How to Order (or Bake) a Greener Wedding Cake

How green is the average wedding cake? If you've cut into a traditional multi-tiered confection, or a novelty handbag cake, then you know what's holding it together. Hint: the answer isn't chocolate ganache. It's plastic tubes, metal wires, plastic disks, and other surprises without which the delicate structure would probably fall apart. See, wedding cakes are impossible things—the beautiful span bridges of the pastry kitchen?edible architectures made possible by a system of inedible supporting cables that stretch from one end to another.

If you're dreaming of a faux-toppling Alice in Wonderland cake, few pastry chefs will be able to make it without the use of a hidden disposable frame. If you want to make do without, just ask your baker what sort of cake they could build for you sans Wolverine style skeleton. Tell them you want a cake that's entirely edible? No wire, no hot glue, no nothing. Just keep in mind that an unsupported cake means fewer dramatic tiers and less elaborate decorations unless you're ordering a French wedding cake - a structurally sound cream puff tower, glued together with dabs of caramel.

Keep reading to learn three other ways to green your dream wedding cake!

1. Bake Your Own Cake

Depending on the size of your wedding you could easily bake and decorate your own cake(s). Get a couple of friends together, make a good playlist, and give yourselves plenty of time for the project. You can't hurry cake.

Pro: Even if you're splurging on new cake pans, or organic sweeteners and flours, the bake-it-yourself option is more affordable than ordering a cake, period.

Con: Making cakes isn't supposed to be stressful but making your own wedding cake might be. What if your vanilla butter cream splits? What if something gross in your fridge leaks onto the cake while you're sleeping?

Tip: Enlist a reliable friend (with a little baking under their belt) to be your official Cake Director and don't give them any other responsibilities. He/She can bake the cakes ahead of time, wrap them up tightly, and meet with you to decorate the day before your, er, wedding.

2. Say Yes to Cupcakes

If you find baking a large cake daunting, what about baking a hundred tiny cakes (or ordering them from your local bakery)? Served on a homemade recycled stand, a cupcake army is just as celebratory as a very tall cake (and a bit more foolproof).

Pro: No tubes. No wires. Plates optional.

Con: Transporting 100 cupcakes. 100 disposable liners.

Tip: Appoint a friend to be your Cupcake Director and seek out biodegradable cupcake liners from a green party supply store. If you're ordering cupcakes from your neighborhood bakery, keep in mind that if the bakers there don't already use them, they might not be down with baking a single order using (more expensive) biodegradable liners?though it wouldn't hurt to ask.

3. Choose Edible Decorations

Most cake decorations only seem edible (sugar flowers are often run through with thin flexible wires). Use freshly cut fruit or small sugar garnishes that don't need wires. Or, keep the decorating ultra simple with piped frosting?beaded borders can be awfully pretty.

Pro: You can eat the whole cake!

Con: You can eat the whole cake.

Tip: Don't eat the whole cake. And if you want to use a non-edible topper, think about using something compostable, like a few fresh flowers or some flowering herbs. Choose something beautiful that won't end up in the garbage like some origami birds made from recycled paper which could hang strategically above the cake, or a pair of handmade paper mache bluebirds with dainty wire feet.

For tips on how to plan a green honeymoon, go to Travel and Outdoors.