A friend of mine told me she attended a wedding, 200 guests, at a 5 star hotel locally. She said when they went to serve the wedding cake, it was a dummy cake covered in fondant. When the bride and groom went to cut the cake the person from the hotel pointed to where they should cut the cake - which she said was the only piece of real cake in the entire dummy cake. After cutting this real piece, the dummy cake was taken to the back and two tiered buttercream cakes were cut and served. I'm only asking because I've heard of dummy cakes and having cakes in the kitchen to cut and serve but have you heard of a real piece of cake inserted into one of the dummy tiers for the bride/groom? It just sounded a little strange to me but maybe that is how it is done.

I've heard of that...it's so absurd!

http://artofdessert.blogspot.com/2008/12/have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too-fake.html

They sell the kits with instructions, too.

Yes its true. i work in a 5 star hotel, and this is something a lot of hotels do. (our hotel makes our cakes 100% edible, so no dummies here) hehe. But i've been to sister properties and this is what they do.

This is the blog about the place that makes some of them.

http://blog.cakesconfidential.com/

Not sure how people think this is more economical. You still have to design it, and still make the other cakes. I've read way too many forums and bakeries websites; that tell you to charge more for dummies.

It gets worse. There are lots of places where you can rent them now.

http://www.cakerental.com/order.html

http://www.simplyfakecakes.com/why.htm

http://www.fakecakesbycatherine.com/2.html

I agree with CupQuequito. I'm not sure how using a dummy cake is cheaper unless the decorator has several premade ones that are rented and then returned for other brides to use. I think using dummy tiers to give the illusion of a bigger cake is ok, but I'm not into this dummy wedding cake thing.

Wow, I had NO idea this is how some people do their wedding cakes today! I too thought it would be more expensive and I never thought a 5 star hotel would do that (it was the hotel that did the cake because they required it if the reception was there). Well, I learned something new today. thanks for the information.

I don't know why, but I'm offended by the idea of a rented cake. Is it surrounded by rented flowers? Is the bride wearing a rented dress? Is the rest of the food rented? There must be a market for it though.

My cousin was going to use a dummy cake with the one real slice in it and then have sheet cake in the back to serve. But she decided in the end to have a real cake. I had never heard of it till she mentioned it.

This has been around for many many years.. They would be made out of royal icing on stryofoam and royal or gumpaste flowers. "back in the day LOL" no fondant at that time. They would rent them out and serve the sheet cakes, usually each slice of cake would have a rose bud or detail to personalize. When I went to Wilton School in Chicago (many,many years ago) I had the honor of going to Mr Wilton (son's) bakery and watch him make a pulled sugar cake (unbelievable experience) he had many dummy cakes for rent and said it was the norm in that area.

Ha - this is funny because I stumbled into Duff (Charm city cakes) in Philly one day, yeah just stumbled into him. We were talking and I mentioned that I had a quote to create a unique cake and the Bride and Groom just wanted two slices of cake to cut into, so I was to create the entire (rest) of the cake out of whatever to save (them) money. Duff mentioned that in Japan they have been doing this for years. They have these huge elaborate dummy cakes where they place two slices of cake for cutting- and they are rented. My reaction - Really, what's that cost! Sorry, my mind started spinning - unfortunately, the bill collectors only take $$, so I actually thought that was an interesting idea - but never did it. But, I guess that is becoming a big thing here in the states as well. Everybody's trying to find ways of saving a $$$ - that's life I guess. Take Care - Cakesmith.

In Ecuador, where my sister makes cakes, a wedding cake is not important at all. They usually don't appear in wedding photos. There's no "ceremony" of cutting the cake. Most of the time, there's a fake one as a decoration on a corner (most brides don't even bother ). They do candy buffets with homemade truffles and other small pastries.

But, each person invited to the wedding gets to take home a little box with wedding cake on it, usually fruit cake (don't know how that got to be). So a person who makes "wedding cakes" over there will actually be in charge of making a sheet fruit cake of some sort, putting a 1.5" by 1.5" in each tiny box (naked cake, no frosting or fondant), tying it with a ribbon, etc... times 200. A lot of work, but not that stressful.

I don't make wedding cakes but have made a few tiered cakes covered in fondant and everytime they are cut into slices it becomes quite an ugly affair. And at one of the kids parties I attened and actually brought the cake to, we were wondering at weddings how:

1.They cut an entire cake up in enough time to serve all the guests?

2. How they cut the cake covered in fondant without it looking like someone took a chainsaw to it?

I have heard of sheet cakes being made by the same baker who made the tiered cakes and having those sliced and ready to go out to guests...but then doesn't the rest of tiered cake in the reception hall go to waste?

So when I read this post I kinda thought it was a great idea. You don't have to worry about anything collapsing on the way to the event, or cutting a 4 tiered cake at the venue.

While the dummy cake seems like a waste...its really a showcase of decorating talent and a work of art.

I would think the cost of a wedding cake served this way would be about the same price as the cake being the actual tiers. You still have to bake everything, you still have to decorate everything. This way its just seperate.

I making my sisters 30th birthday cake on a dummy. One she wants to save it, and she is having her party at the beach so its hard to sit and cut everything up. I am making cupcakes for the guests. In this case it is a lot more work, but its nice I can work on the dummy cake weeks in advance before baking and stacking and I am not rushing the night before to finish everything.

There is a shop in my area that rents gowns and bridesmaid dresses as well.

And I have done the dummy cake with the real cake slices in it for the cutting ceremony lots of times. I even did it for my own daughter because I was making a "showpiece" that I wanted to have on display the entire reception! I made 3 double-layer sheet cakes. each a different flavor, for the caterer to serve. Several weeks after the wedding I took the cake to a cake show!

Sure, it doesn't really save any money because they are paying for "cake" twice, but sometimes a dummy cake just fits the situation the best. Any way you look at it, we make money on it!

I don't see a problem with renting anything. It's one day out of an entire lifetime.

*shrug*

I wouldn't do it but lots of people would.

In my area a simple 3 tier real cake costs $650.
My faux 3 tier cakes rent for $100.
Since all I make are faux cakes I am able to keep my costs down.
A bride is able to save hundreds of dollars.
Renting a faux cake really depends on the traditions in your particular area.
Real cakes are not that important in my area. Those brides that have them made are disappointed in the end because most of it is uneaten. Dessert is included in the menu package and the cake is extra. It is not even eaten later in the evening during the midnight buffet.

I'm not surprised by this trend. With the economy the way that it is- people will be looking for ways to cut costs. People may want to do things more simply and economically. Why not rent a cake? Why not rent a gown? Who wears their wedding grown again? Yes, you could pass it on to a daughter, but it may not fit or be too deteriorated or out of style.

I make dummy cakes for practice and I can see how this would be a good alternative for some people. Real cake is great but it may not be the best choice for everyone.

What about Buddy or someone like him offering their cakes through a catalog? If the price is competitive, they could be a viable alternative for those who want a cake made by a celebrity.

I can see how having a dummy cake for a wedding could have some benefits. If you have an outdoor wedding in the summer or if you want perishable fillings in your cake. Then if you have a decorated dummy cake instead, it could be a centerpiece for display during the whole event.

[quote="dsilvest"
Real cakes are not that important in my area. Those brides that have them made are disappointed in the end because most of it is uneaten. Dessert is included in the menu package and the cake is extra. It is not even eaten later in the evening during the midnight buffet.[/quote]

I'm curious as to why they are uneaten. If it's a delicious cake I can't imagine anyone turning their nose up.

I did a grooms cake with a large kitchen cake to go with it and I heard later through one of the guests there that my cake was the one that was entirely consumed...there were leftovers on the wedding cake (I didn't do that one).
Taste has to be a factor, right?

It usually isn't eaten because there is a dupliction of desserts. The venue serves the dessert that is included with the package and the cake usually sits as a decoration. When it is cut people are soooo stuffed from the meal that they don't eat it. I talked to a mom recently who spent $800+ on a cake and only 9 pieces were eaten. It isn't as big a deal here as it is in the US. I am not sure it has to do with taste so much as the duplication of dessert for the guests.

Wedding cakes here aren't really eaten either. Usually there is another dessert (which I think it stupid but a lot of people do it) and then the meal is big enough that no one is hungry for cake. I think people just don't think about the cake as being dessert.

I like IndyDebi's suggestion to do the cutting ceremony early- even before dinner. Then a real cake can go off to be cut and served after dinner. Less concern for perishable fillings, esp outside. As some above said, this would work great with a fake also!