Choosing the Best Medium for Your Wedding Cake: Fondant, Buttercream, or White Chocolate Ganache
When it comes to planning your wedding cake, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is choosing the covering or medium. The right choice not only affects the look and style of your cake, but also its structure, stability, and how well it holds up throughout the day. As the sole baker, designer, and owner of Bloom and Crumb, I often guide couples through this decision, helping them weigh the pros and cons of fondant, buttercream, and white chocolate ganache so their cake is not only beautiful but perfectly suited to their wedding season and style.
Whether you’re planning a wedding in London, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, or elsewhere in the Home Counties, understanding your options is a crucial part of creating a wedding cake that will delight both visually and in taste.
Fondant: Clean, Classic, and Perfect for Sculpted Designs
Fondant is often the first thing people think of when they imagine a traditional wedding cake. It’s smooth, polished, and incredibly versatile, making it ideal for couples who want a clean and classic look.
Fondant works beautifully if you’re planning draping, ruffles, marbling, or sculpted cake designs. You can create intricate embellishments, delicate flowers, or textured patterns that simply wouldn’t be possible with buttercream alone. For large, extravagant wedding cakes, fondant allows the structure to hold complex shapes without sagging or losing definition.
At Bloom and Crumb, I personally don’t use fondant as my main medium for full cakes, as my style leans more towards ganache and buttercream. That said, fondant is fantastic for adding ridge designs, small embellishments, or marbling effects, which can really elevate a cake visually while keeping the overall style elegant and refined.
If your wedding is in summer or you’re planning a cake that will sit out for a while, fondant can also help protect delicate decorations from heat and humidity. However, it’s worth noting that fondant can sometimes feel a little sweet or chewy for some guests, so I often balance it with delicious fillings and sponge flavours underneath.
Buttercream: Perfect for Vintage Piping and Textured Cakes
If you love a soft, romantic, and vintage feel, buttercream is an excellent choice. I particularly enjoy Swiss meringue buttercream for vintage piped wedding cakes, ridged designs, or textured layers. Buttercream has a warmth and softness that gives cakes a more personal and handcrafted appearance.
Buttercream works beautifully for spring and winter weddings, but I generally don’t recommend it for summer weddings where the cake will be out for several hours. Even Swiss meringue buttercream, which is more stable than regular buttercream, can soften in high temperatures, causing ridges or piped details to lose their definition. That’s why, for any buttercream wedding cake, I always have a layer of ganache underneath for stability — it ensures the cake maintains its shape and is easier to carve if needed.
The beauty of buttercream lies in its texture and taste. It’s creamy, not overly sweet, and lends itself perfectly to soft piping, delicate ridges, and vintage-inspired finishes. If your wedding is in cooler months or in a well-controlled indoor environment, a buttercream wedding cake can be the perfect choice to achieve that timeless, romantic look.
White Chocolate Ganache: My Favourite Medium
If I had to choose a favourite, it would be white chocolate ganache. I love it because it’s stable, versatile, and incredibly flavourful, making it perfect for both summer and winter weddings.
White chocolate ganache is wonderful for couples who want a cake that can sit out for hours without compromising its structure. It’s also fantastic for carving — if your design requires a sculpted or geometric element, ganache holds its shape beautifully. You can also dye it, colour it, or smooth it for a flawless finish, making it incredibly flexible for your chosen wedding theme.
For me, the taste is equally important. While fondant and buttercream can sometimes feel sweet or heavy, white chocolate ganache has a smooth, rich flavour that complements a wide variety of sponge and filling combinations. It’s also the base I most commonly use at Bloom and Crumb for single-tier or multi-tier cakes, ensuring they remain both delicious and structurally sound throughout your wedding day.
Seasonality and Wedding Style
When choosing the right medium for your cake, it’s essential to consider seasonality and your wedding environment:
Summer weddings: Fondant or white chocolate ganache is recommended. Buttercream may melt if left out for long periods.
Winter weddings: Ganache and buttercream both work beautifully, with buttercream offering that soft, romantic look and ganache providing stability if the heating is high.
Indoor vs outdoor: Outdoor cakes benefit from the structural stability of ganache or fondant, while indoor cakes can safely showcase buttercream details.
Style and aesthetic: Vintage, rustic, or textured designs often suit buttercream best, while classic, sculpted, or intricately decorated cakes may call for fondant or ganache.
At Bloom and Crumb, I always recommend discussing your wedding style, season, and location before finalising your cake medium. This ensures your cake not only looks incredible but also performs well throughout your celebration.
How I Work with Each Medium at Bloom and Crumb
As a sole trader, every cake I create is entirely designed and baked by me. My approach is very hands-on: I consider both the visual impact and the structural stability when selecting your cake medium.
Fondant: Used primarily for marbling, ridge designs, or decorative details. Great for sculpted elements or large-scale embellishments.
Buttercream: Ideal for vintage piped cakes, textured designs, or ridged layers. Best for spring, autumn, or winter weddings. Always paired with a ganache base for stability.
White chocolate ganache: My personal favourite. Stable, versatile, carvable, and delicious. Perfect for summer and winter weddings, ideal for sculpted designs, and works beautifully as a base for layered or multi-tier cakes.
No two weddings are the same, and I love creating cakes that reflect each couple’s personality, venue, and wedding vision. Choosing the right medium is an essential part of making your cake uniquely yours.
Choosing the Right Wedding Cake Medium
Ultimately, your choice of cake covering comes down to a combination of:
Wedding season and location
Desired style and aesthetic
Structural needs for design
Taste preference
By understanding the benefits and limitations of fondant, buttercream, and white chocolate ganache, you can make an informed decision that ensures your wedding cake looks beautiful, tastes amazing, and lasts throughout your celebration.
@wolfshootsweddings
Planning Your Wedding Cake with Bloom and Crumb
If you’re planning a wedding in London, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, or elsewhere in the Home Counties and are still deciding on your cake style or medium, I’d love to help. At Bloom and Crumb, I specialise in creating bespoke wedding cakes tailored to your season, style, and taste. Whether you’re drawn to vintage piped buttercream, elegant fondant designs, or versatile white chocolate ganache, I’ll guide you through the process and craft a cake that’s perfect for your day.
Get in touch with Bloom and Crumb to start designing your dream wedding cake — together, we’ll create something beautiful, delicious, and perfectly suited to your celebration.
