This weekend my husband and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary, so we thought we'd participate in an age-old tradition: eating the top layer of our wedding cake a year later. It almost didn't happen, though.
A couple of months ago, when we were packing up our then apartment, I was cleaning out the freezer and came across something neither of us recognized. In fact, my husband suggested we throw the box away when it hit me -- it was the top of our wedding cake! The exterior was a little sad -- smashed to be exact -- but the cake itself was pretty moist and didn't taste half bad. The frosting could have used some help, though, but what did we expect after a year in the icebox?
1 With a little freezer burn and the piping a mess, we nervously started to dig into our cake.
2 The first (and only) slice was cut. You can actually see the indents on the top where our cake topper was placed.
3 The frosting didn't hold up so well, but the cake was in pretty good shape (and taste).
4 Here is a not so attractive shot of me taking the first bite.
5 After I gave the sign of approval, my husband Ryan took a bite.
6 Here is the beautiful cake Ryan bought us (fresh) from our favorite bakery here in NYC.
7 Delicious and fresh!!!
8 The winner is -- the new cake -- but I did enjoy the tradition of trying our wedding cake one year later.
I'm pretty sure it was good planning that helped our cake hold up so well. If you want to share delicious wedding cake post-nuptials, like we did, have your caterer or baker take the top of the layer off right away (after the cutting of course), wrap it well, and then freeze it immediately. This may mean your parents keep the cake in their freezer for a little while, especially since your honeymoon suite probably doesn't have a fully stocked kitchen, but they won't mind. Our baker wrapped ours in plastic wrap several times, then we put it in a plastic bag, froze it immediately, and promptly forgot about it. It doesn't get any easier than that.
And just in case it was terrible, my husband bought a beautiful new cake for us to share. It was delicious and super sweet of him. How many of you are planning to save the top of your cake for your one year anniversary?
From: Sandy Ervin | 9/27/10 at 12:33 pm
Our top layer didn't survive the power outages caused by Hurricane Ike, so my mother surprised us on our anniversary - she called the baker and asked them to replicate the top for us!
From: Jenn Andrlik | 9/27/10 at 12:50 pm
Sandy, I'm so sorry to hear that, but that was so sweet of your mom to do that for you and your husband. And looking back on it, I'm sure it's a nice story to tell given the circumstances.
From: Krystle Phillips | 9/27/10 at 2:20 pm
Our 1 year anniversary is this Saturday and we plan on eating the top half of our cake also! We wrapped our cake and bagged it immediately! I plan on getting another cake as well so we can have a fresh taste!
From: Rachel - theWeddingVine | 9/27/10 at 2:26 pm
Aww thats so cute! Its great that the cake was still good after a year!
From: princess hightower | 9/29/10 at 8:27 am
I ate the top of my wedding cake and I am still happily married going on sixteen years not without it's ups and downs but still together.
From: Cynthia | 10/23/10 at 10:07 pm
While it is a wonderful tradition,I never heard of anyone that actually enjoyed the taste of it one year later! Great post and pictures