How to Choose the Perfect Engagement Cake: Top Picks You Can't Miss
+15 Irresistible Engagement Cake Ideas You Need to Sample Before Finalising Yours, along with expert inputs!
We all wish to have the best-looking cake to cut at our engagement party. Right? With so many bakery trends, bakery concepts, and our personal preferences, the choices are ample to confuse us more. Fret not, because we make selecting the best engagement cake designs for your ceremony easier! From simple, unique to modern concepts of India's finest bakers, here's a gallery that will help you find your dream cake. We also invited two celebrated bakers in India, Chef Shikha Murarka, Owner of Mishmash Bakery, and Chef Shaily Sanghavi, Founder of The Next Door Baker, to discuss key points while finalising the right cake designs for the engagement ceremony. So, before you book that cake-tasting appointment, here's a read that will come in handy.
Table of Content:
- Choosing the Right Cake for Your Engagement
- Simple Engagement Cake Designs
- Unique Engagement Cake Designs
- Modern Engagement Cake Designs
- FAQs about Engagement Cake Designs
Choosing the Right Cake for Your Engagement
Don't just pick a cake that you spotted at the bakery just because it looked cute. Consider the following factors before finalising on the ideal engagement design cake for you:
1. Pin Your Favourites
Sit with a cup of coffee and look through the Pinterest galleries and bakers' pages to pin down the designs you like the most. Maybe find the best 20 and then narrow it down to your top 4-5 picks. This way, you can find out the kind of cake design you and your fiancé would love to have at your engagement party.
2. Engagement Party Theme
We are sure that before sitting down for the cake selection, you might have discussed the theme and decor of your engagement party with your wedding planner. The cake design should ideally be in sync with the theme and decor of the venue to look like it is part of the celebrations and not a last-minute food order.
3. Match the Colour
While finalizing the colour palette of your cake, keep in mind the colour schemes of your engagement dresses and the decor. You can surely select cake colours that contrast with and complement your ensembles and decor.
4. Size Matters
Your baker will be able to help you determine the best weight and size of your cake based on the guest count. Depending on your wedding budget, you can customise the design according to your taste and the ingredients used.
5. Listen to Your Baker!
And lastly, you might have the wildest idea of an engagement cake design, but if your baker has some inputs to share that might slightly alter your concept to make it work in bringing the cake to life, you would want to listen to the experts to save your cake from turning into a disaster. You don't want a leaning tower of Pisa for your 3 tier engagement cake!
Simple Engagement Cake Designs
If you are looking for minimalism in your engagement cake designs, we have some elegant options. Check out our top preferences below:
- This two-tier off-white decadent cake with pearl-like textured patterns, a hint of gold, and glass-like edible Gulmohar flowers is an elegant choice for your engagement cake ceremony.
- When two hearts decide to beat for each other, it is time to celebrate with a heart-shaped cake! For those looking to treat their guests to soft cake with lots of frosting, you can opt for a pristine white heart-shaped cake.
- Want to complement your pink decoration theme? This pink rose-themed two-tier cake has been decorated with edible pearls, real pink roses and a 'Just Engaged' tag to keep the design elegant yet attractive.
- You can also opt for a three-tiered cake with the base in marble effect, the middle in forest green fondant, and the top tier in glossy gold with a giant white lily flower to make it engagement-ready.
- If you are searching for a simple engagement cake that can match the extravagance of your wedding celebrations, opt for a textured six-tier cake with a gilded giant bow and a simple carnation on the top tier, which is all the embellishments you need for a magnificent cake design.
Unique Engagement Cake Designs
Some engagement cake designs are out of the box and one of a kind. If you also want to bring a wow factor to your engagement celebrations, here’s a list of unique engagement cake design ideas and inspiration to take notes from:
- How about a unique three-tier engagement cake design, unlike your usual cake styles? The middle tier could be all glass, while the other two tiers have a black base and gold-painted geometric design patterns. For added drama, golden edible balls in different shapes can be added as the finishing touch.
- You can choose a unique multi-tier cake design to celebrate the official union of two love birds. The peach ombre-style engagement cake celebrates the eternal bond, with the couple's initials etched on the top tier, love birds, Victorian rosette appliqué work, and strings of stones decorating it.
- If traditional cake flavours are not your style, celebrate your union by treating everyone to some Mithai! This cake will not be your regular vanilla or chocolate cake, but a fusion of Rasmalai and Roshogulla with real flower decoration to give it its unique design.
- Cinderella's carriage can take a unique turn and magically transform into a giant engagement cake instead. When this six-tier massive all-white cake is brought to the engagement party venue, all eyes will be on it!
Modern Engagement Cake Designs
From edible prints to modern techniques for creating unique designs, here’s a list of engagement cake designs that are trendy, edgy, and quite a statement maker at engagement celebrations:
- You can keep it simple and sophisticated with a two-tier engagement cake design. The base off-white layer can be decorated with gold stripes for a 3D effect, and the top tier can have the couple's initials and edible flowers in fondant, adding to the cake's beauty.
- How about a simple white cake with floral decor? Get your photos printed on fondant in edible ink or work with an artist to create a digital image that can be placed in the front of the cake for a personalised touch.
- If not, you can ask your baker to create caricatures of you two in fondant. For couples with a knack for music, a karaoke-themed cake can make the best engagement cake design for their celebrations.
- Your guests won't be able to stop themselves from clicking photographs of a beautiful swan paradise cake design in baby pink hues. Edible flowers, leaves, a swan couple and butterflies will go very well against your engagement party's yellow and beige decoration.
FAQs about Engagement Cake Designs
Chef Shikha Murarka, Owner of Mishmash Bakery, and Chef Shaily Sanghavi, Founder of The Next Door Baker, share some important factors that will help you arrange a fabulous cake for your engagement party without any 'when life gives you lemons' lessons in between. Look at what these professionals from the patisserie industry of India have to say about engagement cakes and weddings!
1. How far in advance should I order an engagement cake?
A: Sanghavi says, "It ranges anywhere between 3 days and 3 months. Entirely dependent on the complexity of the cake and on the personal preference of the client." Murarka says, "4 days at least for best results. Wedding Cakes are a piece of art, and art takes time."
2. What is the best size for an engagement cake?
A: Sanghavi adds, "There’s no right answer in my opinion. A lot of couples want an engagement cake for ceremonial cutting and photos, and put it away, wanting to serve everyone a big dessert buffet. So the smallest possible size would be two tiers, approximately 4 kilos." Murarka emphasises the weight and suggests, "Ideally, 5 Kgs works well for the height and cake to look pretty."
3. How much does an engagement cake cost?
A: The basic price range in India goes as follows:
- Simple custom cakes (1–2 kg): ₹1,000 – ₹2,500
- Designer cakes with fondant, themes, or tiers (2–5 kg): ₹3,000 – ₹8,000
- Luxury/customized multi-tier cakes: ₹10,000 – ₹30,000+
This, however, can be affected by multiple factors like the size and weight of the cake, ingredients and flavours chosen, the complexity of design and the brand value!
4. What flavours are best for an engagement cake?
A: Sanghavi recommends, "Crowd-pleasing flavours are what most people pick. We also advise couples to pick flavours that don’t clash with the existing dessert buffet. Chocolate, fruits and nuts are the most chosen options. While these are basics, we always recommend our best-selling flavours to them despite what may be on their dessert menu."
5. How do I transport and store my engagement cake?
A: Both experts confirm that only an AC car should transport engagement and wedding cakes to the wedding venue. The cake should be stored in an air-conditioned room or a big refrigerator at the venue until ready for the cutting ceremony.
6. Should the engagement cake match the wedding theme?
A: Murarka shares, "This totally depends on the couple, but if it matches the decor or something with the clothes, it just adds that extra factor."
With all these options and more clarity on going forward with selecting the right cake design for the engagement ceremony, we are sure that you are all set to ask the right questions and find your dream cake in no time! Speaking of cakes, if you are still clueless about finalising the dessert menu for your wedding, here's our ultimate guide to planning a wedding dessert menu from which you can get help.
