A groom's cake is a wedding tradition originating in

Victorian England In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, but observed more often in the modern age in the American South. While a

wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but ...

may often be light in texture or color and decorated in white, the groom's cake can take a variety of forms. Many incorporate

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. Cheesecake sometimes serves as a groom's cake. The groom's cake is often served at a table separate from the wedding cake at a

wedding reception A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...

or wedding breakfast, though it may be served as a dessert for a

rehearsal dinner A rehearsal dinner is a traditional pre-wedding ceremony in the United States, usually held after the wedding rehearsal and the night before the wedding ceremony. The guests generally include the married-to-be couple and others who form the weddi ...

History

The tradition of the groom's cake began in Britain. The groom's cake was often richer than the bride's, since stronger flavors such as chocolate, fruitcake, and alcohol were considered more masculine. Groom's cakes during the Victorian era were heavy, dense fruitcakes. A characteristic recipe for the groom's fruit cake was published in ''The British Baker'' in 1897. Eventually, flour cakes, either white or chocolate, supplanted fruit cakes as the most popular choice. Groom’s cake is a tradition most popular in the southeastern United States. It was brought over from Britain by colonists. The Southern groom's cake was traditionally a dark-liquor soaked fruitcake, especially in Virginia. The white-iced bride's cake was considered too light for masculinity. Chocolate groom's cakes became popular in the late 19th century, but they can be any flavor, such as

carrot cake Carrot cake (also known as passion cake) is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter. Most modern carrot cake recipes have a white cream cheese frosting. Sometimes nuts such as walnuts or pecans are added into the cake batter, as wel ...

red velvet cake Red velvet cake is traditionally a red, red-brown, crimson, or scarlet-colored layer cake, layered with ermine icing. Traditional recipes do not use food coloring, with the red color due to non- Dutched, anthocyanin-rich cocoa. Common ingred ...

, etc. Groom's cakes are usually served at the wedding reception as a second flavor choice to the guests, but are often served at the rehearsal dinner in some regions. Groom's Cakes are often decorated to reflect the groom's hobbies or interests, such as golfing, fishing, hunting, or sports. The 1989 movie '' Steel Magnolias'' features a famous scene with a red velvet groom's cake shaped as a giant armadillo. Another tradition was to cut a piece of the cake and put it in a small box, then present the box to an unmarried woman attending the wedding. The woman was not expected to eat the cake, but rather to put it under her pillow. Superstition held that this tradition would help an unmarried woman find a husband.

References

{{Cakes Cakes Wedding food Wedding traditions Culture of the Southern United States