Wedding Cake Trends (2018) A Cake Collaboration

Cake Trend: The NEW Rustic

Goodbye mason jars and burlap. There's a new kind of rustic in town and it's a feast for the eyes. Brides are sticking with natural elements on their cakes like fresh flowers but have now been piling on gorgeous juicy berries and drips.

While buttercream is still king, naked cakes are still alive and well. Cakes might be naked but the frosting is clean in a style called a "nearly naked cake". Rustic buttercream is still very much in fashion but you'll be seeing more and more color and metallics as well.

To incorporate this trend into your event, opt for more than one cake that are small and simple in decoration but make a big impact visually. Use fresh fruits inside and outside your cake like raspberry filling. Don't forget to add in other desserts, perhaps a favorite of the bride and groom?

Shani Christensen of Shani's Sweet Art makes a LOT of rustic cakes for her brides in California. Often times they are paired with other small cakes, cookies, other desserts and pies (also trending btw) for a lavishly natural spread.

About this cake:

"I live in an area where rustic themed weddings are the norm. It's a rugged and rural area and most venues are old wooden barns, natural forested settings or on the cliffs of the rugged northern California coast line. The style just fits with the natural beauty of the area. Lately many of my brides are stepping up their vision of a rustic styled wedding and trending away from just a simple rustic styled cake.

We are designing beautiful dessert tables that include several smaller, complimentary styled cakes along with multiple dessert options for their guests. Traditional rustic cake designs like textured buttercream finishes and semi-naked cakes are getting a make over with trendy colors and gold accents.

Piles of fresh berries and fruit add a luscious and decadent element while abundant fresh floral decorations complete the lovely, natural style. Intricate pies are the newest addition to the line up. A decidedly rustic option but we are bumping up the style factor with decorative crusts and fresh floral accents.

Rustic dessert tables are as popular as ever and I think the new upscale style will be inspiring many brides and cake artists this season."

More about Shani:

Shani is an award winning, professional cake artist living in Mendocino, a tiny victorian style village on the rugged and beautiful northern coast of California. Shani's cake adventures began with her love for baking special treats for her family combined with her obsessive need to be creative and make beautiful things. Sweet art was her calling and she jumped in whole heartedly.

Not being able to afford pastry school or any formal classes, Shani did her best to gather knowledge where she could. Youtube, tutorials, Craftsy, books, anything that she could get her hands on really, and has turned her love for sweet art into a thriving custom cake business. Shani has been creating artisan cakes for almost 6 years now and is loving every minute of it.

Along with having many of her creations published in magazines, she has had the honor of winning multiple awards in cake competitions. Shani has now turned her hand to teaching and blogging, creating online tutorials and teaching at cake shows across the US. You can find many of Shani's signature recipes and cake decorating tutorials on her blog Shani's Sweet Art - Making Sweet Things Beautiful.