Move on over sugar flowers! Did you even know that flowers can be made out of wafer paper?
Wafer paper (some call it rice paper, although that’s a thinner version. I use wafer paper as it’s bit tougher) is as versatile a material/ ingredient as sugar paste for making decorations.
Wafer Paper Flowers
While wafer paper is technically edible, it would actually just dissolve on your tongue before you got to eat it. For flowers to go on a modern wedding cake though, I’d say it’s more edible than sugar flowers, unless you like breaking your teeth on your food?! Of course, I am absolutely not slating sugar flowers. I think there is definitely a place for a more modern looking sugar flower. Lot’s of modern wedding cakes still have them and look amazing. Even urban wedding cakes have a softer edge. But wafer paper flowers are much more unusual and are so thin and light! Wafer paper flowers are harder to make and the paper has to be treated with glycerin before you can fold it or it’ll just crack.
Anyway, moving away from all the technical stuff, the great thing about wafer paper is you can colour it, paint it, cut it, tear it, paper mache it, layer it up, texture it and put it in your edible ink printer and print on to it. That’s really why I love it. And moving away from the tradition of putting flowers on cakes, which I am, there is the possibility of so many other decorations, made of wafer paper.
Wafer Paper Origami
I recently made an origami wedding cake. It was a big hit because a lot of brides thought it was traditionally untraditional. White, but with an alternative idea for decorations. So, pleasing for the Mum’s and Gran’s whilst impressing the cool friends at the wedding. I’m constantly working on my wafer paper origami techniques and want to do more folding… watch this space for future projects…
3D Wafer Paper Shapes
Folded wafer paper can make some amazing shapes too. You could even have 3D gems on your wedding cake made of wafer paper. Probably the pioneer of wafer paper cakes Stevi Auble from Hey There, Cupcake is my inspiration. She makes amazing things from wafer paper. Wedding cakes in London and wedding tends in general are definitely behind the trailblazers in The US and Australia, particularly with cakes. So if you’re looking for what’s coming next in the world of weddings, styling or wedding cakes, get on over to some of their wedding blogs. Farewell Fiance is a favourite from Australia.
I do feel, more and more, that part of my job is to open people’s eyes to the possibilities of what can be done with different ingredients for cakes. I want people to be inspired by what you can do, aside from the traditional, to have an amazing, unique and bespoke wedding cake on your big day. I hope this post goes some way towards inspiring you!
Personally, and I say this all the time, I want to get married again (to the same fantastic man, of course) so I can have wafer paper decorations on my wedding cake!
