Styrofoam Cake

kennedee45

Has anyone heard of or used a styrofoam cake for the reception?  Is it really cheaper?  How was your experience using it?

SCogs18

I have only ever heard of styrofoam being used in the cake when a couple wanted a large cake but didn't need that much cake to feed their guests.  So, an extra tier or two would be made of styrofoam and decorated, but obviously not consumed.  Are you planning on having the entire cake made of styrofoam and have it be decorative only?

ashynich

I don't think styrofoam is edible.

waltzingmatilda13

It can be cheaper, but not always. Usually the bride and groom use Styrofoam on the bottom layers and cut the top (which is real cake) to feed each other. The fake layers will still need to be decorated to look like cake and then of course you'll need sheet cakes hidden away to actually feed to the guests. Your best bet will be to talk to a baker and compare the cost difference to see if it makes sense.

fallbride1109

We had 2 fake layers since they had inedible rhinestones on them--one was our topper which our vendor always does fake and one was the bottom.  In our case, we really didn't see any cost savings since we still had to provide the same number of servings as our fake layer would have provided.  The sheet cake was cut and served butler style at the tables so no one knew the difference.

kaesha

I think, because most of the cake cost tends to come from the decorating, the styrofoam cake doesn't usually offer a huge discount in savings.

anna.oskar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_styrofoam-cake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:4425608e-cc74-42ed-9954-46305d9b0923Post:cf986ada-06c1-4276-82da-8c1c8703d459">Re: Styrofoam Cake</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't think styrofoam is edible.
Posted by ashynich[/QUOTE]

exactly.

cai0311

99.9% of the time a Styrofoam Cake is NOT cheaper.  The bride and groom really end up paying for the cake twice.  First, you pay for the decorated cake (which is really where the cost of cakes is, not in the flour, sugar...).  Secondy, you have to pay for kitchen cakes to serve the guests.

Now, if you were willing to decorate the fake cake, that would save you money, but it will also limit the designs for cake.

waltzingmatilda13

I don't think it's fair to pull some random numbers out of thin air and state them as fact against having a fake cake. There must be some advantage to doing them or they wouldn't be so popular.

My advice would be to talk to a baker and see what the cost is for a fake cake. Then check the price on sheet cakes. Another great idea is buying several sheet cakes from a grocery store or Costco (which has fabulous sheet cakes with filling, trust me, they are good) and are really cheap. They can feed a crowd and no one will know the difference.

kaesha

I don't know how I feel about having a professional cake for the bride and groom to eat and then using Costco sheet cakes for the guests.

No, that's not true. I do know how I feel about it. I don't think it's fair to serve something different to your guests then you're eating. It's like you're setting up a two tier system (we're the bride and groom so we get the special awesome cake, while everyone else is eating a mass produced, big box store product). All the bakers I talked to were more than happy to make sheet cakes in the same flavour as our wedding cake as a cost saving measure. If I went to a wedding where I saw the cutting of the cake and was excited because it looked awesome and got served something that wasn't what I'd seen, I'd be totally disappointed. It's false advertising, you know?

waltzingmatilda13

I'd feel the same way if I didn't already know that Costco sheet cakes are so good. I went to a wedding this past summer where this happened, the B&G cut a pretty cake and we were served sheet cake that was different. (The bride was DH's aunt, which is how we knew the cake was different). But the cake that we ate was so good I couldn't complain about it.

Costco does a layer of chocolate or vanilla filling that is just as good as what a professional bakery could make. And I've had cakes from bakeries that was awful. I think as long as the cake taste good, I don't really care what I'm being served.

But you're right about a bakery probably reducing the price on a sheet cake, but it doesn't always happen, so I was just suggesting something could save money without substituting quality, IMHO.

kaesha

As far as mass produced sheet cakes go, I agree, Costco does very good ones. I don't think they're up there with a good quality baker ( 'cause, you know, why would you hire someone who can't produce something as good as Costco?), but they're a good substitute if you're looking to keep costs down and serve something decent across the board.

mica178

We didn't go the fake route.  However, when we were cake shopping, many bakers recommended a smaller layer cake (maybe only 2 tiers instead of 4) for display with the same exact matching sheet cake kept in back.  So the amount of cake that required elaborate decorating was reduced, but everyone ate the same deliciousness.  We ended up only needing 3 large layers and found a baker who could do what we wanted in our budget.

If possible, I'd go that route rather than the styrofoam cake, because as PPs mentioned, the expense is in the decorations, so doing the fondant-covered styrofoam doesn't save you much.

cai0311

StageManager is correct about it being cheaper if you rent the display cake.  But, most bakeries will not to make a custom designed cake for that.  You rent what they already have.

milesbella

We asked our baker about a styrofoam cake and she said exactly what everyone else is saying.  They still have to put their skills into the decorating, which is the most expensive part.  Our baker charges the same amount, regardless if it's real or styrofoam (for her time to decorate it) so we're going with real.  In this instance, a styrofoam cake would have been MORE expensive (b/c we would have had to get sheet cakes in addition to the decorationg charges).

She does, however, have some rental cakes that are already put together.  There were some gorgeous ones, but for me and my special day, I want MY cake exactly like I want it.

RebeccaB88

I am in the minority who thinks a fake cake is tacky.  False advertising, trying to make me think you're serving something more expensive than it is, overly showy, etc.  I'd way rather see the couple cut a smaller, all-real cake and supplement with (the same kind of) sheet cakes from the back than see a whole, barely touched, fully decorated cake left on the table after everyone has eaten their fill of cake.  Just can't wrap my brain around how that's okay.  JMHO.  I know people do it all the time.

NOLAbridealmost

As probably the only responder who actually is DOING the fake cake thing.  Here's my input.

A fake cake is not cheap.  But it's not as expensive (at my bakery anyway) as a real one.  We're doing a very modest cake anyway: two tiers, the bottom tier is like 22 inches and the top tier is like 16 or so (it's been a while since we ordered).  The top tier is real.  The bottom one is not.  We are supplementing the fake cake with sheet cakes made by the exact same baker in the exact same flavor as the real cake so it's not like we're trying to pull a fast one and give our guests something that we're not having and we're not trying to look grandiose or anything. It's just something that saved us money and shouldn't affect the guests' experience at all. 

I am not sure how or why this is the case, but my bakery charges 5.00-10.00 per slice if the cake is part of a "wedding cake."  But the exact same cake in sheet form is only 1.50 per slice.  When the math was all done, we saved somewhere between 100 and 200 dollars by just having one real layer, one fake layer, and having additional sheet cakes to accommodate everyone. 

http://www.flourpowernola.com/brides.php

libbylo

I am having a small home baker make/decorate my styrofoam cake.  Its saving me considerable money because she operates out of her home and could never make a real cake for 300 people but can decorate some styrofoam for me.  Check will your venue and make sure they will allow you to bring in food from an unlicensed vendor. 

mcdoh006

I'm considering this... one of my friends had a fake cake at her wedding and I wouldn't have known it if she hadn't told me.  They had one real layer and then a sheet cake from the same baker.  It was nice.  The price I've been quoted is a lot less than if I went with a real cake... and I'm still getting a real cake, it just won't be the pretty one.  I'm still debating it though.

awitt85

I met with a baker last week and they gave me the price difference between having 4 layers all real and 2 layers real and 2 fake.  She also explained to me that the "sheet cakes" in the back would be two layers and the guests wouldn't be able to tell the difference in height so at least for this baker it wouldn't be a Costco size sheet cake.  The price difference was close to a hundred dollars, in that the fake cakes would be cheaper.

It is worth checking about and considering what does it mean to you to have it all real verse the sheet cakes in the back.  If the hall is cutting the cake for you, it can also be nice for them if you have the cake in the back where they can already get that cut and ready to serve when you're done eating.