Monday, September 20, 2010

Wedding Cake Inspiration from the Southern Mountains


It's no secret. I love me some mountains. I've lived in them all of my life and studied mountain tourism at the graduate level. They're in my soul. So when I see wedding trends related to mountain traditions I want to leap for joy and do cartwheels in the living room. Woohoo! Lately I've noticed rustic brides and foodies alike opting for a stack cake look for wedding cakes, including cake-buffet cakes.

Stack cakes are a tradition in the southern mountains, and are generally made of six (or so) thin layers of apple spice cake stacked up like a big plate of pancakes. Dried apples are tucked between each layer, and some variations include using apple butter in between layers.



There are two stories I've seen floating around regarding the origins of the Appalachian stack cake. One is a play on impoverished hillbilly stereotypes. The story goes that Appalachian people were too poor to afford an entire wedding cake and each guest bring a single layer. Another is that the James Harrod brought the cake back from Kentucky via the Wilderness Road in 1774.

Whatever it's origins, modern brides and bakers are offering their own twist on this Appalachian classic, and I've loving every bit of it.

Enjoy! 
~Hindsight Bride



Image from The Kitchn 


 Left Image from OnceWed; Right Image from Catherine O'Brien via Love and Lavender 

 

Image from The Kitchn


 
Image from Smitten Kitchen

Image from Project Wedding


Image from The Kitchn

6 comments:

  1. This is a great post - these natural, layered cakes look divine!

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  2. LOVE the green cake with daisies!

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  3. I had never heard of this idea before, but I love it. I think the story is cute. My favorite one is the chocolate cake, with all the icing in between all the layers.

    www.cdycattle.blogspot.com

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  4. Wow! Those wedding cake are really unique and cool. Love it! Also, this is good for wedding cake alternatives. Thumbs up for this.

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  5. Wow! This is really interesting. Those wedding cakes are really awesome and cute.

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