Photo courtesy Chef Schonberg 's Sweets.

Wedding cake and dessert trends to sweeten events this year

After a wedding season steeped in uncertainty, we think it’s time to focus on something sweet–namely, cake trends. While this year may yet be left up to the fates, brides can take comfort in knowing that their local bakers are spotting the budding confection trends on the rise, creating cakes to be admired and enjoyed by any number of guests, whether ample or sparse. To discuss some of these trends, we spoke with Amanda Schonberg of Chef Schonberg’s Sweets for a glimpse into the wedding cake world.

“As far as wedding styles and trends go, I definitely think with everything going on, micro-weddings are pretty popular,” says Schonberg. “You actually have people who are getting smaller cakes, and then more individualized desserts.”

Smaller and individualized desserts like petit fours and cupcakes make for a great way to reduce the labor you’d put into cutting a full-size wedding cake.

“One thing I noticed becoming really popular is that brides are pulling away from really decadent decorations,” says Schonberg. “It’s more the minimalistic, less-is-more approach. The naked cakes are really popular. People love that farm-to-table feel.”

Incorporating natural elements like florals are another way to achieve this look, but Schonberg offers brides an additional option to freshen up their cakes.

“Florals are a big trend, but I’ve noticed that a lot of the brides who like the minimalistic look actually go for the edible flowers,” says Schonberg. “There is a local farmer here who we get our edible flowers from, and those are awesome because not only do they look pretty, but you actually get to eat them.”

For Schonberg, incorporating texture through things like florals offers a bonus pinch of color to an otherwise basic cake.

“This year Pantone chose two Colors of the Year,” says Schonberg. “It’s a beautiful yellow and a beautiful gray that has that gothic and slightly modern feel. I’m definitely seeing a lot more people add color to their cakes via edible gold leaf, or those Pantone Colors of the Year, and they really pop.”

After last year, boozy cakes are also on-trend for 2021. Fortunately, Schonberg has some expertise in that area.

“Because we specialize in alcohol-infused cakes, we have a lot more people who are going for those flavors,” says Schonberg. “So they have something that’s different as opposed to just vanilla or chocolate. You see more people going with the Champagne cakes or the rose and bourbon cakes.”


To see more of Chef Schonberg’s creations, visit chefschonberg.com.

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