A wedding cake alternative in Vancouver that doubles as the centrepiece

A wedding cake requires a cutting, a knife, a stack of plates, forks for every guest, and usually a member of the catering staff removed from something else to portion it. A croquembouche requires none of that. It is broken open, and guests take pieces with their hands. At a wedding, where the last hour is people standing and talking, that matters more than it sounds like it should.

A croquembouche stands between fifty and seventy centimetres. It photographs well from every angle and holds a room’s attention without needing flowers built around it. Most couples budget separately for a dessert table arrangement and for the cake itself. This is one thing.

We build to your guest count. A hundred guests, a hundred and twenty puffs. There is no leftover half-tier for someone to take home and forget in a fridge.

The honest trade is that you lose the cake-cutting shot. What you get in exchange is the traditional breaking of the croquembouche — struck open with the back of a spoon or a sword, caramel shattering, guests reaching in. It is a better photograph and a better moment, but it is a different one, and you should decide that deliberately rather than discover it on the day.

Croquembouche is assembled the morning of your event and collected the same day. Caramel and humidity are not friends, so it should be indoors or well shaded, and served within about three hours of pickup.

We need at least six weeks’ notice, and more during the Vancouver summer season when most weekends book out by spring. Tell us your date, your guest count, and whether you want a single flavour or a mixed build.

We also make smaller towers for engagement parties and rehearsal dinners, and boxed puffs for welcome bags.