Square Wedding Cake Display Options
Essentially, and as with most wedding cake designs, there are five display options for a square wedding cake:
A simple single standalone cake - perfect for any wedding where the guests are small in number.
Stack a number of square wedding cakes atop one another to create an imposing focul point - ideal for a traditional wedding with a large number of guests.
Use pillars to add height to a tiered square wedding cake - if you thought the stacked wedding cake was imposing, just wait till you see this one!
A tiered wedding cake, but stagger the tiers on individual stands at differing heights, or on an elaborate single stand designed for such a purpose. This visually creates more 'depth' to the cake and allows for more decorative items to be placed on top (but obviously adds to the expense!)
Serve individual square wedding cake portions to each of the guests - a contemporary twist on the norm.
Square Wedding Cake Decoration & Flavour
As well as the cake display option, you will also need to consider both the decoration and taste aspects up front.
Cake flavour is very much an individual preference and you are only really limited by your imagination and the skill-set of your cake maker. From a simple jam and buttercream filling to something more elaborate like a whisky and honey flavouring, there are a world of options out there. For more ideas, be sure to check out our wedding cake tastes & flavours articles.
Decoration-wise, you'll be pleased to know that the square wedding cake is one of the easiest of all shapes to decorate. Once iced, its uniform shape allows you to easily adorn it with any number of designs, motifs, flowers, figurines and alike. For advice and tips on this front, our wedding cake decoration articles are packed with ideas and are well worth checking out.
How to Ice a Square Wedding Cake
For those planning to make their own square wedding cake or who are making it on behalf of a friend or relative, it's crucial that you know how to ice the cake. Whilst buttercream, royal icing, fudge icing and more are used, the chances are that sugarpaste icing (also known as 'fondant icing', 'regal icing' or 'ready-roll icing') will be the order of the day. For the less-experienced, icing a square wedding cake in sugarpaste icing can be tricky to master, so to help you out, here's our handy guide:
1. Once the square wedding cake has been cut to size, cover the sides with a thin layer of buttercream icing, making sure to add a little extra to the corners before covering the top with any excess.
2. Roll the sugarpaste icing to around 1/4 of an inch thick, then place it centrally on top of the cake, wrapping a little around a rolling pin first to help lift it. There should be sufficient icing to form a 'skirt' all the way around the cake which overlaps the base by around 1 to 2 inches. Proceed to rub the palm of your hand over the top to smooth out any bubbles.
3. With your hand cupped, gently press the icing into the cake at each corner pulling it in and smoothing it out. Once the corners are done, repeat the process for the sides of the cake, pushing from the top, and using circular motions, to get any air out. With ths side of your hand, making a line all the way along each side of the square wedding cake. Make sure you smooth each corner as you reach it and repeat until you are content with the finish.
4. With a flat edge cake smoother, smooth the top and sides of the cake once more, this time pressing down firmly with the cake smoother at the base of the icing top create a cutting line - using a flat knife then trim this excess away cutting as close to the cake as you dare! Again using the flat-edge cake smoother, go around the sides and corners of the square wedding cake flattening anywhere necessary
