A Glossary Of Wedding Cake Terms

Confused between royal and butter icing? What is a ganache supposed to be? Is this actually something that can be eaten? Well, don't worry your pretty head if you don't understand wedding cake lingo. Here's a glossary of wedding cake terms to help you out.

Almond Paste: A paste made from ground almonds and sugar, with egg whites used optionally. This paste is used to make cake decorations. Almond paste is also known by the name of marzipan.

Basketweave: This is a type of cake decoration where icing is used to make a woven basket like pattern on the wedding cake.

Butter Icing: An icing made from butter, sugar, and milk. This is a cream coloured icing, but can be made in different colours using food colouring.

Candy Dough: This is a mixture of cream of tartar, tragacanth gum, sugar, and water. This dough is used to make cake decorations and is also referred to as gum paste.

Castor Sugar: A type of sugar that has granules bigger than powdered sugar but much smaller than regular grain sugar.

Dragees: These are small balls of sugar that can be coated with chocolate, or silver and gold colours. They are used to decorate wedding cakes.

Food Colouring: Dyes that can be used to change the colour of various foods. These dyes can be eaten and do not change the taste to a noticeable extent.

Ganache: This is a mixture of chocolate and cream. It can either be used as a filling in the cake or for icing the wedding cake.

Lattice Work: This is a way of icing wedding cakes in a criss-cross pattern, making it look like a lattice.

Meringue: Castor sugar and egg white is beaten together to add air to the mixture, which is known as meringue. The meringue is then shaped and dried in an oven to hold the shape.

Profiteroles: These are small balls made from pastry dough and are usually filled with whipped cream and covered with chocolate sauce.

Royal Icing: An icing made from sugar and egg white. The icing is soft when fresh and is piped using a piping bag, but turns hard on drying.