificed.
Are you hungry yet?
Whatever the requirement may be, the sooner you let us know the better so we can get planning. It’s never too early, either – even letting us know at your cake tasting stage is great, as we can account for it as we design!
So, there you have it: our definitive guide to the best wedding cake flavours. If all this talk of wedding cake has got you hungry, and you’re looking for unique wedding cake flavours that your guests will never forget, then get in touch here – we’d love to hear from you.
Photographer: Fiona Kelly Photography, Rebecca Douglas Photography,
Wedding Cake Sketch: courtesy of the couple
We are Erica and Charlie Bell, a mother-daughter team creating breathtaking wedding cakes and macarons from our studio in Maidstone, Kent. We love nothing more than getting to know our couples, and creating distinctive designs that are inventive and imaginative. Our one-of-a-kind cakes that are designed down to the very last (sugar) detail. We deliver across London, Kent, Essex, Surrey, Sussex and beyond.
