Russian wedding cake traditions
or
why I couldn't have a pink sheet cake
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When I was in college, my roommate said that he had a dream that I was getting married. But what he remembered form the dream was there was a pink sheet cake at the wedding. Fast forward a couple+ decades and I tell my bride that the only thing I want at the wedding is a pink sheet cake. She is incredulous but goes along with the idea.
However, when she tells her mom, she gets the third degree. When she tells the baker, the baker tells her that it would be against custom to have a sheet cake at the wedding. Sheet cakes have sharp edges and that could cut us in the future (as if a cake decides our destiny). So we discuss it and decide that we would have a normal wedding cake with penguin toppers on the first day.
Because Russians celebrate weddings over 2 days, the second day we would have a pink sheet cake. But again, something gets lost in the translation. Don’t we want layers and filling? So we ended up with a layered pistachio cake with chocolate ganache filling and a Mickey and Minnie Mouse topper. I hope my roommate and friend isn’t too disappointed.
More Cake Traditions from Russia
The bride and groom are responsible for cutting the cake together. This leaves the wedding cake in a mess, mostly. During the dinner after the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom then auction off the cake, usually netting between 50 and 100 Rubles per slice (between $1 and $2 roughly).
Check out the video of us cutting the second cake below.
However, when she tells her mom, she gets the third degree. When she tells the baker, the baker tells her that it would be against custom to have a sheet cake at the wedding. Sheet cakes have sharp edges and that could cut us in the future (as if a cake decides our destiny). So we discuss it and decide that we would have a normal wedding cake with penguin toppers on the first day.
Because Russians celebrate weddings over 2 days, the second day we would have a pink sheet cake. But again, something gets lost in the translation. Don’t we want layers and filling? So we ended up with a layered pistachio cake with chocolate ganache filling and a Mickey and Minnie Mouse topper. I hope my roommate and friend isn’t too disappointed.
More Cake Traditions from Russia
The bride and groom are responsible for cutting the cake together. This leaves the wedding cake in a mess, mostly. During the dinner after the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom then auction off the cake, usually netting between 50 and 100 Rubles per slice (between $1 and $2 roughly).
Check out the video of us cutting the second cake below.