Cake toppers are an opportunity for a person, or a cake-maker, to be as creative as possible, but are the cake toppers themselves usually edible?
Some cake toppers are edible, particularly the ones that are made out of icing, marzipan, or chocolate, but others are certainly not edible. This includes toppers made out of anything else, like metal, plastic, or even wood. It depends entirely on what you want from your cake-maker.
Read on to learn more about cake toppers, how they’re made, and how much they tend to cost.
Have Your Cake And Eat It
Let’s admit it – a cake is pretty much a universal concept, regardless of whether you’re planning a birthday or a wedding reception. They’re a fantastic way to pour a little creativity into your event, and best of all, they’re delicious.
Reportedly, it was the Ancient Egyptians who first stumbled upon the creation of cake, making a short jump from bread. They were fond of sweetened dessert bread, and once they started experimenting, they arrived at cakes in no time at all.
However, these early cakes were a far cry from the soft, sweet, and delectable desserts we know today. Although there are no real surviving examples, we can ascertain that these earlier cakes were flat, harder, and much denser.
Although, while cakes have likely been a thing for thousands of years, cake toppers are another story entirely. There is no evidence of traditional cake toppers having been used prior to the 1950s, when they were popularized in the United States.
As you might expect, the first cake toppers were the generic bride-and-groom toppers, often modeled on the happy couple themselves. It was a symbolic decoration, crafted and included on top of a cake to represent a sense of togetherness.
Today though, cake toppers are an extremely creative opportunity for any cake-maker, particularly those with an artistic eye. There’s an endless pit of potential designs, and there are several materials or ingredients that can be used to sculpt or craft an attractive cake topper.
Traditionally, cake toppers will be made with hard icing, marzipan, or even chocolate, meaning they’re entirely edible. These are some of the most creative cake toppers you’ll see, with the cake-maker flexing their remarkable artistic ability to create something from scratch by hand.
Although marzipan certainly isn’t the tastiest thing in the world, it is edible – so feel free to bite the head off the cake topper, if you’re that way inclined. Alternatively, some cake makers will have the ability to print a custom image directly onto a sheet of icing, which is inherently edible.
Ultimately, while the majority of the world’s cake toppers are edible, there are plenty that are not. These options include metal, wood, or plastic creations, crafted with the intention of keeping them after the event is over, as a lasting memory to whatever it was you were celebrating.
That Cake Life
If you’re planning an event and want to splash out on a luxurious cake, you should be prepared to foot a considerable bill. This is even truer if you’re opting for a highly-customized, hand-crafted cake topper, which takes considerable time and effort to create.
For a wedding, a simple three-tier cake smothered in buttercream icing and topped with a modest cake topper could easily cost three or four hundred dollars. It depends entirely on your supplier and their own individual pricing structure.
However, a wedding is one circumstance in which you don’t want to skimp out on the cost of the cake. It can make for a centerpiece to the entire event, and it’s one of the most traditional aspects of the entire ceremony.
It is thought that the feature of a cake at a wedding goes back to ancient Rome, where Romans would practice breaking cake over the bride’s head. Allegedly, this practice was supposed to bring good luck to the married couple.
Today, the tradition is for couples to cut the cake together, surrounded by their family and friends. And yes, in many cases, they’ll try to land that generic shot of one partner ramming a handful of icing into the other partner’s face…
Apparently, the most expensive cake in history was a $30 million creation, crafted for a diamond gala event hosted by Devorah Rose. This cake was adorned with fine jewels and gemstones, and it was crafted by New York’s own Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro.
Don’t worry, though – that’s a one-of-a-kind cake, and you certainly won’t need to spend that much when it comes to your event.