Making your own wedding cake?

Miss_Ratty

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone had attempted to make or had a family member make their wedding cake? I'm shocked at how expensive they can be, and a friend was really disappointed with a plain one which she bought to decorate for her wedding (can't recall who made it - I will have to ask as I know it was Tesco/M&S or such like). It was really thin, and unevenly iced and she was so disappointed but didn't have time to do anything about it, so just went mad on the decorations to hide it.

I found a link on the BBC Good Food website to bake your own (with an easy rating:rolleyes:!), and wondered if anyone had attempted similar?

The link is here if anyone is interested. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4578/creating-your-wedding-cake

Any stories etc. would be gratefully received!!!

skyla

Hi Miss Ratty,

Go for it, just have a few go's before the big day to get in paractice.

I'm planning to make my own cupcakes for my wedding and possibly the cake too.
I've had two attempts at making the cupcakes and it was surprisingly easy and they thurned out great....great fun getting all creative with the icing too :rotfl:

Your family will love having the cake to taste test every time you make it

skintscotslass

Hi there

I made that cake for my brother's wedding in July this year. They didnt want a fruit cake, so I made 2 lemon layers and 1 chocolate layer. My icing wasnt that great, but they were thrilled with it

HTH xx

Wardi

I was going to do this but was talked out of it and I am now just going to buy M&S chocolate cakes!!

I did have a trial run with the lemon dizzle type cake recipe and it was gorgeous!!!

lindaatno9

Yes, I did mine. Plain round 12" with roses and ivy on the top. Give it a go, just remember to make a "tester" so you can taste it. x

student_advisor

I'm doing ours, 2 or 3 layers of rich fruit cake (family recipe), going to make and decorate it with mum as she has years of cake decorating experience, where as I am a relative beginner.

Our local college does some beginners cake making classes, which while not necessarily great value, do cover the basics of making & icing cakes. Not nec very MSE, but still cheaper than paying someone else!

yumyums

I've made the chocolate cake from the recipe you posted and it is delicious!! Didn't like the buttercream though - I'm pretty sure it's not a very good recipe.

Miss_Ratty

Oooh, glad it was nice...I just hope we can make it the same. I'm thinking about maybe a trial run quite soon (partly because I love cake!). My main worry is icing it...how do they make it look so smooth! And I guess you chop the risen tops off the cake (a snack when icing). I've been looking at cakes online for inspiration, and I did see a "topsy turvey" looking wedding cake, which looked quite quirky, so at least if it ends up a bit wonky I can pretend that's the way it was supposed to look!

So far we've been quoted no less than £200 for a cake which will serve 50, which I know on the grand scheme of things is quite reasonable, but I don't think I could justify it. I know there's peace of mind, it being one less thing to worry about. If it works out ok it would be very rewarding...but if it doesn't I'd probably be pretty anxious! I guess the proof of the pudding is in the making in this case, so I'll have to get my pinny on and get baking in plenty of time...we've got 'til September so I should have plenty of practice, but my waistline may not be as I'd hoped!

svjenni

Im making that cake - I have done trials and its lovely- my work collegues love me lol

buy an icing smoother which will help smooth - you will get better with practice.. If you are doing tiers the dowels are advisable

however i made my sisters wedding cake 5 yrs ago - never baked a fruit cake before but with a bit of research turned out lovely

stick with easy designs like stick on flat hearts or flowers - this will be much easier than plain as if you make a mistake,you can stick a heart on top of it -

i'm a little tipsy now but tommorow eve i'll scan a pic of my sis' cake - no trial runs etc just a first attempt - i'm still proud of it

yumyums

Miss_Ratty wrote: »

My main worry is icing it...how do they make it look so smooth! And I guess you chop the risen tops off the cake (a snack when icing). I've been looking at cakes online for inspiration, and I did see a "topsy turvey" looking wedding cake, which looked quite quirky, so at least if it ends up a bit wonky I can pretend that's the way it was supposed to look!

What I usually do is trim the risen top off the cake so it's level and then turn it upside-down so that the bottom becomes the top. That way you get a really nice, level surface for the top.

What sort of icing are you going to have? I've only done buttercream so far but I've got a good book which goes into detail on how to finish cakes with different type of icings (rolled fondant etc).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/174045541X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=471057153&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1853919543&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1GW6AZ48MH4K52S7W7YG

Quote

My sister is making our cake. She's catering the whole wedding. She catered my other sister's wedding and she catered her own wedding. She's a caterer.