Is there anything more magical than a wedding?
Every couple dreams of their special day to share joy and love with family and friends. And what would a perfect celebration be without an exquisite cake featuring a variety of cheesy delights?
It's no wonder that cheese wedding cakes have become so popular – they provide the perfect balance between sweetness and savoury flavours!
Cheese has been used in desserts for centuries. Still, it wasn't until recently that couples started to explore the possibilities of incorporating this delightful ingredient into their big-day celebrations.
From creamy Brie to sharp Cheddar, many different cheeses can be utilised uniquely on your cheese wedding cake.
Not only do these cheesy creations look stunning, but they also offer guests something truly memorable to enjoy.
If you're looking for something truly special for your wedding, why not consider having a one-of-a-kind cheese wedding cake?
Here we will discuss all the delicious varieties available and how you can use them to create an unforgettable experience at your reception!
Just don't forget the garnish: a few slices of pickles and a side of crackers for that special crunch!
Overview of Cheese Wedding Cakes
A cheese wedding cake is like a dreamy flavour, texture, and colour oasis. It can be the perfect centrepiece for any couple's special day, adding a layer of sophistication and delight.
Countless varieties of cheese make up these cakes – each offering something unique and delicious! Let's explore the different types of cheese used in cheese wedding cakes together.
By some estimates, there are more than 1,800 different types of cheese in the world.
From creamy bries to sharp cheddars, there's no shortage of options for selecting your perfect cheese blend. Soft goat cheeses offer a delightful tang, while blue cheeses provide robust complexity; Camembert offers a smooth creaminess.
Additionally, many couples opt for flavourful smoked goudas or nutty Gruyeres. The possibilities are endless! With so many styles, you're sure to find just the right combination for your big day.
Popular Types of Cheese for Cheese Wedding Cakes
Cheese for a wedding cake is an elegant choice with many delightful possibilities.
As a professional wedding planner, I am here to guide you through the popular cheeses used in these delectable cakes.
From sharp cheddar to creamy Brie, numerous options are available when creating your special day's centrepiece. Add blue cheese if you want something unique and bold with its pungent taste; this variety pairs well with fruits such as apples or apricots.
Suppose you prefer something milder yet still full-flavoured. In that case, aged Gouda is another excellent choice, with a nutty sweetness often complemented by honey and roasted nuts.
For those looking for something smooth and buttery, something like our Grandma Singletons Tasty Lancashire cheese will surely be the perfect accompaniment to any other ingredients in your cake design.
Alternatively, you can opt for creamy goat cheese, which has a sweet, delicate flavour that complements any celebration.
Here at the Cheese Wedding Cake Shop, with over 90 cheeses to choose from, you can create your own special bespoke cheese wedding cake. This will suit you and your guests. Make your cake as small or as large as you need.
Each type of cheese provides its character and flavour profile suitable for different occasions, so explore all the delicious choices before making a final decision!
Here are a few from our cheese cave.
Camembert
Camembert is a soft, creamy cow's milk cheese originally from the Normandy region of France. It is a soft-ripened cheese with a white, bloomy rind and a soft, creamy interior. Camembert is similar to Brie but is slightly stronger in flavour and has a more pronounced aroma. It is usually served at room temperature and can be enjoyed with breads, crackers, fruits, and vegetables.
We can offer Camembert Rustique - Le Rustique Camembert is made in the Pacé dairy factory, Normandy, by our master cheesemakers. In 1975, Jean Verrier created Le Rustique camembert, which they continue to make today.
All connoisseurs searching for authenticity will enjoy its rich, typical taste and melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Possibly our most popular cheese for weddings is the Neuf Chatel Heart. A heart-shaped cheese made in Normandy with a white bloomy rind is sometimes called Camembert, but it tastes saltier and sharper.
Normandy produces some of the best cheeses in the world, including this cheese. Along with Neufchâtel, Camembert, Livarot, and Brillat-Savarin are some of the more famous Normandy cheeses.
Brie
As the special day draws ever closer, let us reflect on the exquisite flavours that can be included in a cheese wedding cake. Brie is one of those options - it's almost as if its creamy texture was made for such an occasion!
Here are four reasons why this particular variety could make your upcoming celebration truly remarkable:
- Its delicate flavour creates a delightful balance between savoury and sweet
- The soft rind adds a hint of complexity to each bite
- It pairs well with other cheeses when served atop a rustic charcuterie board
- And it makes for some dreamy wedding photos too!
Brie offers an exceptionally beautiful presentation when carefully arranged in tiers or layers. Even more than any dessert confection could ever achieve.
Your guests will love how it looks and its unique taste that will linger on their palates long after the festivities have ended.
In storage, we have Brie de Meaux Rouzaire, a 3kg wheel. With its origins dating back to 779, Brie de Meaux is one of the oldest cheeses in France, known as the King of Cheeses.
Another popular Brie we build cakes with is the Brillat Saverin. This triple cream cheese is named after the famous French gastronomist. There is a hint of lemon alongside a milky flavour in this cheese.
It is very mild and velvety in texture.
This triple cream Brie is luscious, creamy, and slightly sour. Medjool dates and champagne go well with it. Red wines are difficult to pair with, as mushroom notes or a "mouldy" taste will bring out the tannins. Pale ale and Champagne pair well with it.
For customers looking for an English Brie, we have a Cornish Brie made by the Cornish Country Larder.
A delicious, mild, creamy-flavoured Brie with a melting, smooth flavour.
We also have Sharpham's, an unpasteurised Coulommiers-type cheese which has been handmade in the Devon creamery using the same recipe since 1980.
The only additions to fresh Jersey cow milk are salt, starter cultures, and vegetarian rennet. Sharpham is a mould-ripened cheese with a distinct buttery flavour and creamy texture.
This is real, live, soft cheese and stands on its own or with fresh bread or biscuits. The cheese curd is hand-ladled into moulds and turned three times in the first five hours after moulding.
The next morning, the cheeses were removed from their moulds onto draining racks. After twenty-four hours of draining, they are brined on shelves and then left for seven days to grow their white coat while being turned daily.
Once the coat is fully developed, they are wrapped in breathable paper and matured to four weeks of age.
Upon release, the cheeses have a further five weeks of life, gradually ripening from chalky to meltingly soft and gooey.
For the more adventurous cheese connoisseur, we have Montagnolo Affine, a German cheese cross between Brie and Roquefort.
This is triple cream, soft cheese that has been surface ripened and has blue veins throughout.
Cheddar
Cheddar is a classic for cheese wedding cakes. Its rich, nutty flavour pairs well with almost any cake or pastry. Plus, its creamy texture pairs beautifully with other cheeses on the cake!
As you consider different types of cheese to make your special day unique and memorable, don't forget about cheddar - it will bring an extra layer of flavour that won't go unnoticed by your guests.
As you would expect, we have a lot of Cheddars!
To pick just a few Cheddars, we regularly use the multi-award winning Little Black Bomber in cakes; with its black wax rind, it stands out, just like its awards – as it has won awards at The Great British Cheese Awards, Nantwich International Cheese Awards, the World Cheese Awards, and a Super Gold at Mondial Fromage in France.
We have cheddars that have been smoked or mixed with other flavours, like the Applewood brand's natural smoked flavour and dusted with paprika. Or Cahill Porter, with its mottled colouring and stout flavour.
It's also great to offer smaller brands and handmade cheeses. Take the Cotherstone, for example. This cheese is made by hand, is delicate in texture and flavour, and is encased in cream wax. Cornerstone's flavour is fresh, citrusy, lemony, lactic, and slightly yeasty, and its texture is moist and crumbly.
A local village named Cotherstone is related to Wensleydale and Swaledale.
Since her mother taught her cheese-making, Joan Cross has been making Cotherstone for about thirty years. Cheeses, like Cotherstone, belong to a group we call Dales Style Cheeses. The cheeses come from the Yorkshire Dales and Pennine Hills in the north of England and include Swaledale and the original style of Wensleydale. The cheese is crumbly and lemony and tends to be eaten younger than those like Cheshire and Cheddar. Cotherstone is the simplest of these that we sell. Regarding technical complexity, Cornerstone doesn't require cloth binding, long maturation, or complicated treatment of Kurds. It is sour, salty, milled and moulded.
And another popular one we sell a lot of with wedding cakes is the Godminster Organic Vintage Cheddar Heart 200g, for obvious reasons.
This organic vintage cheddar from Godminster has a delightful, creamy, salty-sweet flavour encased in burgundy wax. Our organic cheddar is preservative-free, and should always be refrigerated at 5°C. Remove from the fridge an hour before serving to allow the cheese to warm to room temperature and bring out the flavour.
For something a bit different, we also offer a cheddar-type cheese produced with milk from our herd of water buffalo called Inglewhite Buffalo Clothbound.
Cheddar cheese makes a delicious cheese wheel base for wedding cakes.
For large cakes, we highly recommend using our mature cheese base of 5kg, or perhaps one of the slightly smaller Red Leicester wheels because they can take the weight of a high stack of cheese.
Blue Cheese
Blue cheese is an increasingly popular choice for cheese wedding cakes. According to recent surveys, over 50 per cent of couples choose blue cheese as a topping on their cake!
While cheddar and other mild cheeses have long been traditional wedding choices, more adventurous couples are now selecting blue cheese to add a unique flavour to their special day.
As a professional wedding planner, I highly recommend using blue cheese in any cheese wedding cake. Its bold flavour brings complexity and zestiness that can bring life to your cake - no matter what shape or size you choose!
Plus, it pairs well with many different flavours, like honey or balsamic glazes. The options are endless when using this sharp yet mellow variety of gourmet cheese.
Try incorporating blue cheese into the mix to add more character to your celebration. This pungent variety adds another dimension to a traditional cheese wedding cake without overpowering the palette. With its strong but subtle notes, it's sure to be a hit on your big day!
Customers can incorporate Blue Shropshire, a large 8kg cheese, into their wedding cake build. This tasty, nutty-flavoured Blue Shropshire is an award-winning cheese with spicy notes shot throughout with blue veining.
Blue Stilton is a classic. This creamy-coloured cheese with distinctive blue veining throughout the whole cheese is 2kg in weight. Or you can opt for this 2.5k Wensleydale Blue, which is a delicate cheese from the famous Wensleydale Creamery. Blue Wensleydale is full of flavour yet mellow.
For the bride's father, who loves his cheese and biscuits, something like Cote Hill Blue cheese works perfectly. It's a soft blue cheese made with unpasteurised milk produced from milk from their 80 pedigree Friesian cows.
With 18 other blue cheese wheels in our collection, someone you love will be in blue cheese heaven.
Our selection includes some of the world's most sought-after blue cheese wheels, including Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and Stilton.
Our blue cheese wheels range from mild to strong and pungent, with a variety of textures from creamy to crumbly. Whether your loved one prefers a mild, creamy blue cheese or a strong, robust one, there's sure to be something that satisfies their palate.
We also offer blue cheese in a variety of forms, including wedges, crumbles, and spreads. With such a vast selection, your loved ones will be sure to find their perfect blue cheese.
Red Leicester
Red Leicester is a hard cheese, similar to Cheddar but much moister, crumblier with a milder flavour. It matures faster than cheddar and can be sold as young as two months.
A firm body and a close, flaky texture can identify a high-quality Leicester cheese.
Leicester is a cheese originally made in the English county of Leicestershire. It is a hard, crumbly cheese made from cow's milk and is often coloured orange by adding annatto. It is usually matured for up to eighteen months and has a mild, slightly salty flavour.
This cheese is popular with wedding cakes because of its colour and popularity. People know what to expect.
Red Leicester is also a great addition to salads, sandwiches, and cheese platters. It can be used as a topping on pizza or melted on top of toast. It can be melted in sauces or grated over pasta dishes. When melted, the cheese takes on an oozy, creamy texture that adds a unique flavour to any dish.
Gouda
Gouda is a cheese that originated in the Netherlands, named after the city of Gouda. It is a semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk and is one of the world's most popular and widely consumed cheeses.
Gouda is typically aged five to eighteen months before it is sold, and the longer it is aged, the sharper and more intense the flavour. It is known for its creamy texture and sweet, nutty taste.
Gouda is often used in sandwiches, soups, salads, and sauces and can also be melted and served with crackers or bread.
Gouda cheese is a delicious addition to any cheese wedding cake. Its rich, creamy flavour and bold texture provide tantalising notes that please even the most discerning palate.
Our Gouda is a mild Dutch Gouda from the Belle de Hollande brand of Vandersterre. The cheese is mild in flavour with a slight nuttiness to the taste and a smooth texture.
Here's why Gouda is an excellent choice for your special day:
- The nutty taste of this cheese brings out the unique flavours of the cake's other ingredients.
- Gouda's creaminess adds a delightful richness to every bite.
- This cheese has the right saltiness that perfectly ties everything together.
At our weddings, we understand how important it is to get just the right mix of cheeses for your cake. We work with top-quality brands to ensure you get the right product on your big day.
Our team puts extra care into selecting only the finest Gouda for each cake — because we believe no detail should go unnoticed when making memories that last a lifetime!
Goat Milk Cheese
Goat milk cheese is a type of cheese made from the milk of goats. It can be found in various forms, from soft and spreadable to hard and crumbly. Goat cheese is a popular ingredient in many dishes known for its distinctive flavour.
It is often used in salads and pasta dishes, as well as in sandwiches and pizzas. It can also be used as a topping for baked goods and desserts.
Goat milk cheese is a unique and flavourful addition to wedding cakes. The creamy, rich cheese pairs well with various cake flavours, including vanilla, chocolate, almond, and lemon.
Goat milk cheese has a number of health benefits. It is low in fat and cholesterol, and is a great source of protein and calcium. It is also easier to digest than cow’s milk cheese, making it a great choice for those with lactose intolerance.
Sheep's Milk Cheese
Most cheeses are made from cow's milk, but you can also find cheese wheels made from sheep's milk.
Sheep's milk is high in fat content, which makes it ideal for cheese production. It has a unique flavour that is both sweet and slightly salty. It also has a rich, creamy texture that adds complexity to the cheese wheels. Sheep milk cheese is usually aged for a few months to bring out the full flavour of its flavour. It is perfect for adding a touch of sweetness to a cheese wheel cake.
Try Spain's Manchego cheese, a small cylinder of Manchego cheese from the La Mancha region of Spain. This sheep's milk cheese is very firm with a distinctive flavour.
It's often served with quince paste or a glass of sherry for a Spanish-style snack. This cheese can be eaten on its own or grated over salads, pasta dishes, and more.
Closer to home, we have cheese from the Swaledale dairy in Yorkshire. Their 2kg black waxed Ewe's milk cheese is mild and smooth with a slight tang that compliments its soft, moist open texture. It also looks great as the smaller tier on a wedding cake.
These are just a few examples of the many types of sheep's milk cheeses available. Whether you're looking for a mild cheese to add to your sandwich or a more complex flavour for your cheese board, check out your local cheese shop for more options.
Decorating Tips for Cheese Wedding Cakes
You want something to make a statement when decorating your cheese wedding cake. There are many beautiful and creative ways to dress up the top tier of your dreamy cheese cake.
Add edible flowers, fresh herbs or even fruits like figs or cherries for an extra special touch.
If you're looking for more traditional decorations, use ribbons in colours that complement the cheese varieties used—such as the cranberry-infused cheddar with light pink ribbon accents.
Ultimately, when deciding how to decorate your cheese wedding cake, experiment with what speaks to you regarding aesthetics and flavour profiles. Whether arranging slices of different cheeses into intricate patterns or simply adorning each layer with matching wreaths of greenery or flowers, there is no wrong way to design your masterpiece!
With careful planning and some creativity, you can create a unique work of art sure to dazzle all who behold it.
Conclusion
As a professional wedding planner, I have seen many couples choose to serve cheese wedding cakes instead of traditional white or chocolate cakes, but most weddings have both.
The beauty of these cakes is that the type of cheese used can be customised according to the couple's preferences and dietary restrictions. From creamy Brie, sharp Cheddar, and salty organic Vintage Cheddar, each cheese adds its own unique flavour profile to the cake.
I often recommend incorporating complementary flavours such as fruits like figs and apricots for sweetness. As well as herbs and spices such as rosemary, sage, thyme, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and onion powder. As well as a great collection of accompaniments like crackers, oatcakes, bread, chutney and olives.
These additional elements help take the cake from simply delicious to unforgettable!
When decorating your cheese wedding cake, let your creativity shine through!
You can arrange fresh flowers around the base or incorporate edible items like nuts into the design. With so many options available, be sure to find one that works with your vision and style of celebration.
Cheese wedding cakes are an exceptional way to add something special to this once-in-a-lifetime day.
Remember, behind every great cheese, there's normally a great story. Don't forget the story when choosing your cheeses.
Choose cheeses that have a personal significance to make the cake even more meaningful.
Overall, cheese wedding cakes are a delicious and personal way to make your wedding day even more memorable. Don't be afraid to let your unique style and tastes shine through when creating your perfect cheese wedding cake!
Plus, they are delicious!
At the end of the day, the main goal is to create a memorable and personalised wedding celebration that reflects your unique style and tastes.