A Touch of the Vintage Flair Please
As sweet as it comes: a rich mud cake with equally decadent ganache and buttercream. But making it taste that little bit sweeter is knowing it came from an intentionally designed cake and a deliberate nod to nostalgia. How? A perfect three-tiered vintage wedding cake of course! Understanding a wedding cake is more than just its flavour, Erica Noto owner of Cocoa & Crumbs, discusses this popular cake style with Melbourne Wedding & Bride’s Alice O’Brien, and why there has been a rise in the vintage aesthetic.
Written by Alice O’Brien
The vintage cake style has soared in popularity across social media and found itself knocking on the doors of the bridal world. A cake characterised by intricate piping, elegant tiers and a classic appeal, the vintage style is highly recognisable. And it’s a cake style people easily fall in love with, having stood the test of time.
“A popular vintage style cake for a wedding is a white buttercream cake with piping and fresh raspberries covering the entire top of the cake,” says Noto.
Another reason this style has become a new favourite among wedded couples is becauseof one word: versatility. With key foundational elements underpinning the distinctive style, couples have the freedom to pick and choose.
“A vintage cake can look elegant and have a nostalgic feel using an all-white buttercream finish and piped design … whereas for a playful cake, it can have a variety of colours, possibly an image top or even the addition of other decorations,” explains Noto.
Incorporating Vintage Elements
For couples who have decided to indulge the past and have a vintage styled wedding cake, Noto has some beautiful ways to incorporate the unique style.
“Vintage cake styles can be created as a single tier cake for a more intimate wedding or up to three to four tiers for a grander look … the couple can customise the design by having a pop of colour or monochrome or they can add finer details such as bows, cherries and their message be specifically suited to them,” says Noto
However, as with all wedding cakes, the air of logistical concern can float around the icing. This includes the very simple fact that a wedding can contain large numbers of guests, and the vintage style may not always accommodate the sheer number of serving sizes required from it. But, with experience comes skills and Noto always uses her vast baking knowledge to seemingly create magic to solve any logistical problem. For example, “when a couple prefers the look of a single- or two-tier cake but require more servings, [we] can make additional slab cakes that are delivered straight to the venue kitchen” explains Noto, meaning the vintage distinctiveness remains intact, and the couple can gleefully shout ‘let them eat cake’ with full confidence.
Bringing Bespoke Cakes To Life
Do you have a specific cake style in mind? Are you following a trend, theme or extravagant cake shape? Well, this vision becomes the guidebook for your baker – also known as bespoke cake design. And adding a touch of vintage flair to a cake falls under this banner.
“If the couple would like to have a vintage style blended into their wedding cake, we can create either a buttercream piped cake or add a traditional bride and groom topper to a more modern style cake … and if the couple is not sure of what this looks like yet, I ask them a range of questions to get more information about their day,” explains Noto.
“These questions help determine the number of servings required, their colour theme, the vibe of their reception, what their flavour profiles are and what their likes and dislikes are.”
From asking these questions, Noto develops a more personal connection with her clients before her design process truly begins.
“If the couple would like to blend a few designs together, I would sketch out what I feel is the best way to do this or if we are creating an entirely new design, I would also sketch out what we have discussed … if the couple want to make any adjustments to the design, a revised sketch will be made,” bringing the envisioned cake to life, explains Noto.
Wedding Cake Connection
A wedding cake is more than a spoonful of sugar. It’s, as Noto beautifully describes, “a true representation of love and celebration” for a newly married couple. Having formed her own connection to baking from a young age when she “made biscuits and cakes with [her] Nonna,” Noto truly believes couples deserve to feel that same powerful connection to their wedding cake. It’s the first decorative centrepiece of shared life.
Whether the choice behind a vintage style cake is to have a taste of simpler times, a reminder of grandma’s kitchen or simply based off of aesthetics, it’s an intentional choice a couple makes together. The wedding cake, as Noto neatly puts it “is a focal point where [newlyweds] share a moment in cutting the cake and eating it too,” alongside loved ones in celebration. When asked about memorable wedding cakes she has designed, Noto’s answer wasn’t based on extravagance or grandeur, but rather on connection.
“My two best friends were getting married and had asked me to create a three-tiered vintage style wedding cake that suited their pastel colour theme and showcased the brides’ love for Disney,” Noto began.
“We finalised the design as a light beige buttercream finish with minimal piping … the middle tier was divided into sections that would have a bouquet of piped flowers in all the pastel colours of the bridesmaid dresses … finished off with white bow ribbons and a figurine of Minnie and Mickey Mouse.”
Fondly reminiscing on this memory, Noto concluded not with a recap on delicate hand piping or the feat of bringing this vintage cake to life, but by simply saying “it was such a pleasure to create this one-of-a-kind cake for both of them!”
Photography courtsey of Cocoa & Crumbs