Summer Wedding Cake

Five ways to give your cake some summertime flair.

1. Summer Flavors

Summer Wedding Cake

Pick a wedding cake that summons a taste of summer with in-season berries and fruits. Instead of traditional buttercream filling, consider a fresh raspberry puree filling or a lemon cake with blackberry filling. If you love chocolate cake but still want a taste that reflects the season, try a chocolate cake filled with chocolate cherry ganache.

2. Seasonal Colors

Summer Wedding Cake

Color counts when designing a summer wedding cake, and you can't go wrong with a palette of preppy white, navy, and cherry red or a bold and bright mix of pink and green. For a more subdued look, add a hint of summer color with a simple chocolate ganache-covered cake with subtle white dots, or an ivory buttercream cake trimmed in light yellow. Or let the summer colors pop with an ivory cake accented with sugar-molded honeybees or birds.

3. Summer Blooms

Flowers can go a long way in defining a summer theme for your wedding cake. Match the cake to your bouquet by asking your baker to create sugar versions of your wedding day flowers. If you're considering modern decor, make a statement by having your baker add a few large graphic sugar peonies on each cake tier. For a more classic look, find out whether your baker can paint small sunflowers along your cake using an edible dye.

4. Shapes and Add-ons

When it comes to a summer cake, flowers, butterflies, and other elements made out of chocolate, sugar, or gum paste are obvious options. But you don't have to go overboard with these add-ons to get a summertime look. Instead, consider a white cake stacked with subtle, soft white hydrangeas with just a hint of blue or green. The tone-on-tone look will up the elegant factor and still give you the same seasonal effect.

5. Choose Seasonal Sides

Whether you're already set on a cake design or you've decided to take your cake in a not-so-seasonal direction, consider offering a summer-inspired side with your cake. Serve cake a la mode with gourmet lavender-infused ice cream; add a handful of chocolate-covered strawberries to each plate; or have your caterer present each guest with a petite serving of summer peach cobbler topped with a dollop of fresh cream.

Summer Wedding Cake