10+ Simple Groom's Cake Ideas

If you're looking for a Groom's Cake but want to keep it simple, today I have 10+ Simple Groom's Cake ideas for you.

I can't remember when I learned that groom's cakes were not a "thing" at all weddings. Because every wedding I've ever been to has had a groom's cake.

What is a groom's cake?

From the famous Gambino's Bakery in New Orleans...

Groom’s cakes are pretty self-explanatory. Separate from the wedding cake and always different in flavor, a groom’s cake is a cake smaller in size that is intended to celebrate the groom. These cakes are usually chocolate and paired with either fruit fillings or liquored flavorings, like brandy, rum, or even Guinness. Groom’s cakes are often decorated not to match the wedding cake, but to honor the groom’s hobbies, tastes, and favorite pastimes. Common groom’s cake themes revolve around sports, but can branch out to favorite books, movies, inside jokes, the list is endless. Groom’s cakes appear almost solely in the South, as it is a tradition that never quite took in the rest of the United States.

I don't know about the "fruit fillings or liquor part", but otherwise, this is pretty spot-on. Most of the groom's cakes I make are chocolate and most are decorated to reflect the groom's interests. But not all. And sometimes, especially here in rural Mississippi, grooms just want a simple cake to give guests an alternate dessert choice.

Those 10+ simple groom's cake ideas are what I'm going to focus on today.

When do you serve the groom's cake?

Locally, in my market, all groom's cakes are served at the wedding as an alternate dessert to the wedding cake. However, after talking with several other cake decorators in different areas/markets, the groom's cakes are also often served at the rehearsal dinner.

I think either option is a good option. If the groom's cake is more themed or a showstopper, like this Sports Groom's Cake or this Shotgun Cake, then you (or your client) might want to show that off at the wedding. If it's a more simple cake, then having it at the rehearsal dinner would be a great choice too!

10+ Simple Groom's Cake Ideas

1. This first groom's cake is from way back in 2012. It was a sheet cake (2 layers of cake, so 4-inches tall) with chocolate-dipped strawberries around the border. The cake was chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. The bride requested their favorite scripture be placed on the cake and decorated with a cross. I loved the simplicity of this cake. Find all the details here.

2. Here are two other groom's cakes with a similar make-up of chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and chocolate-dipped strawberries. To add a little uniqueness to each cake, they had a monogram on them. The hexagon cake had a chocolate monogram on the front. The tiered cake had a hand-cut fondant monogram on top and had the addition of chocolate ganache dripping on the tiers. Love hexagons? Check out this hexagon wedding cake. Get the Hexagon Groom's Cake details here.

What flavor is a groom's cake?

3. Lest you think all groom's cakes are chocolate - here's an alternate flavor for you. This groom's cake was a very sentimental cake. The groom requested that I use his grandmother's from-scratch banana cake recipe.

Since the cake had nuts in it, I did a rustic buttercream finish with pecans around the border and then added a few sugar magnolias on top to match the rest of the wedding decor. The couple loved this simple groom's cake!

But a groom's cake can be any flavor the man desires... I've made red velvet cake, chocolate cake, banana cake, confetti cake, vanilla cake, carrot cake, caramel cake... and more!

4. Here's another super-simple groom's cake idea... get a cake in the shape of your state with a monogram or initial on it. This Louisiana Groom's cake was not as easy as I'd hoped it would be (read about my cake mistake here) but at the end of the day, the family was happy with it. It was red velvet cake (without almond) and cream cheese frosting.

Groom's Cakes with Candy or Cookies!

5. Another really simple groom's cake idea is to garnish a cake with the groom's most favorite candy or cookies. This Triple Chocolate Groom's Cake was loaded with all of his favorites... chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, chocolate ganache, and crushed OREO cookies. I've done the same design with Snickers bars and Reese's cups.

6. Speaking of Reese's cups... here are a couple of Reese's Groom's Cakes. These cakes were chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache, then tons of Reeses Cups for decoration.

7. For my baby brother's wedding, he didn't have anything specific in mind other than he wanted the cake to be red velvet and reflect his job as a farrier. So I made this red velvet sheet cake and added the rope border and a horseshoe with a cross "brand" on top in chocolate. He loved this design! Click here for all the details!

8. I should also mention the first cake way up at the top. This was the simplest of simple groom's cakes. It was a square with a large initial (cut from modeling chocolate). Again, chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. Simple and beautiful.

Groom's Cake Cake Toppers

One thing you can do to jazz up a simple cake is purchase pre-made toppers. You'll see that in these last two cakes.

9. This Tree Stump Cake is another example of an "easy" design that grooms will love. This particular cake was for a raccoon hunter, but you could customize this with any animals (or no animals at all).

10. Since hunting is a huge sport here in southern Mississippi, the last cake I'll show you is this Turkey Hunting Groom's Cake. It's a simple sheet cake made special by the toppers that could be customized to whatever hunting sport the groom loves. And this flavor was a little more unique... strawberry cake with chocolate buttercream.

11. This Crown Royal Cake is one of my very old posts, but it's still popular and would be great as a groom's cake!

So... there are 10 Simple Groom's Cakes for you! Did you see something you love? An idea for your groom or your client?