July 6th, 2010 
Emily Care for a slice of year-old cake? Sounds tempting, right? I have no idea when the tradition started, but Matt and I decided to take part. Well, actually, my mom decided we would take part. The bit about not planning to save the cake was lost among the many details in planning a wedding. Matt and I knew our baker would make us an anniversary cake so we wouldn’t have to worry about buying more cake just to save it. In the end, we were glad to have plenty of cake to celebrate our first anniversary. (Thanks mom!) I’m sharing it today, because it’s officially our second wedding anniversary.
Here’s the cake the year before. Pretty and oh so yummy! It was butter cream frosting with marble cake. I think we may have had another flavor in there, but I can’t remember. Maybe white cake with a berry filling?
Our wedding cake!
Our cake turned out pretty darn good for being a year old. Noting my mom’s good methods, here is how to save a wedding cake for your first anniversary.
First, wrap it in plastic wrap. Be sure to be fairly firm, but not so that you strangle the cake. Go ahead and use a couple of layers.
Wrap the wedding cake in plastic wrap.
Next, wrap it in foil. Again, you’ll not want there to be much air but you don’t want to crush it. Then place it in a plastic, sealed container and stick it in the freezer.
Anniversary cake in foil.
When you go to eat it, be sure to let it thaw a bit. Unless, you’re like me and don’t mind frozen cake. (Mmmm ice cream cake…). Here’s what my slice looked like:
A slice of year-old wedding cake.
We were a bit apprehensive, but it turned out pretty good. Some of the edges were soggy, so I didn’t really eat those parts.
Matt going in for the bite of anniversary cake.
The anniversary couple enjoying their cake.
So, now it’s time for a poll.
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I hope that eating your cake together let you think about all the memories of your first year together. The family is looking forward to seeing your memories for many years in the future.
I found this online:
“The tradition is rooted in late 19th century when grand cakes were baked for christening of the first child. At that time, it was assumed that christening would occur soon after the wedding ceremony so the two ceremonies came to be linked along with the cakes. Gradually, wedding cakes became more elaborate and christening cake took a back seat. Later, when the custom of three-tier wedding cake emerged, the bottom tier was used for reception, the middle for distribution and the top for the christening. With the passage of time wedding became disassociated with christening as the time gap between the two events increased. Hence the reason for preserving top layer of the cake changed. Couples began to preserve it for their first anniversary and to remind themselves of their special day. In the UK, there is a tradition to send a piece of wedding cake to people who are unable to attend the ceremony and make them a part of celebrations.”
We saved our top layer and ate it on our first anniversary. Blech. It was 6 more years before a christening cake might be needed, and as the cake tasted like soggy cardboard after one year, there was no hope of preserving more. Incidentally, I’m grateful the tradition of sending a piece of cake to those unable to attend the ceremony has not taken hold here. Imagine what the mail slot would look like.
When we got married, my mom suggested vaccuum sealing the top of our cake. We used a large canister and then put it in our chest freezer. A year later, it was just like the day of our wedding. Delicious!!!