To Cake or Not to Cake?

[Deleted User]

Hello all!

While I do love me some good wedding cake, my absolute favorite dessert of all time is cheesecake! My fiance and I would both rather have a cheesecake bar instead of traditional wedding cake. We're thinking having a plain traditional cheesecake with different options for toppings that guests can choose to put on their slice of cheesecake. I have a couple questions about this however: 1) Would guests rather have wedding cake instead of cheesecake? 2) Would it be less expensive, more expensive, or about the same to have cheesecake instead of wedding cake?. We are still finalizing our guest count but think it's going to be around 160-180. Thank you in advance for any comments and/or advice/opinions!=) 

Jen4948

1) I like cheesecake, but I don't advise forgoing regular cake. It will be sorely missed if you omit it!

2) A regular cake decorated for a wedding is probably more expensive than cheesecake, but I would Google them in your local area and check out bakeries near you to find out what they charge for regular and cheesecake respectively.

AddieCake

I love cake above all other things, but I think you're fine to just do cheesecake. I have no idea what the cost would be.

lyndausvi

cheesecake is fine

Cost greatly varies between location and bakers.

JoanE2012

I don't like cheesecake (I know, I know!).  So I'd miss the cake.  Unless you had some kind of other dessert - like a tray of cookies.  I'd be good with cookies.  

missfrodo

I don't like cheesecake either, but I know I'm in the minority on this one.  I'm also lactose intolerant, so I would appreciate a tray of cookies like JoanE2012 suggested--even those little Danish ones you get in the tin that they tend to serve after church.  They wouldn't have to be super fancy.  Or, if you had a lot of toppings for the cheesecake, including nuts and fresh fruit, I could just make myself a plate of that.  But everyone else I know would LOVE to have cheesecake!
Because I don't like it, I don't know the answer to this--does it need to be stored differently/chilled more than a wedding cake would need to be?  I know wedding cakes are usually displayed throughout the entire reception; would the caterer need to store the cheesecakes in a chiller until dessert, or are they fine to sit out for a couple hours?  
Price difference depends--sheet cake and cheesecake will both be cheaper at a wholesale club like Sam's or BJ's, while a 5-layer fondant cake at an upscale bakery will really set you back.  Maybe go to a few different stores and bakeries, sample their cheesecakes, then compare prices on your favorites.

jacques27

I think it's fine to do either/or. 

However, I know my family is really into cake and none of us are really into cheesecake that much (I know, because I've tried adding cheesecake into family gatherings and it's usually the only dessert we have left over).  I personally don't care much for cheesecake unless it's ice cold and even then I'm still picky about my cheesecake (I really do not see the fuss over Cheesecake Factory cheesecake - I found them meh).  Unlike a cake that can be delivered by a bakery and left as is, you're going to have to have catering staff on hand to make sure the cheesecakes stay cold and get put out closer to when they will be consumed since they can't be left out room temp that long. 

So, just some things to consider.  And even though it's your favorite dessert, what about your guests?  As you can see from the responses, there are a lot of people who aren't as gung ho about cheesecake as you, so take your crowd into consideration as well as those additional food safety factors.

JaxInBlue

Totally agree with PPs.  I'm indifferent about cheesecake.  Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's meh, although I find plain cheesecake definitely more meh than awesome. (Cheesecake brownies though... man, I could eat a whole pan.)

I also think jacques has a great point about cheesecakes not being as stable as regular cake.  They need to be kept at a proper temp, and can be fickle to cut - too cold and you can't cut it, too warm and it gets super crumbly.  

OTOH, if you opt for regular cake, sure, you may not have a flavor or filling that's universally loved, but you've got fewer food safety concerns at your average venue.  

Could you serve cheesecake as your rehearsal dinner dessert instead?

SP29

There is no etiquette rule that you must serve "cake", it is just what is traditional- so cheesecake (or something else) is fine.

I LOVE cheesecake- like I would live off of it if I could- so clearly I am biased, but I think it's a great idea.

As for price.... if you are going to stick with a traditional cheesecake with toppings, you could probably order it from a large grocery store for a good price. 

Any of the venues I looked at included, "Will cut and serve your cake" as part of the service offered, so I think you'd be fine there. Only thing you will have to ensure is that your venue has a place to store it until it is ready to be served. 

At a friend's wedding, they had a traditional wedding cake, but then for their late night buffet they offered a selection of cheesecake slices, cake pops and ice cream sandwiches (among other items)- everything came out at the appropriate time and temperature- it was lovely! 

[Deleted User]

My hubby is not a fan of traditional wedding cake, so he chose carrot cake for ours.  I had the cake decorated with cascading seashell Belgian Chocolates (we had a beach wedding, so it fit in with our theme).  It also meant that there was something chocolate flavoured or sweet for those who didn't like carrot cake.  We cut our cake after the ceremony and had it served with tea and coffee while we were off having our photos taken (it gave our guests something to do).  We had a sticky toffee pudding and ice cream for dessert after the main course.  If you want cheesecake, go with cheesecake!  You'll never manage to satisfy all your guests and most of them will probably be happy with something different.  The day is all about celebrating you and your marriage, nobody (other than the bride & groom) remembers the food a few months later.

Jen4948

I don't know if it's feasible to have, in a multi-tiered cake, a tier of cheesecake and a tier of regular cake (or more than one tier of either), but if it is, you might consider it.

spockforprez

Yummy cheesecake! We are doing cheesecake and pies of varying kinds. We will use one of the cheesecakes as our cutting cake. (I may or may not have the emcee make a "cut the cheese........cake" joke.)

My MIL clutched her pearls so hard she nearly choked to death when she found out we wouldn't have a traditional white wedding cake. I don't necessarily think it's because most people would rather have regular cake (most wedding cake is gross IMO, fondant is disgusting and they can taste stale due to having been baked and frozen before being decorated - though obviously this depends on the baker!) but just because it's traditional and people miss it for that reason.

I think cheesecake will be more expensive. A normal serving is 1/8 of a cheesecake, maybe you can get 12 if you're being economical with serving sizes. Costco cheesecakes are some of the cheapest out there and they're $25 per for the basic cream cheese flavoring. If you're looking at a fancier flavoring, different crusts, made by a small business-style bakery, you may see them in the $40 per range. And they are like $50 for the fancy ones from the Cheesecake Factory! 

AddieCake

I love carrot cake. (I know you guys are shocked), but I agree it's a love it or hate it.

ShesSoCold

AddieCake said:

I love carrot cake. (I know you guys are shocked), but I agree it's a love it or hate it.

Addie, I'm going to need you to post an intro on ~MY~ board before you reply to questions from new posters.

ShesSoCold

I served cheesecake at my wedding, along with a gelato bar and cupcake favors. I think H and I were the only ones who ate it. But we had SO MUCH FOOD that people didn't really eat any dessert. We had a lot of guests tell us later that they wish they would have left room for dessert.

AddieCake

My bad, @ShesSoCold

Hi! I'm Addie, and I've been on TK for many years, but only a few that I've been an actual posting member of. I don't post on this board often because many of the posts are about food that I don't like because I'm so picky or about how much of this or that to have, and numbers confuse me.

But I do love cake, so sometimes I have an opinion to share about goddam cake. I hope that's ok. 

ShesSoCold

AddieCake said:

My bad, @ShesSoCold

Hi! I'm Addie, and I've been on TK for many years, but only a few that I've been an actual posting member of. I don't post on this board often because many of the posts are about food that I don't like because I'm so picky or about how much of this or that to have, and numbers confuse me.

But I do love cake, so sometimes I have an opinion to share about goddam cake. I hope that's ok. 

labro

@ShesSoCold You did it wrong. The request is supposed to come in the form of a gif or a thread for lurkers. Don't forget to link the appropriate thread.

ShesSoCold

labro said:

@ShesSoCold You did it wrong. The request is supposed to come in the form of a gif or a thread for lurkers. Don't forget to link the appropriate thread.

labro

ShesSoCold said:

labro said:

@ShesSoCold You did it wrong. The request is supposed to come in the form of a gif or a thread for lurkers. Don't forget to link the appropriate thread.

ernursej

I think it is exciting to do something different. We are serving panna cotta and chocolate brulee instead of cake at our reception.

kvruns

I'd just make sure that the cheesecake can be well refrigerated before you need it. I'm not a huge cheesecake fan but I would eat it but definitely don't like it if its been sitting out for a while and isn't very cold

csuave

I went to a wedding that did stations for food and one of the stations was a cheesecake bar.  It was awesome.  Wedding cake and regular cheesecake can both be kind of meh for me but when I can put chocolatey goodness and other yummy things on top of the cheesecake then it is something I enjoy.