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11 Wedding Desserts From Around The World That Beat A Boring Cake

by Annakeara Stinson
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
gay marriage cake topper
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There are a lot of interesting traditions out there when it comes to weddings, and that includes the best part of the evening: dessert. There are amazing wedding desserts from around the world that reach far past that regular vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and a few flowers on top. Wedding dessert traditions that punctuate the sweet, sweet love of the happy couple are an interesting peek into so many culinary styles.

Indeed, even the classic wedding cake can get really far out there when it comes to cost and style — because that's just how important treats are to some people. According to HuffPo, in 2017, the most expensive wedding cake ever was made over in Chester, England at Cake Bakery for a cool $52 million. The reason for the extra expense? It wasn't a costly batter —the delicacy was covered in 4,000 diamonds. Let's just hope nobody swallowed one of those bad boys, amirite?

But in truth, there is no need to go that wild, as long as your desserts are baked with love. Below, take a look at some of the incredible sweets that married couples serve for their lucky guests all around the globe. It will definitely have you thinking about having a wide variety of options for your own special day.

1Foy Thong: Thailand

This delicacy from Thailand is sweet shredded egg yolk, and it's often a wedding treat. According to ImportFood, it represents love and fortune because those long yellow noodles symbolize long, solid-gold love.

How is this beautiful concoction made? Egg yoke is poured through a narrow funnel that is placed over a pot of hot syrup. Then you stir the threads of yoke in the syrup until they become smooth, take them off heat, and wrap them in a little rectangle. Dessert is served!

2Kransekake, Norway

Here's a blissful wedding treat for you! This Scandinavian cake is visually impressive to say the least, especially because they can get very tall. It's a wreath tower cake, usually 18 or more layers in descending size. It's served by taking off each wreath, and breaking them into delicious tiny pieces to enjoy. The cake rings are made with ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites. Do I smell gluten-free?

They can be adorned with colored frosting and little flags, flowers, or jewels — anything your heart desires, really.

3Intricate Cake Toppers, Nigeria

In Nigeria, it is all about the cake design or the topper for your cake, which can get pretty extraordinary. The flavor and taste plays second fiddle to what adorns this celebratory dessert, in fact.

In the video above, cake maker Kema Abuede walks you through making a handmade African bride cake copper, as the toppers on one these cakes are often detailed miniature replicas of the couple getting hitched. They also might be something like traditional head-ware, all made of candy and frosting. The designs are marvelous!

4Sarawak Layer Cake, Malaysia

The Sarawak layer cake is a colorful cake of many layers, coming from Sarawak, Malaysia. It's reserved for only the most special occasions, like marriage. The cake must have at least two colors, and while sometimes it is simply a layered cake, some people go the distance and make them with very elaborate patterns.

The recipe includes butter or vegetable oil, milk, eggs, and flour and the layers are usually stuck together with jam. The super intricate cakes use molds. It is a dense, sweet cake that is almost too pretty and impressive to nosh on.

5Mexican Wedding Cookies

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You may be familiar with these delicious powdered butter cookies from Mexico. Although these little guys do not replace a big celebratory cake, according to Back Pocket Recipes, these treats, made of ground pecans, butter, flour, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar have existed in Mexican culture for centuries and are also served traditionally at Christmastime. Similar cookies are made all over the world, including Russia and Eastern and Western Europe. In Mexico they are either served as little balls or crescent moons.

6Black Cake, Jamaica

This is another cake used for a few types of special celebrations at Christmas, but the Jamaican black cake is a must at weddings, and often passed down for generations from mother to daughter. And according to The Washington Post, the longer you soak the fruit going into the cake, the more legit a cake it is!

These days many people try to elevate the aesthetic of the plain cake with some colorful fondant.

The black cake is dense and sweet is particularly spicy, and flavored with both wine and rum.

7Zuppa Inglese, Italy

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Leave it to the Italians to due something a little out of the ordinary with this custardy specialty. Not unlike a trifle, the Zuppa Inglese — something you very well might find coming to your place setting as you listen to all those wedding speeches in Italian — alternates between custard and sponge cake, and is usually served in a glass dish. Ladyfinger cookies are also often involved. While it translates to "English soup," it's definitely a traditional Italian treat. Top with raspberries, and celebrate with love!

8Xi Bings, China

According to Singaporebrides.com, Xi Bings can be like a biscuit, or small cake and can be baked, steamed, or fried, and filled with things like bean paste, lotus, or nuts.

Traditionally, they are given away as a sign of "the groom's gratitude" towards the bride's parents during the "Guo Da Li" ceremony, where gifts are given to the couple. They are also often given as announcement of the engagement, and motifs that symbolize luck or happiness are often printed on top.

9Croquembouche, France

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No shocker here, but the French know how to do dessert, and that of course includes what you'll be served at a wedding. If you get to the after-dinner delights at a French celebration, you might just chance up on a croquembouche. These rather unbelievable concoctions are tall pyramid towers made up of cream pastries, then covered in caramel — those pastry balls need to stay put, after all — and then decorated. There are plenty of variations in size, but they always look an awful lot like the Eiffel Tower, don't you think? Vive le France!

10Genoise Cake, Germany

Although the Genoise cake came from Genoa, Italy, Germans are indeed known to cut into one of these delightful, traditional sponge cakes for their wedding days. They are made with syrups and liqueurs to sweeten them, and filled with marzipan, jams, or nougat. No wild colors for these cakes, because even though they find the decoration of these beauties to be of top importance, artificial colors and sweeteners are a big no-no!

11Sakotis, Lithuania

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Sakotis are beyond incredible visually, as you can see, and are often used as a wedding treat in Eastern Europe, as well as to celebrate other occasions like special birthdays. (Sweet sakoti sixteen anyone?)

These pine tree-looking desserts are made of butter, yolks, egg whites, flour, sugar, and cream. To make them, the batter is turned over a spit, and the batter that dries as it drips, making delicious pieces to break off and enjoy.

There you have it, world travelers. Are you inspired to start baking yet?

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