By Don Fernandez
Cox News Service
ATLANTA -- Chuck the rice and garters. Go for the glaze instead.
The betrothed are forsaking frosted, fluffy tiers at their wedding receptions in favor of a fried yet familiar cake base -- Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
Typically a morning ritual or a warm, sinful snack, the popular pastry is emerging as a new core ingredient for wedding cakes and a souvenir from the ceremony.
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Doughnut-crazed customers conjured up the concoction last year, and the cakes -- along with the token gifts -- have been catching on ever since.
"We have had people coming in who buy dozens as departing gifts," said George Ray, manager of the Krispy Kreme store in Marietta, Ga. "One woman ended up buying 35 dozen. She wanted to make sure when the reception was done, (guests) had a doughnut for the ride home."
Neighborhood stores and corporate offices in Winston-Salem, N.C., are taking a flurry of calls -- as many as 20 to 40 a week -- as the trend simmers. They even have a sort of doughnut wedding planner who helps ease fears that go along with building a wedding centerpiece from a snack.
"Most people are using their imaginations so when it comes time for the wedding they're doing it themselves," said special events coordinator Catherine Hawkins-Speller. "We're doing more than weddings; bar mitzvahs, birthdays."
The cakes are a simple, tiered stack of doughnuts. As more ornate creations were requested, Krispy Kreme executive chef Ron Rupocinski realized it was time to showcase the starches more regally.
"Customers have taken it upon themselves to buy our doughnuts and have a local cake decorator make something for them," said Rupocinski. "You don't need to be a graduate from a culinary school to do this."
Simple facts, like how many guests, are necessary. The guideline? One doughnut per guest. Any flavor -- from cake to custard-filled -- can be used.
Rupocinski has whipped up several templates -- soon to be available at local stores in picture form -- for brides to browse. These patterns are then passed to local chefs where the wedding will take place. They work with Krispy Kreme to carry off this unusual task.
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InStyle Weddings may have kick-started the trend. In spring 2001, the magazine listed the fried confections as a way to add a touch of the unusual to nuptials.
BOX: Minnesota's only Krispy Kreme store will open at 5:30 a.m. April 23 at 7851 Elm Creek Blvd. in Maple Grove, according to a press release.
The store will be open 24 hours a day and will serve 15 varieties of doughnuts, including the Hot Original Glazed.
