Q & A: What is the proper way to cut a tiered wedding cake?

Q. What is the proper way to cut a tiered wedding cake?

A. We went to one of the very TOP wedding cake bakeries in the U.S. - cakes the White House are common from here. The shop is "Cakes of Elegance" in Dallas, Texas. Here is the "quote" for properly cutting one of their cakes (three tiers or more). This procedure will vary with how your cake is constructed and what type of base and/or bases are used. HOW TO CUT THE CAKE The top tier should be the "anniversary cake" this is removed and kept (in the freezer). Serve from the top tier down and serve only the back of each tier, this preserves the appearance of the cake for the guests. First cut the tier with a vertical cut holding knife straight up and down - make this cut about 2 inches in from the outside of the cake (as though you were cutting a circle within the cake circle (or square within the cake square) then cut 1 inch slices, the depth of the tier you are working on. Insert knife beneath the portion to release it from the tier below and place on the serving plate. Once you have cut and served the entire back side of the cake you may repeat the procedure with another concentric circle cut 2 inches in from the remaining outside (if the cake is big enough) or move down to the next tier and start over again. Have a damp napkin handy to clean your knife blade occasionally - Use a sharp knife (the heavy silver ones are pretty, but do not give you a good clean slice) - it is best is one person cuts the cake and the other handles the plates. So you really need two people to serve each cake. - occasionally place a flower, strawberry or chocolate curl on the plate with the serving as you come to them. Now if all this seems very confusing - send me your fax number and I will fax you the information page with some diagrams.