The customs surrounding wedding cakes are among the strangest that have ever developed. In the Vendee, a coastal region on the Bay of Biscay, the parents of the bridal couple traditionally purchase the largest wedding cake imaginable—sometimes weighing eighty pounds—and then have it borne into the banquet hall by attendants who fulfill their part of the tradition by dancing a little jig to demonstrate that the cake they are carrying, though heavy, is not too heavy; the custom seems to imply “Yes, our cake is big, but it’s not going to hurt you.” Almost as strange is the North American ritual of the bride and groom both grabbing hold of the same knife—an action more plausibly associated with bar fights—so that they can pretend to cut the cake together. Such wedding-cake customs extend even further back in time than the term wedding cake itself, which is not recorded until the mid seventeenth century. Prior to that, wedding cakes were known as bridecakes, a term first recorded in the sixteenth century. More recently, probably in the twentieth century, the term matrimonial cake also came into use. Of these three terms, it is matrimonial cake that has the strangest origin: the word matrimonial derived in the sixteenth century from the Latin matrimonium, which in turn developed from the Latin mater, meaning mother. Freud might argue that the origin of this word represents every son’s oedipal urge to marry his mother, but it probably simply represents the fact that for women, for thousands of years, getting married was the same thing as becoming a mother: even today, the first thing people do after a marriage ceremony is throw rice, a talisman to ensure the bride’s fertility. In contrast, the origin of the term bridecake is less sexist. The bride of bridecake simply developed from an ancient Germanic source that meant woman getting married. More interesting, perhaps, is that bridal—the adjective of bride—originated as an Old English compound of bride and ealu, meaning ale; a bridal, therefore, was originally a beer-drinking party held in honour of the bride. A more sober origin belongs to the wedding of wedding cake: it derives from an ancient Germanic source that meant pledge, a source that also gave rise to the words wager and engage.
A cake with a pale white color, frequently imbued with aromatic spices and fragments of candied peel, and endowed with a gustatory essence of almond extract. It is conventionally baked in strata of varying sizes, cloaked in a layer of white frosting, and adorned with embellishments. As per tradition, the initial serving is intended to be carved jointly by the bride and groom.
A time-honored centerpiece at wedding receptions, the traditional rich fruitcake takes center stage, boasting one, two, or even multiple tiers. Adorned with a luscious layer of almond paste and intricately decorated with royal icing, this exquisite confection serves as a symbol of joyous matrimony. Traditionally, the bride initiates the ceremonial first cut, while the subsequent division of the cake is often performed behind the scenes. It is customary to preserve the top tier of the wedding cake, as its sumptuous richness allows for long-lasting quality when carefully wrapped, thus reserving it for the momentous occasion of the first christening.