Nowadays it has become a trend of making customized cakes. It has become so much common that now people prefer to give an order for a customized cake rather buying a normal decorative cake. Customized cakes are basically made to honour and represent a particular occasion like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries etc.
- What is a customized cake?
A customized cake is any cake that goes out of the box from a regular cake work. The decorations on customized cakes are extra and are in detail. Such as flowers and other kinds of handmade decorations which are made from fondant. There is an extra focus on the details that are been ordered by the customer as compared to a normal cake.
Customized cakes are made with the basic as other types of cakes whatever the occasion they are made for. This basic construction includes the flavor of a cake, fillings and icing or frostings involved. Once the main part of cake is made that is to give it a flower, the baker starts its decoration that is according to the event and how the client has given instructions. The decorations and colours are then customized according to the theme of the event the cake is made for.
- When did the trending of customized cakes started?
The trend of decorating the cakes started since 17th century in Europe, mostly for special occasions. At that time, cake decoration was considered as a very popular job. Customized cakes were first became part of the culture for weddings where cakes became an integral part of the event. Like this, cakes exceeded the demand from weddings to other kinds of functions. Christmas cakes were being decorated since 18th and 19th centuries. These were evolved from the 12th cake that was baked and eaten on the 12th night as per their tradition. These were designed and made especially by the artistic bakers. (Reference from: wikipedia)
During 1840’s, the arrival temperature controlled ovens and the discovery of baking powder made baking process easier. As temperature controlled technology improved the attention towards presentation and decoration increased. A cake started being made in decorative shapes and were decorated with additional icing made into patterns, like floral patterns and food coloring was added to color the entire cake. 21st century has made cake decorating a very great profession for cake decorators.
- How customized cakes are being made?
Once their sponge is baked then comes the time decorate them for a particular occasion and theme. According to the demands of the client, decoration is done on the cake.
Sometimes the cake is covered with fondant or sometimes the icing or frosting is done on top and sides. Sometimes the decorations are made from the fondant and placed on the cake according to the theme of occasion and they have no cake inside. They are entirely made from sugar paste and fondant. To make it easy to equally and neatly coat the glaze onto the cake, the cake is placed on a rotating tray.
Both ways can help in decorating cake with flowers such as piping icing in a shape of a flower or molding sugar paste, fondant or marzipan to make a flower. An embossing mat is used to make cake decorations that create embossed effect on cake or cupcake decorations.
Many icing designs are made by piping tips that come in different sizes and shapes.
“Naked cakes” are the new trend since 2020. In these cake styles, fillings are used between the cake layers but surroundings of the cake is left unfrosted or partly frosted, with much of the cake still visible between and through the frosted areas. These kinds of cakes are either decorated with icing sugar or fresh flowers on the top. Sometimes fresh fruits are used on the top and between the cake layers. They are mostly made for wedding and engagement ceremonies.
For multi layered cakes, it is necessary to use skewers or plastic straws. Large and complex structured cakes (like making a dinosaur, lion or any other thing that looks real and not a cake) can be made from cutting the shapes out of a cake and rearranging them to acquire the desired shape or design.
The basic flavours of these cakes are chocolate, white and yellow cake or coffee cake. Icing of the cake is made by buttercream frosting that is both inexpensive and simple and it is loved by many people. For an elegant cake, fondant icing is better but it requires special care and storage. Instead, whipped cream or royal icing are both great options for variety of customized cakes. After flavoring, another important thing is the shape of the cake. Many cake decorations provide you with the range of shapes but you can also provide them with the ideas. There is a variety to customized cakes some of which are for:
- Baby shower:
Although the cake is neutral from the outside but the colors are placed on the inside of cake like blue or pink.
- Weddings:
Wedding cakes are a big trend now. Some prefer simpler cakes while others demand for customized cakes with bride and groom decorations placed on the top. You can also notice a small wedding cake for immediate family and a larger cake that is distributed among the guests. Cupcakes have also become a part of the trend.
- Birthdays:
Birthday cakes have become more advanced with the passage of time and are more preferred as customized cakes. Children prefer to have their favourite cartoon characters on the cake or cartoon designed cake. Custom birthday cakes are designed to match the personality and likes of the person it has been made for. So there’s a huge variety of designs and decorations available for birthday cakes. Nowadays, mostly the name is written on the base where the cake is placed and a slogan of birthday is placed on the top.
- The cost spend on customized cakes:
The customized cakes costs more than regular cakes as they require more work, decorations to be done on. Some need quite a tricky process, hard work and time to prepare it before the delivering time. Cakes require patience and expertise to be built perfectly as per client’s demands. Much of the decorator’s energy, hard work and time are put into making customized cakes. Types of flavours, decorations and sizes make the cake cost more. Basically the hard work involved makes the cost high.
The cost also depends on cake delivery and assembling. In Pakistan the cost is as much higher as the size and decorations involved. It ranges from rupees 5000 -8000 or even more but is not lower than 5000 rupees. Whereas in foreign countries, the cost can vary from $50 to hundreds. But if your budget doesn’t allow you such expensive cakes, you have to opt for much simpler cakes with classic flavours and shapes that are much cheaper and easier to assemble. It’s better to order low budget cakes rather than going for an extravagant ones because all you have to eat is the cake and all the decorations on it goes wasted. They need time and energy to make but are costly.
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