Innovative Dessert Trends for Wedding Season

Get creative in your bakery to increase orders and revenue during wedding season with donuts, cupcakes, cake pops, dessert bars and—of course—wedding cakes!

A little over two million weddings happen every year on average in the United States and a whopping 84% of them include a cake-cutting ceremony–that’s a LOT of wedding cakes!^1,2 Lately, however, wedding trends have expanded the definition of a wedding “cake” and even though cake-cutting ceremonies are enduringly popular, they don’t always involve a traditional cake. Use these simple ideas for wedding cakes and wedding cake alternatives to increase revenue by diversifying the wedding offerings at your bakery.

With everything from cookie mix to brownie mix to donut mix and premium high quality Pillsbury™ Cake Bases and Mixes, we’ve got the tools for your bakery’s wedding season success.

Make it an open bar

Er, an open dessert bar that is. Mix things up and make the smaller delicacies your bakery specializes in available for wedding clients, whether that’s cupcakes, cookies, cake pops, or petite fours. Desserts that are great for weddings include:

• Donuts – have you heard of the donut wall trend sweeping weddings recently? Whether they’re on a wall or on a table, donuts are a universal hit.
• Cupcakes – great for tiered platter displays
• Cookies – 89% of bakers say that cookies are the top item their bakery produces.³ Why not use them for weddings too?
• Cake pops – an ingenious way to use up cake scraps and decrease waste.
• Combine cookies and cake pops to offer cookie pops!
• Dessert bars – brownies, lemon bars and more.
• Petite fours – a classic, timeless wedding treat.
• Do you already offer ice cream cakes? Create an ice cream sandwich spread by putting ice cream between different signature cookies.

Fake it until you make it, ‘fake cakes’ are in

Another up-and-coming wedding cake trend involves layering, stacking or towering smaller desserts to create a display in the shape of a traditional wedding cake. Here are some easy and creative ways to do it:

• Construct a delicious and decadent cupcake or donut tower!
• Layer cookies with icing between them for individual “cookie cakes” or take on a large-scale layered cookie cake spectacle for the couple to cut in front of their guests.
• Stack, arrange and drizzle brownies, blondies or even pumpkin bars with sauce for an innovative twist on the classic wedding cake.

And remember, two cakes (or three, or four…) are better than one! Talk to prospective clients about the opportunity for cake trios, quartets or quintets in complementary flavors. Or suggest placing one cake at each table as a decorative—and delicious—centerpiece. The couple can capitalize on a new trend in wedding cakes and you can increase profit by providing a varied selection.

Ready to roll up your sleeves and start baking? Download our FREE troubleshooting and flavor pairing guides to create your new signature flavor!

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¹WeddingWire, 2016 Newlywed Survey
²The Wedding Report, Wedding Statistics for the United States, 2017
³Bake Magazine, 2017 Retail Bakery Operations Study