Harper Blog

A Guide to Naked Wedding Cakes

A guide to wedding cakes of the naked kind; no icing or frosting, just delicious-naked-cake

The naked wedding cake; a thing of beauty, a delicious wedding cake alternative and a game-changer. Who would have thought that the simple sponge cakes that we loved as children, would one day, end up becoming one of the most talked about wedding cake styles in the wedding industry? We absolutely love seeing a naked wedding cake standing tall at one of our country house wedding venues and we feel that a naked wedding cake just works, regardless of what month or season you choose to tie the knot.

What is a naked wedding cake?

A naked wedding cake is an exposed, layered, sponge wedding cake. A cake that has not been iced, but instead, features layers of jam and buttercream bursting between delicious tiers of sponge; sometimes sprinkled with powdered icing and finished with flowers or fruit.  There’s also the option to have a semi-naked wedding cake: a wedding cake designed along the same lines as a naked wedding cake, but featuring a light layer of frosting on the outside, but still being able to see traces of sponge.

A naked wedding cake suites a variety of different wedding themes, styles and venues. If you’ve booked a rustic wedding venue then a naked wedding cake could compliment your wedding style perfectly. Alternatively, if you’ve booked a summer wedding date then a naked wedding cake decorated with fresh fruit could be ideal.

Decorating a naked wedding cake

There are several ways to decorate a naked wedding cake, but here are Harper’s favourite ideas:
• Fresh berries – such as strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
• Beautiful flowers to compliment the bridal bouquet
• A quirky wedding cake topper such as the word ‘love’ or ‘Mr & Mrs”
• A small bunting-style cake topper on sticks
• A pair of love-birds

Ordering a naked wedding cake

If you’ve made the decision to have a naked wedding cake, it’s probably a good idea to hire a professional to bake the wedding cake for you. Hiring a wedding cake designer to bake and create your naked wedding cake will take the hassle out of having to think about baking, during the run-up to your wedding – along with the potential stress caused by delivering the wedding cake to your venue. Before you order your wedding cake, ensure that you’ve allowed for the cost within your wedding budget. Plus, know in advance how many guests you’ll be inviting to your wedding. The cost of your naked wedding cake will be determined by the number of guests on your list.

In terms of when to order your naked wedding cake – we suggest, the sooner the better. Wedding cake designers can get booked up, so if you’ve secured a wedding date with a venue and you’re sure that you want to order a naked wedding cake, there’s nothing stopping you from speaking to suppliers sooner rather than later. However, unlike a traditional fruit wedding cake that needs to be made several weeks, if not months in advance, a naked wedding cake is generally a basic sponge, so it will probably be baked as close to your wedding as possible, to retain freshness.

When to serve your naked wedding cake?

Most wedding venues, like Harper, will offer a minimum catering package which includes a three course meal, wine and water per person and so on. The idea of cutting your wedding cake and serving it as dessert doesn’t work if you’ve paid for a three course meal, but it could certainly work displayed on your evening buffet. Plus, evening guests wouldn’t want to miss out on tasting your wedding cake, so the evening buffet is the perfect way to display this delightful sweet treat. If you don’t plan on having an evening buffet, we would suggest having your wedding cake cut up and displayed throughout your reception so that hungry guests can help themselves or departing guests can take a slice to eat on the journey home. You wouldn’t want to be left with an entire wedding cake that hasn’t been touched.

Top tip:

Don’t forget to arrange a wedding cake stand and cutting knife if if’s not already included in your wedding package.

A guide to wedding cakes of the naked kind; no icing or frosting, just delicious-naked-cake

The naked wedding cake; a thing of beauty, a delicious wedding cake alternative and a game-changer. Who would have thought that the simple sponge cakes that we loved as children, would one day, end up becoming one of the most talked about wedding cake styles in the wedding industry? We absolutely love seeing a naked wedding cake standing tall at one of our country house wedding venues and we feel that a naked wedding cake just works, regardless of what month or season you choose to tie the knot.

What is a naked wedding cake?

A naked wedding cake is an exposed, layered, sponge wedding cake. A cake that has not been iced, but instead, features layers of jam and buttercream bursting between delicious tiers of sponge; sometimes sprinkled with powdered icing and finished with flowers or fruit.  There’s also the option to have a semi-naked wedding cake: a wedding cake designed along the same lines as a naked wedding cake, but featuring a light layer of frosting on the outside, but still being able to see traces of sponge.

A naked wedding cake suites a variety of different wedding themes, styles and venues. If you’ve booked a rustic wedding venue then a naked wedding cake could compliment your wedding style perfectly. Alternatively, if you’ve booked a summer wedding date then a naked wedding cake decorated with fresh fruit could be ideal.

Decorating a naked wedding cake

There are several ways to decorate a naked wedding cake, but here are Harper’s favourite ideas:
• Fresh berries – such as strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
• Beautiful flowers to compliment the bridal bouquet
• A quirky wedding cake topper such as the word ‘love’ or ‘Mr & Mrs”
• A small bunting-style cake topper on sticks
• A pair of love-birds

Ordering a naked wedding cake

If you’ve made the decision to have a naked wedding cake, it’s probably a good idea to hire a professional to bake the wedding cake for you. Hiring a wedding cake designer to bake and create your naked wedding cake will take the hassle out of having to think about baking, during the run-up to your wedding – along with the potential stress caused by delivering the wedding cake to your venue. Before you order your wedding cake, ensure that you’ve allowed for the cost within your wedding budget. Plus, know in advance how many guests you’ll be inviting to your wedding. The cost of your naked wedding cake will be determined by the number of guests on your list.

In terms of when to order your naked wedding cake – we suggest, the sooner the better. Wedding cake designers can get booked up, so if you’ve secured a wedding date with a venue and you’re sure that you want to order a naked wedding cake, there’s nothing stopping you from speaking to suppliers sooner rather than later. However, unlike a traditional fruit wedding cake that needs to be made several weeks, if not months in advance, a naked wedding cake is generally a basic sponge, so it will probably be baked as close to your wedding as possible, to retain freshness.

When to serve your naked wedding cake?

Most wedding venues, like Harper, will offer a minimum catering package which includes a three course meal, wine and water per person and so on. The idea of cutting your wedding cake and serving it as dessert doesn’t work if you’ve paid for a three course meal, but it could certainly work displayed on your evening buffet. Plus, evening guests wouldn’t want to miss out on tasting your wedding cake, so the evening buffet is the perfect way to display this delightful sweet treat. If you don’t plan on having an evening buffet, we would suggest having your wedding cake cut up and displayed throughout your reception so that hungry guests can help themselves or departing guests can take a slice to eat on the journey home. You wouldn’t want to be left with an entire wedding cake that hasn’t been touched.

Top tip:

Don’t forget to arrange a wedding cake stand and cutting knife if if’s not already included in your wedding package.

The Harper Team

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