It’s a simple concept: a plate set on a pedestal. But even in its most elemental form, a cake stand draws attention.
“It’s like a stage,” Ayesha Patel, style director for Martha Stewart Living magazine, says of cake stands.
Shopping for cake stands was a challenge just a few years ago. The trend was to simplify décor in the home, and traditional cake stands seemed a throwback to old-fashioned entertaining – too formal, too pretentious.
But just like dressing up for special occasions, a little pomp can be a good thing. Favorite desserts look more appetizing perched with panache above the table.
From department stores to food specialty shops, cake stands are plentiful now. Choices include fine crystal, glass, ceramics, mother of pearl, metal (stainless steel, pewter, silver plate, aluminum) and combinations of materials.
Although round is the most conventional shape, square, hexagonal and octagonal cake stands also can be found. Covers are embellished or not, and some tall domes are reminiscent of cake stands in French pastry shops.
The price range also is considerable – from just under $10 for a 13-inch glass model whose dome can be flipped upside down to create a punch bowl (at Target), to a $2,800 gold-enameled cake stand decorated with Swarovski crystals by jewelry designer Jay Strongwater and sold through Neiman Marcus.
Whatever your style, you’re likely to find a cake stand to suit it. British designer William Yeoward’s hand-engraved crystal is drawn from antiques of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and appeal to those with Tiffany tastes. Ralph Lauren Home weighs in with a pair of footed cake plates, one in polished silverplate and the other in white china.
The glass on a cake stand from Crate and Barrel, smooth on one side and textured underneath, looks like a piece of fabric that spills over the plate surface, creating a fluid “skirt.” In another example, designer Michael Aram demonstrates his love of the organic with a nickel-plated stainless-steel stand with marble, its curvy splayed “legs” trailing like tendrils in a vine motif.
Trendy white is represented in stores ranging from Kmart to Pottery Barn. Some are plain, some bordered with raised beading, and others are decorated with dreamy raised flowers that look like cake frosting. An all-white stand is especially eye-catching when something colorful is placed atop it – for example, white frosted cupcakes set in red paper cups.
“At one of our Christmas parties,” says Ayesha Patel, “there was a cake stand with perfect stacks of cookies. It was quite modern-looking.”
Not lost on the most stylish hosts today is that cake stands used in multiples create a dynamic tablescape. Just as it is pleasing to vary heights on a table or mantelpiece, cake stands high and low do the same, relieving the monotony of rows of plates or centerpieces at the same level. Hors d’oeuvres, meats and veggies all are elevated to tastier positions from architectural towers.
Elevate your delectables and celebrate the art of dessert.
Because whatever is presented on a cake stand will make the table more visually sweet.
