The Most Popular Wedding Cake Flavors, According to Expert Bakers

If you’ve chosen to serve wedding cake, there are several key details you'll need to decide on before you make that milestone first slice on the big day. Finding the right baker to help make your wedding day that much sweeter is an important step. And of course, you’ll need to understand how big of a confection you'll need (which comes down to your guest count) and choose a stunning design (preferably one that corresponds to your overarching vision of theme). The last important piece of the puzzle? Selecting your wedding cake flavor, of course.

Choosing your wedding cake flavor is all about finding a balance between what you, your partner, and your guests truly love. While sticking with a timeless vanilla cake with vanilla frosting is always a safe bet, there are plenty of other popular flavor options and combinations to consider. According to Randi Smith, the owner of Sugar Euphoria, many couples are looking for crowd favorites, but they’re selecting flavor profiles that take classics up a notch. And many other bakers say couples are getting more and more adventurous. “I used to hear concerns about certain flavors not being appropriate for a wedding cake, but now our clients are looking at the cake as another area to surprise and delight their guests,” adds Heather Leavitt, owner of Sweet Heather Anne.

Ready to find inspiration for your perfect wedding cake flavor? We asked eight expert bakers to share all about the top flavors their couples are requesting.

The Most Popular Wedding Cake Flavors Today

Vanilla Cake

Long gone are the days of "vanilla" being synonymous with "boring." Vanilla or vanilla bean cakes can be just as flavorful as other options. For most bakers, it’s their top requested flavor, and that’s all due to the versatility of this cake flavor and the possibilities for incorporating different fillings and frostings. Think of it as a delicious, blank canvas. “My most popular is vanilla—I think because it lends itself to meld with so many other flavors!” says Nicole Redd-McIntosh, owner of Nicole Bakes Cakes. “It's a clean palette to have fun with.” Redd-McIntosh pairs vanilla cake with a mixed berry compote and strawberry buttercream for her Berry Much flavor, along with offering a vanilla cake soaked with tequila syrup, paired with tequila buttercream swirled with passionfruit curd.

For Smith, one of her most popular flavor combinations is a vanilla bean cake with lemon curd and mixed berry buttercream.

Lemon Cake

A lemon cake is a popular choice for a late spring or summertime wedding—and it can pair with so many fillings and frostings. For Fehintola Bolodeoku, the founder of the U.K.-based Mon Annie Cakes, the "single most requested flavor is lemon," she says. "For our clients, it has been lemon in combination with elderflower buttercream and blackcurrant  jam." Dominque Pickering, the owner of Poppy Pickering Cake Design, affirms the popularity of this exact flavor profile, noting that her lemon, elderflower, and blueberry cake is a very popular choice. It’s a twist on a typical lemon cake, and she says it tastes wonderful on a hot summer’s day along with a glass of bubbly.

A lemon cake can also be paired with lemon curd, a raspberry filling, berry frosting, or even lavender. “Our most popular flavor is an elderflower-soaked lemon cake with blackberry jam and vanilla buttercream,” adds Tiffany MacIsaac, owner of Buttercream Bakeshop.

Chocolate Cake

If you’re a chocolate lover, there’s no reason to stray from a chocolate wedding cake. And while it may not seem like it’s everybody’s first choice, it’s usually the second or third most requested flavor for many bakers. But for Kara Burfeind, the owner of The SweetSide, which is based in Seattle, chocolate cake, well, takes the cake—it's currently her clients' clear favorite. "I think we are seeing a return to the classics," she says. "They are not boring, and they are popular for a reason—they are delicious!"

One of Leavitt’s most requested combinations is a chocolate cake paired with salted caramel sauce and crème fraiche buttercream. For Smith’s clients, a chocolate cake with espresso buttercream and dulce de leche is very popular.

Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is definitely on the list of popular flavors, and there are plenty of possibilities of what this cake can taste like. Classic carrot cake might be paired with cream cheese frosting, but it also pairs well with whipped cream or a fluffy vanilla frosting with a drizzle of caramel sauce. And of course, you can choose whether you’d prefer your carrot cake on the simpler side, or if you’d like it packed with plenty of mix-ins such as nuts or pineapple.

White Chocolate Cake

Pickering says one of her most popular flavors starts with a white chocolate cake. It’s paired with raspberry for a touch of fruit, creating a modern twist on a Victoria sponge. “With raspberries in the sponge, the slight tartness with the sweet white chocolate is a perfect combination,” she says.

White chocolate's sweetness, however, definitely needs balance—otherwise, it can be off-putting to some people's palates and run a "little too sweet," notes Dawn Konofaos, a vegan baker and the founder of Alevri & Co.

Spice Cake

For those looking for a delicious fall dessert, spice cake is a great choice. Redd-McIntosh says spice cake or pumpkin are popular requests she gets in fall or winter. Spice cake is typically a light, fluffy cake with the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, and ginger for great flavor. Pair it with fluffy vanilla frosting, cream cheese frosting, or something different with the addition of dulce de leche or maple frosting.

The Most Crowd-Pleasing Wedding Cake Flavor of All Time

The majority of our experts affirmed that some variation of vanilla cake with a berry filling or frosting—think raspberry or strawberry—is arguably the most crowd-pleasing wedding cake flavor of our day and age. If you're hoping to serve a wedding cake that most of your guests will love, Redd-McIntosh suggests serving vanilla cake with mixed berries and strawberry buttercream ("Strawberry and mixed berries is also my most requested filling—next is lemon," she says), while Bolodeoku recommends a classic Victoria sponge, which consists of vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, and strawberry jam.

Underrated Wedding Cake Flavors to Consider

Sure, sticking with a tried-and-true crowd-pleaser is one way to ensure your wedding cake delights your guests—but surprising them with a flavor that is new to them or unexpected is another route to consider. According to our experts, there are several wedding cake flavors that are currently flying under the radar, and they think you should give them a try during a tasting.

"The most underrated wedding cake flavor for me has to be strawberry yuzu combinations or lychee," says Konofaos. "I love those flavors, but they are not often ordered unless they are tasted (then, of course, people get it)." Bolodeoku agrees, citing a similar combination as a must-try: "Yuzu has a beautiful citrus freshness, similar to lemon and mandarin orange, but it is very distinct in its flavor profile," she says. "It pairs really well with a number of things, like strawberry or peach."

Redd-McIntosh points to another fruit flavor: "Passionfruit! I make a vanilla cake with passionfruit buttercream and passionfruit caramel," she says, noting that it's an unexpected, but beloved option.

Wedding Cake Flavors Bakers Say to Skip

Though a couple should always choose wedding cake flavors that they love, there are a few flavors that have fallen out of favor in recent years. At the top of this list is red velvet cake, note several of our experts. Konofaos says she's actually "never had a request or inquiry for a red velvet cake for a wedding," adding that "the flavor can be polarizing." "It’s a southern classic, but there are so many opinions on what makes a red velvet cake a red velvet cake, so people usually will choose a different flavor," she adds. Burfeind agrees, noting that she would also add olive oil cake to her list of skips.

Wedding Cake Flavor Trends Couples Should Know About

Flavors That Tell a Story

More than ever before, today's couples are choosing wedding cake flavors that are personal to them—which is arguably the most resounding wedding cake flavor trend of the moment, our experts say. For some duos, the way their cake tastes can tell a formative story. "They want their wedding cake flavors to be part of their wedding story, or to have a special meaning to them," says Bolodeoku. "For example, a flavor their grandmother made for them as a kid; something inspired by their destination locale; or a reconstruction of the taste of the dessert they had at their first date or proposal."

Flavors That Speak to Couple's Food Preferences and Cultures

Others are leaning into their own culinary adventures and tastes, making personal wedding cake choices that reflect their own palate preferences. "Couples are opting for flavors that speak to their flavor profiles. A lot of my couples are foodies at heart so they want unique cake flavors," says Redd-McIntosh. "They're also using flavor combinations that fit their culture, like ube, coconut, or pandan."

Infused Icing

Konofaos is fielding requests for lots of buttercream infusions, with flavors like lavender and strawberry—"and then of course there’s the popularity of olive oil and oil infusions, as well," she says, noting that she's also experimented with fig ("a new-ish favorite," she says) and basil. "There’s a collective mission amongst cake artists to make buttercream that people actually want to eat!" she adds of this trend's origins.

The Return of Single-Flavor Cakes

For the past decade or so, couples have gone all out with their wedding cakes, opting for multiple flavors within a single cake, with each tier offering something a little different. Today's duos, however, are pulling back: Virtually all of our experts noted that they've noticed clients sticking to the same flavor for each and every layer. At the very least, says Bolodeoku, there's more even split—and it comes down to how adventurous the flavor is. "I think it’s 50/50 on this one," she explains. "If the flavor is telling a particular story, then couples tend to have just the one. On the other hand, if they are lovers of cake and desserts, they like the idea of their guests having options."