These one-of-a-kind wedding cakes share a sweet secret: They were designed to be replicated. Each one relies on a simple yet exquisite embellishment to take it fantastically over the top. So bring your favorite idea to your baker, or call on a crafty friend, and turn basic layers into a spectacular dessert.
Ka-Bloom!
Our ultra-feminine feat implements the same edible-printing technology used for photo-topped children's birthday cakes—but to a much chicer end. Scan a sample of a floral wallpaper or fabric, and ask your baker (or even supermarket bakery) to print it on a sheet of rice paper. (Or DIY this step at inkedibles.com or ink4cakes.com.) Carefully press the paper onto a buttercream-covered cake, and let it slowly dissolve into the icing, leaving a pristine pattern in its wake. For a 3-D finish, food stylist Jason Schreiber, who created all the confections in this story, made gum-paste flowers and affixed them here and there with royal icing. Premade gum-paste blossoms can be found online; we like the selection at Global Sugar Art.
Shop Now: Fat Daddio's ProSeries Gum Paste, in White, $13 for 2 lb., globalsugarart.com. Hawkins New York Organic Ceramic Cake stand, in Slate (similar to shown), $68, food52.com. Linea Ice Oro Cake Server, from $88, theluxuryartmepra.com.
RYAN LIEBE
Mighty Aphrodite
To awaken the goddess within this almond and chocolate-ganache cake, Schreiber draped it in luxe swoops of Swiss meringue, and brushed gold luster dust onto the real and edible gum-paste leaves crowning each layer. The foliage is tucked among autumnal fruit—we used mini Asian pears, grapes, and Cape gooseberries—but any warm-colored combination will look heavenly.
Shop Nopw: Global Sugar Art Egyptian Gold Luster Dust, $6 for 2 g, globalsugarart.com. White Porcelain Cake Stand, $15, worldmarket.com.
RYAN LIEBE
Small Miracles
Sunny kiwifruit and gooseberries pop against the matte white-chocolate-ganache surfaces of these individual rounds. The minis were cut from one large brown-butter sheet cake—an ingenious time-and money-saving move. The vibrant syrup is made from the juices, and just like your love, it's best when it runneth over.
Shop Now: Crate & Barrel Bennett Round Appetizer Plates, $11 each, crateandbarrel.com.
RYAN LIEBE
Dashed of Brilliance
An ombré cascade of sweet swooshes gives flight to a sleek fondant-covered spice cake. Candy melts (small vanilla or chocolate disks) make quick work of the process, but purists can temper and melt milk and white chocolate, varying the ratio to create a range of tones and flavors. Either way, dollop tablespoons of the melted sweets onto a parchment-paper-covered baking sheet, and smear each one with the back of a spoon. Once they're set, carefully peel them off and affix them with royal icing. Cover a third of the bottom tier, and then add progressively fewer to each remaining level, going from dark to light.
Shop Now: Wilton Candy Melts, $3.50 for 12 oz., wilton.com. BIA Cordon Bleu Small Round Cake Stand, $25, bedbathandbeyond.com.
RYAN LIEBE
One Last Fling
The canvas of this modern oeuvre is a six-layer coconut cake covered in creamy white fondant. To make it, Schreiber flicked food-safe color onto the surface with a small paintbrush. He suggests using five shades of edible art paint, which has a thicker consistency than food coloring. (He promises it's easy to do, but practicing from different distances on a plain sheet of fondant makes perfect, he says.) The high-fashion fascinator on top is an extra-large white crepe-paper flower, secured with wire and splattered with the same edible paints.
Shop Now: Sweet Sticks Edible Art Decorative Cake Paint, $10 for 0.5 oz., amazon.com. Crate & Barrel Marin Large White Cake Stand (similar to shown), $35, crateandbarrel.com.
