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What’s a Groom’s Cake?
The inclusion of a Groom’s Cake in the wedding meal started as an old Southern tradition but has lately become increasingly popular everywhere you look. The “original” Groom’s Cake was actually called the Wedding Cake and what we think of now as the Wedding Cake used to be called the Bride’s Cake. (Confusing enough for you?)
In old Southern tradition, the Groom’s Cake (which, ironically enough, was usually a fruitcake – no lie) wasn’t served at the wedding like the Wedding Cake (or Bridal Cake). Straight up until the 1970’s, the Groom’s Cake would be sliced up ahead of time into small slivers or squares, carefully wrapped in gift bags or boxes (often monogrammed), and distributed as wedding favors at the end of the affair, but – get this - only to the unmarried female guests. The idea was for these ladies to put the wrapped slice of cake under their pillows or beds (depending on who you ask). Also depending on who you ask, one of two things was then supposed to happen:
either each woman would dream of her future husband;
or the man that the woman was already smitten by would shortly become her husband.
The Groom’s Cake of today, however, gives the couple-to-be the opportunity to add an element of the groom’s personality and individuality to the meal that is typically not afforded them by the “traditional” Wedding Cake. While most Wedding Cakes may look somewhat alike, most Groom’s Cakes do not.
The top of a Groom’s Cake may depict a particular interest or hobby of the groom’s – fishing, sports car racing, fine wines, gardening, chess, skiing – anything you can think of.
(Does anyone recall the red, velvet armadillo-shaped cake in Steel Magnolias? Us neither, but that’s one.) Or it can depict his alma mater, his profession, or membership in a particular club or organization.
A Groom’s Cake can also be baked in a mold to be almost any shape you can think of – a golf club, football, guitar, coat of arm, or red cross. Another possibility is to stick figurines or other little plastic objects on the top of the cake like some sort of diorama – imagine little soldiers decorating the Groom’s Cake of a decorated veteran. Or how about miniature cooking utensils and food items for a chef?
But there is a catch (there’s always a catch) for while the Groom’s Cake is meant to represent the groom, it is not he who gets to pick it out. No, as with most other elements of a wedding (and in many cases – a marriage too), it’s the bride who does the choosing. And typically she’ll order it without the groom ever seeing the design. He gets no input, no approval, no veto rights. He sees it when everybody else does – at the reception. Hopefully he gets a kick out of it.
The Groom’s Cake also contrasts the Wedding Cake in that it is usually a dark cake, not a light one – most typically chocolate (you didn’t think you were stuck with a fruitcake, did you?). And it’s especially nice if the cake is filled with the groom’s favorite filling.
There are a number of options for how the Groom’s Cake can be displayed and served:
have the Groom’s Cake at the Rehearsal Dinner and the Wedding Cake at the wedding;
display and serve the Groom’s Cake right alongside the Wedding Cake;
the Wedding Cake and Groom’s Cakes can be displayed separately and served separately, with the Wedding Cake cutting ceremony typically going first;
partake of the Groom’s Cake after-hours with just the wedding party.
However you design it, however you enjoy it – the Groom’s Cake gives a chance to inject a bit of the Groom’s personality into an event that is often centered around the Bride.
