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Queen Victoria's wedding cake was a three-tiered, 300-pound English plum cake (a variation on fruitcake) with a circumference of nine or ten feet. It was decorated with Greek- and Roman-style leafy swags, floral bouquets, and curlicues. Atop the cake were sculptures of Britannia (the female personification of Britain), the bride and groom dressed in Roman attire, and a model of the queen's favourite dog. The cake was prepared by the confectioner's Gunter and Waud in London, and by Queen Victoria's confectioner at Buckingham Palace, John Mauditt.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Date | 10 February 1840 |
Weight | 300 pounds |
Height | 14 inches |
Circumference | 10 feet or 3 yards or 3 metres |
Baker | Mr John Mauditt, Queen Victoria's confectioner at Buckingham Palace |
Style | English plum cake on the inside with French decorative flair on the outside |
Tiers | 3 |
Toppings | Busts of the couple on the top tier; sculptures of Britannia, the couple in Roman costume, and one of Victoria's dogs |
What You'll Learn
The cake was a 300-pound English plum cake
Queen Victoria's wedding cake was a 300-pound English plum cake, a variation on a fruitcake. It was a dense, sweet cake, laden with candied fruits and soaked in high-proof spirits. The cake was enormous, with a circumference of nine or ten feet and a height of fourteen inches. It was prepared by the London-based confectioners Gunter and Waud and supplied to the Queen by her confectioner at Buckingham Palace, Mr John Mauditt.
The cake was a spectacle, drawing a crowd even before the wedding. People formed an orderly queue outside the store where it was made, waiting for a glimpse of the cake, before filing in two by two to see it up close.
The cake was ornately decorated with Greek and Roman-style leafy swags, floral bouquets, and curlicues. Atop the cake were small Roman-style sculptures. These included a figure of Britannia (the female personification of Britain), a sculpture of the royal couple dressed in Roman attire, and a model of Queen Victoria's dog, symbolising fidelity.
The white icing that covered the cake came to be known as royal icing. This innovation is attributed to baker and recipe writer Elizabeth Raffald, who developed the shiny, pure white cake coating to decorate marzipan-topped fruitcakes, especially for weddings.
The cake was a significant part of the wedding ceremony. The cutting of the cake is the first task that a bride and groom perform jointly as husband and wife, and so the cake takes on a symbolism beyond being a delicious finale to a celebratory meal. The cake was large enough to serve over 2,000 people, with slices packaged and sent to various organisations and charities, as well as being served to the wedding guests.
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It was decorated with a sugar sculpture of Britannia
Queen Victoria's wedding cake was a true spectacle, weighing 300 pounds, with a circumference of three yards and standing 14 inches tall. It was a fruitcake, a style that was customary for weddings at the time, but it was decorated with a French flair.
The cake was adorned with a sugar sculpture of Britannia, the female personification of Britain, alongside a model of the happy couple dressed in Roman attire and a sculpture of the Queen's favourite dog. These sugar sculptures were a novelty in England at the time, and the innovation of the shiny white royal icing has been attributed to baker and recipe writer Elizabeth Raffald.
The cake was supplied by Mr John Mauditt, Queen Victoria's confectioner at Buckingham Palace. It was a true feat of baking, as the cake had to be baked very slowly to avoid incinerating the outside before the inside was cooked. To ensure there was enough, Mauditt supplied more than one cake, a tradition of the time.
The cake was a true attraction, with people queuing outside the store where it was made to get a glimpse of the masterpiece. It caused a media frenzy, with the public learning about the cake through lavish illustrations and first-hand accounts in the newspapers.
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It was 10 feet in circumference
Queen Victoria's wedding cake was a spectacle to behold. The cake was not just a delicious treat but also a work of art that reflected the opulence and grandeur of the royal wedding. And with a circumference of ten feet, it was a true showstopper!
The cake, created by Mr John Mauditt, Queen Victoria's confectioner at Buckingham Palace, was a true labour of love. Standing at fourteen inches tall and weighing a whopping 300 pounds, it could feed a large number of guests. The cake was a three-tiered English plum cake, also known as a fruitcake, with a twist of French decorative flair. The outside was adorned with intricate details, including Greek- and Roman-style leafy swags, floral bouquets, and curlicues. But the most impressive part of the cake was its circumference—it measured an impressive ten feet, or three yards, in diameter!
Creating a cake of this size was no easy feat. Culinary historian Stephen Schmidt marvelled at the logistics of baking such a massive cake, wondering about the kind of oven used and how the bakers managed to get the inside baked without burning the outside. It truly was a masterpiece of baking engineering.
The cake's decoration also included allegorical figures, adding a symbolic touch to the delicious creation. Atop the cake stood a sculpture of Britannia, the female personification of Britain, blessing the figures of the bride and groom dressed in Roman attire. This detail added a sense of grandeur and patriotism to the cake's design. Additionally, a model of Queen Victoria's beloved dog was included to symbolise fidelity, a heartwarming touch that reflected the Queen's love for her canine companion.
The cake caused a frenzy, with people queuing up outside the store where it was created, eager to catch a glimpse of the magnificent creation. It became a media sensation, with lavish illustrations and first-hand accounts published in newspapers, allowing people across the nation to feel like they were part of the royal celebration. Queen Victoria's wedding cake truly was a spectacular creation, and its ten-foot circumference only added to its majesty and grandeur.
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It was made by Buckingham Palace confectioner, John Mauditt
Queen Victoria's wedding cake was made by Buckingham Palace confectioner, John Mauditt. The cake was a three-tiered, 300-pound English plum cake, with a circumference of three yards or 3 metres. It was ornately decorated with busts of the couple on the top tier, along with a sculpture of Britannia, the female personification of Britain, and a model of the queen's favourite dog. The cake was covered in white royal icing, which was a new innovation at the time, developed by baker and recipe writer Elizabeth Raffald.
The cake was described as a "great beast of a plum cake", and its creation posed some logistical challenges. Culinary historian Stephen Schmidt commented on the complexity of baking such a large cake, noting that fruitcakes need to be baked very slowly to avoid incinerating the outside. To address this, the cake was likely baked in multiple smaller sections and then assembled, a common practice for large royal wedding cakes.
The cake was supplied by Mauditt, with more than one cake made to ensure there was enough for both the guests and the many people to whom it was traditionally distributed. The cake drew quite a crowd, with people queuing up outside the store where it was created to get a glimpse of the spectacular confection.
The cake set a new standard for wedding cakes, with its white colour symbolising purity and luxury, as refined white sugar was prohibitively expensive in Victorian Britain. It was also among the first wedding cakes in England to feature edible sugar sculptures. Queen Victoria's wedding cake sparked a frenzy and marked the beginning of a British tradition, with people across the country consuming the spectacle of the cake through illustrations and newspaper descriptions, even if they could not see or taste it themselves.
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It set a new standard for wedding cake design
Queen Victoria's wedding cake was a true spectacle and set a new standard for wedding cake design. The cake was a three-tiered, 300-pound English plum cake (a variation on fruitcake) with a circumference of nine or ten feet and a height of fourteen inches. It was decorated with Greek- and Roman-style leafy swags, floral bouquets, and curlicues. Atop the cake were small Roman-style sculptures: the allegorical figure of Britannia (the female personification of Britain), the bride and groom dressed in Roman attire, and a model of the queen's favourite dog, to symbolise fidelity.
The cake was prepared by Mr John Mauditt, Queen Victoria's confectioner at Buckingham Palace, and was one of several cakes supplied to ensure there was enough for guests and those to whom it was traditionally distributed. The innovation of the shiny and pure white coating, known as royal icing, is attributed to baker and recipe writer Elizabeth Raffald. This type of icing became known to symbolise purity and luxury, as refined white sugar was prohibitively expensive in Britain during the Victorian era.
Queen Victoria's wedding cake was a masterpiece of sugar sculpture and set a new standard for wedding cakes in Britain and America. It was among the first in England to feature edible sugar sculptures, and for a century after her rule, pastry chefs borrowed architectural elements from Greek, Roman, Baroque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles.
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Frequently asked questions
Queen Victoria's wedding cake weighed 300 pounds and was 14 inches tall with a circumference of 10 feet or 3 yards.
The cake was a traditional English plum cake (a variation on fruitcake) on the inside with French decorative flair on the outside. It was covered in white royal icing and ornately decorated with sugar sculptures of the bride and groom, Britannia, one of Victoria's dogs, cupids, turtle doves, orange blossoms, and sprigs of myrtle.
Mr John Mauditt, Queen Victoria's confectioner at Buckingham Palace, made the wedding cake.