Grooms' Cakes Making a Comeback at Utah Weddings

Online, February 10, 2011 (Newswire.com) - When it comes to weddings, an old, long-lost tradition is making a modern comeback in Utah. Julie Hill, owner of the Bountiful custom-cake company, Layers, says her business is seeing a huge increase in requests for grooms' cakes.

"Years ago, whenever there was a wedding, you were likely to find a bride's cake and a groom's cake. The groom's cake was usually sliced, boxed up and sent home with guests. Legend has it that if the unmarried women guest slept with it under their pillow, they would dream of their future husband that night. The tradition died out for awhile, although it still had life in the South. In the past, a groom's cake was usually a fruit cake or a richer flavored cake like chocolate," Hill said.

Hill notes that in the past, these cakes were usually conventional looking, unlike the cakes she's been creating lately. "The modern trend with a groom's cake is to have it reflect the groom's interests, hobbies, favorite sport or something the couple enjoys doing together," she says. Recently, Hill has produced grooms' cakes that are lifelike pastry reproductions of cowboy boots, sushi, a trout and a pizza box with a slice of pizza and a sugar root beer bottle.

So, what's the modern protocol when it comes to a groom's cake? Hill says, "The groom's cake can be displayed and served at the rehearsal or at the reception alongside the wedding cake. However, care should be taken to not let the groom's cake upstage the wedding cake-which almost always happens. So, I advise most brides to display the two cakes on separate tables. The cake can be served at the reception as an alternative dessert, or as a late dessert for the wedding party and family. It can also be boxed up and sent home with guests as a wedding favor. In Utah, I've found that most brides like to surprise their groom with the cake as a special gift at the reception."

Hill received a law degree from the University of California-Berkeley. She practiced law for eight years but says she always loved to bake. She discovered that baking was her true passion, and founded Layers in 2008. Hill works out of a studio in her Bountiful home, and she says the business is growing so quickly she has plans to expand the space. "Designing and baking cakes is what I love to do. I am so happy to be doing what I'm doing," she says.

Basic cake designs range from $4.50 to $5 per serving and there's a minimum of $100 per cake. This means a sculpted cake would start at $100 and go from there depending upon the complexity of the design and size of the cake. Delivery is free within a 20-mile radius.

For more information on Layers, visit www.layers-cake.com or call (801)699-5987.