A Trend We're Loving: Textured Wedding Cakes

Making a statement with your wedding cake doesn't always mean choosing a confection decorated with ultra-bright colors or voluminous floral toppers. This is especially true for brides who prefer the more understated things in life, and for those who are currently in the midst of planning minimalist events with refined details. If you fall into this camp but still want to find a way to help your confection stand out, consider adding texture to your dessert. Don't confuse this decorative style with patterns or fondant overlays, however. This specific trend involves carving patterns into icing (like embossments!) or using the physical icing to create shapes. In a lot of ways, your baker assumes the role of sculptor to make these unique textures happen.

To illustrate just how beautiful the subtle style can be, we've rounded up our favorite textured wedding cakes. The following examples range from barely-there to clearly-cut and come in all different types, which virtually ensures that you'll discover one you'll love. We're particularly fond of the lace-inspired surfaces (so dainty!) and the geometric iterations (they're perfect for modern couples). You'll find, though, that a lot of texture results from natural icing methods—think thick swatches of buttercream or smoother frosting stripes. As for the more man-made options? Most of these patterns are super simple—take this aqua confection by Polkadots Bakery for example, complete with etched triangles—and easy to reproduce.

Ready to see all of the ways you can make this cake decorating technique your own? Click through to discover which type of textured confections is right for your wedding reception.

Lace

The bride's lace wedding dress inspired the pattern on this Frost It Cakery confection.

Diamonds

This Nine Cakes beauty proved that on your wedding day, diamonds don't just belong on your finger.

Blue Dots

The pencil point-sized dots on this Melissa's Fine Pastries wedding cake proved that texture doesn't need to be dramatic or exaggerated to make a statement.

Grid

The crisscross pattern on this T Bakes four-tiered cake wasn't its only moment of intersection. The confection featured not one, but three flavor layers, which included double chocolate, lime-scented chiffon, and lemon-scented chiffon with Madagascar-vanilla cream.

Bas Relief

Jasmine Rae Cakes designed a confection that looked as if it were cut from stone. Raised fondant edges acted as a frame to a central leaf pattern, which was shaped in bas relief.

Overlapping Circles

A White Cake added the subtlest geometric accents (circles and diamonds!) to the base layer of this petite dessert.

Buttercream

Thick layers of buttercream served as this Crisp Bakeshop dessert's main accent.

Diagonal Stripes

The heart-shaped cactus topper may have brought color to this Le Dolci confection, but its diagonally-striped fondant gave it texture.

Sliver

Hey There, Cupcake! gave new meaning to a "sliver of cake" with the grainy surface of this treat's pale pink triangle, which was also its focal point.

Embossed Floral

To help a barely-there embossed tier (we love the unique floral pattern!) stand out, Frost It Cakery paired it with a clean, bright-white top layer.

Vertical Icing

The Cookie Social iced this buttercream two tier vertically, as evidenced by its upward ridges.

Tree Bark

The fine lines used throughout an Olympia Catering wedding cake created the illusion of tree bark.

Texture Ombré

This Windflower Cakes creation featured a textured ombré—the horizontal ridges on the top tier faded to a less concentrated version on the bottom.

Pink and Burgundy

Dark red roses helped enhance the pale pink designs on the bottom tier of this confection, by Frisoni Alessandra Studio Cake.

Blue Leather

Layered Bake Shop finished this tall treat with a blue-gray fondant that had a unique leathered texture.

Swirled

To achieve this clean, swirled pattern, Sugar Bee Sweets carved loops into a fresh white base.

Royal Plus Signs

Batter Up Cakery softened these small, plus sign shapes by rounding the edges. The final result? A pattern that subtly referenced a fleur-de-lis.

Pastel

Earth + Sugar coated this pastel blue confection organically, leaving all of the resultant natural ridges.

Roses

For a feminine garden party, The Cake Guys added piped roses—and brought romantic texture—to an otherwise neutral dessert.

Grooves

The deep grooves on this tiny Urban Icing wedding cake were just as noteworthy as its metallic gold hue.