40 Delectable Wedding Cake Alternatives For Your Wedding Day
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Order nowWhen it comes to wedding day desserts, there are plenty of delicious and stylish wedding cake alternatives for those couples looking to try something different. Whether cake really just isn’t your thing or you’re looking to get creative and go an untraditional route, we have some top-tier dessert ideas that’ll put traditional wedding cakes to shame.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the 40 most delectable wedding cake alternatives that’ll make your dessert table the talk of the town!
40 Wedding Cake Alternatives
1. Wedding Cake Pop Wall
Traditional wedding cakes are good, but cake pops are better. Who wouldn’t want to serve their cake in this fun form? Everything tastes better on a stick and a wedding cake pop wall can still be a dazzling dessert display for all your guests to marvel at.
2. Mini Wedding Pies
For those looking for wedding cake alternatives, have you thought about pies? Pies can be a delicious alternative, and even better when it’s snack size, allowing your guests to try multiple versions of these fruity or chocolatey treats.
Planning By: Glacier Park Weddings
3. Donut Cake
Donuts can definitely have a very similar vibe as cake, but they can also make for some nifty wedding cake alternatives. Stack your favorite donut flavors in a tower to create a mouth-watering donut display.
Dessert by: VG Donuts
4. Cupcakes
Cakes may be pretty, but slicing a cake can be less than fun. You have to plan out your slices just right so all pieces are equal and fair. When it comes to cupcakes, however, these tasty treats are the perfect proportions, all ready for your guests to consume. Plus, who doesn’t love a delicious cupcake?
Dessert by: VG Donuts
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Individual desserts can be a great option to have at your wedding so all of your guests feel like they have some choice in their sweets. Fruit tarts can be that sweet and refreshing cake alternative your reception needs.
6. Macaron Tower
Macarons have a certain natural elegance to them. They’re delicate sandwich cookies that are light and chewy. Displaying your macarons in a tower can serve as the perfect nontraditional wedding cake. These treats can also be dyed to fit your wedding color scheme.
Dessert by: Meredith at Unoriginal Mom
7. Candy Buffet
Wedding cake alternatives like this one will make you feel like a kid in a candy shop as this idea involves literal candy. Set up your favorite sweets and treats on a dessert table to create your very own candy buffet.
8. Gourmet Cinnamon Rolls
While cinnamon rolls can of course be enjoyed at any time of day, this non-traditional wedding cake can be an excellent idea if you’re planning a morning wedding celebration right in time for breakfast!
9. Wedding Cake Rice Krispies Treats
You can’t go wrong with a nice, ooey-gooey Rice Krispies treat. While they might make your hands sticky, these treats are sure to bring joy to your wedding guests as they enjoy these marshmallow and cereal bars, thinking fondly of their childhood.
10. Cheese Wheel Wedding Cake
Maybe sweets aren’t your thing, but cheeses totally are. In that case, get creative by ditching the DIY wedding cake and opting for a DIY cheese wheel cake creation instead! It’s a stunning display that you can easily create yourself. Just don’t forget to label the different cheeses.
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11. Wedding Bundt Cake
Beautiful wedding cakes don’t have to look traditional. Your cake doesn’t need to have tiers or be fully coated in icing. Instead, it can be a Bundt cake with a frosting drizzle, providing the perfect look and the same great taste.
12. Croquembouche Tower
A croquembouche is a French dessert consisting of individual pastry balls displayed in a tower form and then drizzled with caramel. This fancy dessert option is appealing to look at and delicious to eat.
13. Wedding Brownies
For all the chocolate lovers out there, a delectable wedding brownie might be the dessert calling your name. Ditch the cake and opt for beautifully decorated brownies to put out on display instead.
14. Layered Cookie Wedding Cake
Cookies are a dessert-time staple. They’re quick to make, easy to snack on, and delicious to enjoy. They’re one of those treats that never fail to impress. If you’re a lover of cookies, then consider a non-traditional wedding cake made out of cookies instead.
15. Cannoli Tower Wedding Cake
Cannoli are Italian pastries filled with ricotta cheese in the center. They’re an elegant treat that’ll satisfy your dessert cravings. If cannoli are calling your name, serve them stacked in a tower for a fun wedding dessert display.
16. Wedding Fortune Cookies
These fun, decorated treats can easily become a wedding day must-have. Not only are they one of the more original wedding cake alternatives on this list, but the possibilities are endless when you think about the fun fortunes you can create and have added to every adorable fortune cookie. This wedding dessert idea is sure to make your menu memorable.
17. Mousse Shooters
When it comes to desserts, presentation is everything. These adorable mousse shooters are exactly the type of non-traditional wedding cakes that nail the presentation. Each guest can help themselves to a beautifully structured snack-sized glass of chocolate mousse and cake.
18. Creme Brulee Shots
Adding to our ideas of delicious desserts served in a shot glass are these creme brulee shots. It’s the delicious, custard goodness of creme brulee all in an easy-to-grab glass. And don’t forget about the torched sugar on top. We all know that’s the best part.
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Feeling zesty? It’s time to indulge in the citrusy sensation of lemon bars at your wedding reception. If you’re craving that strong, fruity flavor, this can be an excellent option as far as wedding cake alternatives go.
20. Milkshakes
While you may be mostly concentrated on desserts you can eat, how about a creamy and refreshing option you can sip on? That’s right, we’re talking about milkshakes. To serve milkshakes with an elegant, wedding-day touch, consider serving them in mason jars embellished with lace and top the shake-off with pearl sprinkles.
21. Cookie Dough Display
If there’s one guilty pleasure most people have, it’s sneaking in spoonfuls of cookie dough before baking cookies. To appease this crowd, consider serving edible cookie dough at your wedding reception.
22. S’mores Cups
Nothing says summer quite like roasting marshmallows around the bonfire and making delicious, gooey s’mores. Bottle those fun and tasty memories into an individual serving cup for a unique wedding dessert option.
23. Parfaits
Speaking of individual cup desserts, parfaits can be excellent wedding cake alternatives for those who want more variety on their dessert table. Parfaits can be layers and served in all different flavors whether they be chocolatey or fruity.
Dessert by: Flavor Cup Cakery
24. Pate De Fruit
Pate de fruit are like gourmet chewy fruit candies that’ll bring a unique aspect to your wedding dessert lineup. These bite-sized treats are colorful and sweet, perfect for your guests to enjoy.
Dessert by: William Dean Chocolates
25. Caramel Apple Dessert Cups
Caramel apples are delicious treats that come to prominence, especially during the fall months. No matter what season it may be, if you, too, want to enjoy that great caramel apple taste but in a bite-sized manner without all the mess, then caramel apple dessert cups are a great alternative.
26. Bride & Groom Chocolate Covered Strawberries
The cost of a wedding cake can get rather expensive. However, gorgeous treats like these Bride and Groom chocolate-covered strawberries can be significantly cheaper while being that much more unique and stylish than your traditional wedding cake.
27. Mini Cheesecakes
Another fantastic non-traditional wedding cake option includes individual treats in the form of mini cheesecakes. Dress up these standard New York-style cheesecake cups with colorful fruits to bring your display to the next level.
28. Meringue Kisses
Meringue kisses are a unique dessert idea that is light, soft, and will melt in your mouth. This simple-to-make treat requires only sugar and egg whites. You can make them yourself and have delicious snacks in no time. Pipe them out to make fun shapes and add food dye to match your desired scheme.
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29. Pancake Wedding Cake
Getting ready for your brunch wedding theme? Then there’s no better non-traditional wedding cake than a pancake cake. Stack your various-sized pancakes on top of one another with a thin layer of icing or whipped cream in between then embellish the presentation with fruits, decorative flowers, and powdered sugar.
30. Churro Cart
Looking to up your wedding dessert game with some freshly fried churros? Look no further than the churro cart. Renting out a churro cart and letting your guests decorate their own piping hot churro can be quite a memorable way to serve dessert.
31. Hot Chocolate Bar
If the weather outside is frightful, then the hot chocolate bar can be so delightful. Keep your guests warm and cozy with a create-your-own hot chocolate bar full of different flavoring options and marshmallow toppings for your guests to indulge.
32. Kransekake Wedding Cake
The Kransekake is a Norwegian wreath-shaped cake. It has a very almondy taste to it as that’s one of the main ingredients when making one. A traditional Kransekake cake has at least 18 rings of cake, if not more. When it comes to wedding cake alternatives, this is the perfect option for feeding a large guest list.
33. Oreo Cookie Tower
It’s amazing what a little creativity and a couple dozen packages of Oreos can do. If you or your partner happens to be an Oreo fanatic, satisfy your wildest dreams by serving an Oreo cookie tower cake at your wedding. You can top this crazy creation off with a funny wedding cake topper.
34. Snow Cone Display
This unique option is especially refreshing for a warm, outdoor wedding ceremony. Let your guests cool off with a crushed ice snow cone. Create a snow cone station for your guests to test out different flavorings.
35. Ice Cream Sandwich Tower
This adorable display is one that won’t last too long. Have ice cream sandwiches prepared beforehand then put them out for display for a limited time before the melting ensues. Your guests are sure to love this beautiful and delicious presentation.
36. Gelato Truck
Another refreshing, cold snack comes in the form of gelato. Hiring a gelato truck to cater for your wedding reception can be a unique and memorable experience.
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37. Klondike Bars
Introducing a dish best served cold. That’s right, it’s an entire plate of Klondike Bars. Sometimes nothing beats an ice cream bar on a warm day. Serving ice cream as wedding cake alternatives can certainly be a crowd-pleaser.
38. Mini Banana Pudding Cups
Looking for the best wedding cake alternatives? Well, the proof is in the pudding. These mini banana pudding cups are super cute and sure to delight.
39. Sushi Wedding Cake
Forget the sweets, it’s time for savory. Have you thought about having a sushi non-traditional wedding cake? Simply create a sushi bar on a tiered display, and let your guests dig in. What a unique presentation!
40. Waffle Wedding Cake
We had a non-traditional wedding cake made out of pancakes earlier on this list, but how about waffles? A stack of waffles and a drizzle of maple syrup can be a deliciously sweet wedding cake alternative for your big day.
Wedding Cake Alternatives: Frequently Asked Questions
It’s often traditional to have a white, tiered wedding cake at your wedding reception; however, this isn’t something you absolutely must have. Cake isn’t everyone’s favorite, so if you’d rather opt for a non-traditional dessert option, feel free to do so!
Typically wedding ceremonies will have cakes or other desserts to end the main meal. While desserts can be a fun and sweet way to close out your celebration, for example, if you’re planning a more unique wedding such as a brunch wedding, you can get creative with “dessert time” by serving a pancake or waffle wedding cake instead.
Dummy wedding cakes are fake cakes used primarily for decoration and photo opportunities. A dummy cake is made out of Styrofoam and then decorated all fancy to look like the real deal. When the time comes for dessert, you can then serve a simple sliced sheet cake that’s been hiding in the kitchen.
Dig In!
Now that you’ve had the chance to look through various wedding cake alternatives, it’s time to select your ideal dessert menu and dig in! You truly can’t go wrong with any of these options.
Whether you’re simply not a cake person, you have dietary restrictions, or you just want your favorite dessert to be served on your big day, there are so many reasons to choose a non-traditional wedding cake!
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