Wedding Cakes & Food Forum

Fall wedding cake ideas?

So I'm getting married next November and my fiance and I don't love cake, but I want to do the cake cutting so we decided against alternatives such as brownies and pie... god I love pie...

Anyway,  my catering manager who is also the chef making my cake doesn't like pumpkin.  I was going to ask for a pumpkin cake (or spice cake) with cream cheese frosting (maybe only as one layer because not everyone likes pumpkin) but seems like a bad idea if he doesn't like that flavor.  Any other ideas for fall flavor combinations?

He is allowing us to bring in our favorite fall desserts to set up a dessert table so we will have cider and pumpkin donuts, mini pies, pumpkin ice cream, and things like that. 

Thanks for your help!!

Re: Fall wedding cake ideas?

  • I think if you're paying for a cake you should be able to choose what you want.  

    Pumpkin cake sounds awesome, but maybe a caramel butter cream instead of cream cheese?  Cream cheese is forever tied to carrot cake in my mind.  One layer should be fine since you're right, not everyone will like it but I'm sure plenty will.

    And I love the fall dessert and cider table idea!

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  • Oooo I never thought of caramel butter cream with pumpkin!  I was trying to figure out an apple cake with caramel butter cream- but I'm not sure apple cakes have really been done before.  Maybe a pumpkin layer, and spice layer?  

    And thanks! I'm a little obsessed with fall... I'm having a apple cider signature cocktail... so excited!
  • My mom used to make apple cake when I was younger, she'd use apple sauce and spiced apples and it was amazing!  I don't know if it would stand up to wedding caliber decorations though, I recall it being pretty soft.

    I am too :), my date is the day before Labor Day, if it was a day later I'd be all over the fall food and decor.

    If you really can't do the pumpkin cake for whatever reason, maybe you can include pumpkin soup shooters at your cocktail hour?  

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  • kk111415 said:
    So I'm getting married next November and my fiance and I don't love cake, but I want to do the cake cutting so we decided against alternatives such as brownies and pie... god I love pie...

    Anyway,  my catering manager who is also the chef making my cake doesn't like pumpkin.  I was going to ask for a pumpkin cake (or spice cake) with cream cheese frosting (maybe only as one layer because not everyone likes pumpkin) but seems like a bad idea if he doesn't like that flavor.  Any other ideas for fall flavor combinations?

    He is allowing us to bring in our favorite fall desserts to set up a dessert table so we will have cider and pumpkin donuts, mini pies, pumpkin ice cream, and things like that. 

    Thanks for your help!!
    Re: the bolded - am I missing a reason why it matters what flavor the baker likes? He's not the one eating it...
  • I would do pumpkin bars with cream cheese icing instead of pumpkin as one of the cake flavors.  And, since you love pie - add that back in to the dessert table. 

    Nothing succeeds more than the simple done well.  IMO, I'd rather see a neutral choice for cake flavors that pair with your meal well.  That doesn't mean bland, just flavorful choices that appeal to the masses. 

  • kk111415 said:
    So I'm getting married next November and my fiance and I don't love cake, but I want to do the cake cutting so we decided against alternatives such as brownies and pie... god I love pie...

    Anyway,  my catering manager who is also the chef making my cake doesn't like pumpkin.  I was going to ask for a pumpkin cake (or spice cake) with cream cheese frosting (maybe only as one layer because not everyone likes pumpkin) but seems like a bad idea if he doesn't like that flavor.  Any other ideas for fall flavor combinations?

    He is allowing us to bring in our favorite fall desserts to set up a dessert table so we will have cider and pumpkin donuts, mini pies, pumpkin ice cream, and things like that. 

    Thanks for your help!!
    Re: the bolded - am I missing a reason why it matters what flavor the baker likes? He's not the one eating it...
    He wouldn't be trying the cake I guess... It's a sad excuse.  I'm definitely going to do either butternut squash soup or pumpkin- so maybe that is too much pumpkin.  Love the pumpkin cheese cake bars, though! One idea the baker came up with was a rainbow cookie cake, minus the rainbow aspect because the colors might bleed.  But it would be cool to do the colors if they were fall colors (red/orange/yellow) and I do love rainbow cookies.  I don't really like chocolate, but my fiance does.  I only like chocolate when paired with berries... so I guess black forest would also work.  Hmmmmmm....
  • Have a tiny cutting cake and then do pies/assorted cakes.  Then you can cut the cake for the pics, but go eat pie.  
  • jacques27jacques27 member
    First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited October 2014
    Ummm...your baker seems unnecessarily opinionated and high maintenance.  If you WANT pumpkin cake, then have pumpkin cake.  Unless he is deathly allergic pumpkin and cannot be around it, there is no good reason for him to refuse to make it.  You pay, you say. 

    Also, can't do the rainbow aspect because the colors might bleed = he just doesn't know how to actually do it.

    Google image search Rainbow Cake.  It can be done.  The European bakery we used to go to had had the best rainbow cake (the layers were also different flavors, so it wasn't just white cake with food dye) and it was so beautifully decorated that there was no way anyone was mistaking it for a kids birthday cake.  So, it's possible, your baker just doesn't know how.

    But otherwise, your cake doesn't need to have a "fall flavor".  No one is going to go "Oh, but I only eat lemon/raspberry/almond/etc. for summer!  Never in the fall!  How embarrassing for the bride and groom!"  Also, no reason why you can't cut and feed each other pie if that's what you like.  So, what do you like?

    ETA:  Also, having something a little lighter and not "fall" might not be the worst idea (almond w/ raspberry, sponge w/ lemon, etc.) because fall themed desserts tend to be a little heavier and full of spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardomom, etc.) which is not up everyone's alley and you'll already be having plenty of those.


  • I'll echo other PPs that if you want pumpkin, get pumpkin.

    I also wanted to mention that the best wedding cake I've ever eaten was at a fall wedding many years ago. It was apple cider cake with cream cheese frosting....but I bet it would be even better with a salted caramel frosting or something.

    I love fall flavors.
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  • OMG- Apple Cider cake sounds amazing!  And cream cheese frosting is my favorite!


  • How about caramel apple cheesecake or pumpkin cheesecake?
    I would be happy with pumpkin roll.
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  • I got excited when I saw this because I thought it was "Fail Wedding Cake Ideas"

    I was hoping to see something like Bologna and Mayo.

    But all these flavors do sound fantastic. I might have missed it but had anyone suggested a spice cake or anything with pecans? Nuts and spice along with cream cheese frosting is very Fall to me.
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  • edited June 2015
  • I haven't had professionally baked spice cake, but I remember loving spice cakes we baked at my house as a child. Yum! I also love pumpkin cake, so that would be one of my top choices. I personally would love to try pumpkin cake with bourbon vanilla frosting... mmm! I would be potentially concerned about a cake the baker doesn't like. Can you do a tasting to see if it's just not his favorite or if he really doesn't know how to make a pumpkin cake well? I was also thinking something apple would be yummy, but I don't know if apple cake is a thing. If not, it probably should be.  
  • At my fall wedding I had an caramel apple wedding cake. It was a lightly spiced cake with a caramel apple walnut filling and a butter cream frosting. It was awesome and everyone loved it!
  • @crazycatbride that sounds AMAZING!  I'm thinking a spiced cake is the way to go, and a caramel apple filling would be perfect!
  • Ohh- just thought of another idea, Spiced cake, apple pie filling, caramel cream cheese frosting... yum... not sure if that's too many flavors though...
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