Assembling A Cheese Wedding Cake: A Step-By-Step Guide

A cheese wedding cake is a unique and savoury alternative to a traditional wedding cake. It is a tiered display of artisanal cheeses carefully selected and arranged to create an eye-catching centrepiece. This paragraph will outline the steps to assemble a cheese wedding cake.

Firstly, select a variety of cheeses with different textures and flavours to ensure depth and complexity. Include soft, hard, or semi-soft cheeses such as Brie, Gouda, Cheddar, and Manchego, and consider unique flavours like blue cheese or truffle-infused varieties.

Secondly, create a sturdy base using a platter or cake stand. Arrange the cheeses, adding accompaniments like crackers, fresh herbs, olives, or marinated vegetables for colour and texture.

Thirdly, assemble the tiers by stacking the cheeses, starting with the largest and hardest cheese at the bottom and working upwards with softer cheeses. Use toothpicks or skewers to secure each layer.

Finally, decorate the cheese tower with garnishes such as fresh herbs, nuts, edible flowers, or fruit. Add personal touches like ribbons, flags, or small figurines.

With these steps, you can create a stunning and delicious cheese wedding cake that will impress your guests and add a rustic elegance to your special day.

Choosing the right cheeses

Variety of Cheeses

Select a range of cheeses with different textures and flavours to ensure your cake has depth and complexity. Include a mix of soft, hard, or semi-soft cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, Robiola, Cheddar, Manchego, Gouda, and Alpine cheeses. Consider adding some unique flavours like blue cheese, goat cheese, truffle-infused varieties, or natural rind cheddar.

Taste Preferences

Think about the taste preferences of you, your partner, and your guests. If you know your guests are not adventurous cheese eaters, opt for crowd-pleasers like Brie and Camembert, which most resemble a traditional wedding cake with their edible white, bloomy rind. If you want to cater to a wider range of tastes, consider adding a hard cheese, a soft cheese, and a blue cheese to your selection.

Quantity of Cheese

Plan to have enough cheese for your guests. A good rule of thumb is to have 70-100 grams of cheese per guest, or double that quantity if the cheese will be the main part of the meal. For a wedding cake effect, order extra supplies of the top (smallest) tiers, as these cheeses tend to be tiny and you want enough for all your guests to taste.

Pre-Tasting

It's essential to pre-taste all the cheeses in your cake to ensure they amaze your guests. Visit a good cheese shop that allows you to sample the cheeses before purchasing. If you don't have access to a cheese shop, look for shops that offer mail-order sample boxes so you can try the cheeses before committing.

Size and Colour

Choose cheeses with varying sizes, aiming for at least a 2-centimetre difference in diameter between each layer to create a tapering tower. Add a pop of colour to your cake with cheeses like Sparkenhoe red Leicester or Shropshire Blue, or use fruit decorations to achieve the same effect.

Stackability

Consider the stackability of your chosen cheeses. The base of your cheese wedding cake should be the hardest and largest cheese to support the rest of the cake. As you move up the tower, the cheeses can become softer, with the most delicate cheese at the top. Harder cheeses are generally easier to stack than wet or fruit-flavoured varieties.

Building a base

Firstly, you'll need to select the right cheeses for your base. Choose a large, hard cheese as the foundation of your stack. Harder cheeses are easier to stack and provide a stable base for the softer cheeses above. Examples of suitable cheeses include Alpine, Cheddar, Gouda, and Tomme. You can also opt for waxed-rind cheeses like Gouda and Cheddar, which have an extra layer of protection and can add a pop of colour to your cake.

Next, consider the size and shape of your base cheese. The base cheese should be the largest in diameter compared to the other layers, with a difference of approximately 4 to 8 inches between each layer. This creates a tapering tower effect and allows space for garnishes on each layer.

Now it's time to assemble the base. Place your chosen large, hard cheese on a sturdy platter or cake stand. If you want to add height to your cake, you can use glass tea-light holders or small stands between the layers. You can also use a soft cheese in the lower layers by cutting out a small circle in the centre and inserting an egg cup to support the layer above.

Once you have your base cheese in place, you can start building the next layers. Remember to select cheeses that taper in size, with each layer getting smaller by at least 2 cm. Choose cheeses with different textures and flavours to add interest and complexity to your cake.

Finally, don't forget to taste your cheeses before assembling your cake. It's important to ensure that your guests will enjoy the selection. A good cheese shop will allow you to taste the cheeses before purchasing, or they may offer mail-order sample boxes.

Stacking and styling

• Base Cheese Wheel: Start with the largest and hardest cheese for the base of your cake. Harder cheeses such as Cheddar, Manchego, or Alpine cheese provide a sturdy foundation for the tower.
• Tapering Tower: As you move up the tower, each layer should get smaller by at least 2 cm, creating a tapering effect. Choose cheeses with varying diameters, ideally with a difference of 4 to 8 inches between each layer. This allows for a wedding cake-like appearance and provides space for garnishes.
• Texture and Soft Cheeses: While harder cheeses are ideal for the base, you can use softer cheeses in the upper layers. Just remember that they need to be able to support the weight of the cheese above. If you have your heart set on a soft cheese for the lower layers, there are some tricks you can use. For example, you can keep the cheese in its box or cut a small circle in the centre and insert an egg cup to bear the weight of the layer above.
• Height and Decorations: You can add height to your cake by using small cheeses or decorations such as fresh flowers, fruits, herbs, candles, ribbons, or even glass tea-light holders between the layers. These decorations not only add visual appeal but also give you more space to showcase your creativity.
• Topper: Place the smallest cheese on top, which can serve as a great platform for final decorations. You can add a cute topper, such as a small heart-shaped cheese, flowers, or your wedding figurines.
• Greaseproof Paper: If you want to separate the layers, you can use greaseproof paper cut to size between them.
• Stacking and Assembly: When stacking the cheese wheels, use a bamboo skewer or toothpicks to hold each layer together. Start from the bottom and work your way up to ensure stability.
• Serving Platter: Choose a sturdy platter, cake stand, or wooden board to display your cheese wedding cake. Consider the size of your cheese tower and select a platter that complements its height and diameter.

Decorating

The fun part! Decorating your cheese wedding cake is a chance to get creative and make it your own. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Fresh flowers, fruits, and herbs: Seasonal blooms, herbs, and fruit add a natural and colourful touch to your cheese cake. You can create wreaths of rosemary or lavender around each tier, or balance flowers and fruit like raspberries or figs for a pop of colour.
• Ribbons and trim: Wrap ribbons or lacy trim around each tier for a rustic or vintage chic look.
• Candles and mini bunting: Candles add a romantic touch, while mini bunting can be a fun and quirky addition.
• Cake topper: A cake topper can be a cute finishing touch. You can even get a monogrammed one to match your wedding theme.
• Nuts and dried fruit: Scatter nuts and dried fruit like walnuts, pistachios, almonds, or dried figs or raspberries around the cake for added texture and colour.
• Edible flowers and herbs: For an earthy or rustic look, decorate with edible flowers, fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme, or miniature lady apples.
• Greenery: Add some greenery like olive branches or eucalyptus sprigs for a natural and elegant touch.
• Honey: Drizzle honey over the cheeses for a touch of golden glamour.
• Crackers and bread: Surround the cake with crackers and bread for a practical and tasty addition.
• Fruits and jams: Display your cake with a variety of fresh and dried fruits, as well as jams or preserves. Figs, apricots, and grapes are classic choices.
• Greasyproof paper: Cut greaseproof paper to size and place it between the layers of cheese for a simple and subtle decorative touch.
• Glass tea-light holders: Place glass tea-light holders between the layers to add height and create more space for decorations.

Serving suggestions

Once you've assembled your cheese tower, it's time to serve it! But before you do that, it's important to figure out how you'd like to present it. After all, this is a special occasion, and presentation matters.

The possibilities are endless when serving a homemade cheese tower. Think of it as a blank canvas – you get to decide how to arrange all the ingredients. From olives and nuts to crackers and dried fruit, the combinations for garnishing your cheese wedding cake are endless. No matter how you choose to serve your masterpiece, one thing's for sure: a cake made of cheese is sure to be a show-stopper at any event.

• Use a simple cake stand to display the cheese cake as a standalone statement. This also serves as a trick of the eye since it's not your average wedding cake.
• When cutting and serving the cheese tower, use a large cheese board or cutting board. This will provide more space for accompaniments such as olives, fruit, nuts, and crackers, as well as decorative leaves.
• Be sure to leave enough space on the board to cut cheese wedges. It's also a good idea to have a second cutting board to portion the cheese into smaller pieces.
• Cut a wedge from the top wheel and continue doing this on each layer, removing the cheese wedges and placing them on the second cutting board.
• Portion each wedge into 1/2 to 1-ounce serving sizes.
• Allow guests to enjoy the freshly cut artisan cheese with your plated pairings, just as they would with any cheese and charcuterie board.
• If you're serving the cheese with crackers, preserves, and fruit, you can either have the waitstaff divide each type of cheese into portions and serve them to each guest, or display the cheese with accompaniments and let guests serve themselves.

No matter how you choose to serve your cheese wedding cake, remember to take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before serving so that it can be enjoyed at room temperature.

Frequently asked questions