Cake Pedestal

A tall, elegant cake pedestal can be the visual focal point for an Afternoon Tea gathering. It is a cake plate elevated on an attached, footed stem so that the cake that is placed on it for display will be higher than all of the other foods on the tea table. Naturally the guests’ eyes will be drawn first to the attractive cake and the beautiful pedestal on which it rests. Many of our menus feature at least one cake that is as appealing to the eye as it is to the taste buds, and we will suggest that this is the cake to present on your pedestal. Bundt cakes, round tube cakes and iced and decorated layer cakes are especially suited for a cake pedestal. However, there is nothing to prevent you from serving scones, tea sandwiches or other tea foods from a pedestal.

Many cake pedestals also have a tall glass dome that fits over the plate to protect the food from insects, drying out, children’s fingers and other mishaps before it is eaten. A glass dome is so much more attractive than plastic wrap, and it will keep your cake in good condition until it is time to serve it. Because a cake pedestal with a dome can be as tall as twelve to fourteen inches, it may be difficult to find room in your refrigerator to store a cake on a domed pedestal. We solve this problem by placing the cake first on a fine china plate and wrapping it loosely with plastic wrap for refrigeration if the cake contains whipped cream or other ingredients that need to be kept cold. Then, shortly before it is time to serve the cake, we place the cake, with its attractive plate, onto the pedestal, remove the plastic wrap and cover the cake and plate with the dome. Cakes that can be stored at room temperature can be placed directly on the pedestal and held under the dome until teatime.

Cake pedestals with domes can be very expensive, and they do require a lot of storage space. But we think every hostess should own at least one. Clear glass pedestals with domes have become more affordable in the housewares sections of some department stores, and they often go on sale. They come in a variety of sizes, but we recommend buying a cake pedestal that is at least twelve inches across with a dome of about eleven inches across. This size will accommodate a round, three-layer iced cake or a nine-inch cake on a fine china plate, allowing space for the dome to fit over the plate. We also suggest getting a pedestal with slightly upturned edges or a little lip around the outside. This will make it possible for you to use your pedestal to serve cakes with drippy glazes or desserts like flan covered in liquid caramel, and you will not have to worry about your sweets dripping onto the table cloth.