Is There a Tradition for Engagement Cakes?
You would normally be aware of what wedding cakes are and what are their roles at weddings; however, do you know anything about engagement cakes? Where does the tradition for engagement cakes originate from? What type of filling, icing and design should engagement cakes have? Most important of all where do you get these cakes made?
What Are Engagement Cakes?
The tradition for engagement cakes is a recent trend. Usually an engagement party does not need one; however, since most celebration have a cake (consider birthdays, graduation, weddings, baby showers, etc) some people like to have one at this type of party as well.
The engagement cake is usually a simple cake, more often than not baked by either set of the parents. If the party is informal and the cake is ordered, it is usually flat, simple and bearing inscriptions such as 'congratulations - names of the engaged couple', with fun doodles on it or simply with many icing flowers on it.
What Type of Cake Should You Have?
That of course, mainly depends upon your personal choice because there is no hard and fast rule or custom that governs engagement cakes. You should only be careful to have an appropriate cake when the engagement party is a formal one. Otherwise, any type of cake that gives you utmost pleasure would do.
Many couples use this occasion to 'taste' their wedding cake. For example, they choose the confectioner whom they plan to use for the wedding and use the engagement cake as an opportunity to check out the quality and taste of the different types of cakes they offer. For this purpose the cake would be either multilayered consisting of the types of cakes the couple wanted to know about, or are composite cakes for the same purpose. This is a splendid way to find out which would be the best choice for the wedding day.
Sometimes, the tasting of the cake would become an important part of the engagement celebrations - as the couple would gather feedback of the guests regarding the cake served - information which would influence their choice for the wedding cake.
What If There Is No Cake?
Since in realty there is no tradition for engagement cakes, if you do not feel comfortable with the idea or the expense of having a cake that is completely okay. Most of the people would never even miss it. Instead of worrying about the cake, you need to let your hair down and enjoy the party that marks one of the most important decisions in your life.
