In the Confection World...

Decoration is edible but not always, shall we say, to drool for. Chocolate cake wraps -- soft, pliable white chocolate that is tinted, colored, shaped, and sculpted -- raise the bar.

Dressed in a chocolate wrap, every element of a cake, from its rich layers and creamy filling to its luscious frosting, collaborates to stir and satisfy both the eye and the appetite. Could there be a more perfect wedding cake?

"White chocolate tastes good," says Cecile Gady, cake designer and owner of Cakework. Gady is one of many bakers who have embraced white chocolate as a cake wrap in recent years. She's known for her prowess as a baker, cake designer, and sculptor -- striped wraps are a Gady signature. For Simply Creative Weddings readers, Gady designed four cakes, one of which might inspire your own!

Stripes are right, says Gady, as are polka dots and whatever colors, shapes, or motifs the wedding couple enjoys. While many brides want cakes that match or complement their wedding colors or flowers, Gady encourages another approach. "Envision opening the door to the reception and seeing your cake for the first time that day. What would make you happy? If it's wild and wacky even though your wedding is black-tie formal -- go for it. A couple's wedding cake should be exciting to them."

When it comes to dressing a cake, you have options. The cakes featured in this article are first coated with a thin layer of buttercream and then wrapped in a soft, pliable, oh-so-delicious white chocolate, which offers a smooth, elegant look and artful decorating options. A similar look can be achieved with fondant, a more common sweet-cooked blend of sugar, water, cream of tartar, and occasionally gelatin. Fondant dries hard after being colored and flavored, then rolled, poured, or sculpted.

Buttercream frosting, made with sugar, cream, butter, and vanilla, is, as its name suggests, creamy and soft. Buttercream can be flavored, tinted, and spread smooth; textured; or piped into decorative flowers or trims. Buttercream's drawback is that it responds to climate fluctuations, melting and slipping in hot weather and cracking in dry conditions. Both drawbacks can be managed because butter cream's soft texture makes it easy to mend.

Finally, royal icing is a mix of confectioner's sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice that can be colored and dries to a hard, glossy sheen. Most of us know it best as icing for holiday cutout cookies. On wedding cakes, royal icing is often piped on for fine-texture decorative treatments or lettering.