Orchid Wedding Cakes

For the bride and groom who prize something a little exotic and very romantic, consider an orchid cake.
What springs to mind when you hear “orchid cake?” The term can refer to a color, which would normally be a light, though vivid, purple hue. But more often, an orchid cake would feature any number of a variety of the popular tropical flower, or handcrafted gum paste versions, which can be tinted to the couple’s preference.
Should a bride or baker choose fresh flowers to garnish a wedding cake, orchids are an excellent choice, because they are edible and non-toxic (provided they are not treated with pesticides.)
Although, as previously mentioned, the color “orchid” normally refers to a light color, they are a diverse bloom, with more than 20,000 known species, and are, as such, available in a variety of hues, from white to green, from pink to purple, and from yellow to orange and even red. And it’s not just flowers that we have the humble orchid to thank for; the ubiquitous and wonderfully scented vanilla bean is actually the pod of an orchid plant!
If you would like to garnish a cake with orchids, the rule of thumb would be to stay simple with the design. Orchids, though beautiful, are exotic. To use such a flower on an already highly-embellished cake may just be overkill.
Some of the most popular choices for orchid garnishes include the large, white or green cymbidium orchids, the small, classic light purple, white, or green dendrobium orchids, or even the ethereal phalaenopsis orchid, which is available in white, yellow, pink, or purple.