How to Make a Wedding Cake

Photo by Sunflower Productions

Once upon a time wedding cake was made of fruitcake and royal icing.  It was the equivalent of bricks and mortar to put together.  Fruitcake being very dense would stack up - no problem, each cake on top of the next with only the cake beneath to hold it up.  Royal icing becomes very hard once it has set so it too could withstand the weight of the cake on top.  These days wedding cakes come in all shapes, sizes and flavors and are rarely fruitcake.  This means they require some special treatment in order to stand up tall for hours before they are cut.

Base: For the base of the cake I use a round piece of wood which is approximately 2" bigger than the largest layer of the cake and about 3/8" thick.  I cover this with white contact paper and then use double-sided tape to adhere satin ribbon all round the edge for a finished look once the cake is delivered.  I have several of these rounds in various sizes and if there is a separation between the layers I use the smaller round which is slightly thinner with thinner ribbon for that tier.

Support: Modern wedding cakes are made of any type of cake and usually either buttercream or cream cheese icing so they require support in the form of either commercially purchased plastic pillars or, my personal favorite, the 1/4" thick dowel rod.  I learned to use dowel rods for support in Culinary School, so while it may seem odd to put something you buy at the hardware store in a wedding cake, it's okay.  The great thing about wooden dowel rods is that they are soft enough to score and cut with a French knife on a cutting board.  You only need the dowel rods for cakes which are supporting another cake.  So you will not need them in the smallest top layer.

To measure the height to cut the dowel rod simply push the dowel rod down into the fully iced and decorated cake and when it reaches the bottom twist it just a bit so that the icing marks the top of the cake on the rod.  Remove the rod from the cake and score the dowel rod all the way around with your French knife on a cutting board.  Then continue to roll the dowel beneath the knife until it either cuts through or you are able to break the dowel off.  Tap the dowel rod on the cutting board and use the side of the knife to flatten the end until it is smooth.  Use that dowel to measure all the rest for that cake tier.  Cut about 7 dowels for a 14" tier of cake supporting a 10 or 11" tier and about 5 dowels to support an  8" or 9" tier and 3 dowels to support the top tier of 5" or 6" cake.  Measure the dowels individually for each cake, though your layers are probably all about the same height they may vary by 1/4" or so.  You will want the dowels to sink into the cake and be perfectly flush with the top of the top layer of icing once you put them in.  Put the dowels into the cake so that they will be underneath the next tier of cake, evenly spaced and about half way from the center of the cake to the outside of the cake being supported.

Timing: I recommend making the cake two days prior to the wedding, filling it and covering it with a thin layer of icing (and wrapping it completely) the day before the wedding and then early the morning of the wedding putting on the final icing and decorations.  The final icing and decorating can take 3 to 4 hours and you will want to have the cake back under refrigeration for another 3 to 4 hours before you set it up so work backwards in your mind about when to begin the final phase.  The last piece is that you will want to deliver the cake about 2 hours prior to the wedding reception in order to give yourself time to stack and decorate and clean up before the guests start to arrive.  The times given here are for a large cake for about 150 to 200 people, if it is a smaller cake then you can adjust your timing. Example: For a 5 pm wedding reception, begin final decoration at 8 am so you are finished by 11 am, allowing 3 hours for the cake to chill, then plan to arrive at the reception location by 3 pm for set up.

Delivery: Whenever possible transport the cake in separate tiers each sitting on the flattest area of your car. I have an SUV so the back area folds down to be completely flat which is great.  Bring icing, icing spatulas, decorating tips and bags to make any borders or in case you need to fix anything once you get there. Also bring the double-sided tape and ribbon to finish off the base.  While driving try to accelerate and decelerate as smoothly as possible and take corners slowly.  In general, the cakes are heavy enough that they don't move around much so you should be fine.  Once you arrive find out where the cake will go before taking in any of the tiers.  Sometimes there is a closer entrance and you will want to carry the cake tiers as few steps as possible to avoid any issues - besides they are usually pretty heavy.

Finishing on Site: Place the bottom tier on the cake table and then using the icing spatula put just a little icing over each dowel rod before placing the next cake layer down on top.  Use a clean icing spatula to support the cake as you release it down slowly onto the tier below and gently pull the icing spatula out from between the layers holding it horizontally. Use either fresh flowers which the bride has provided or you have brought along to decorate the area between tiers or pipe a border around the seam between one tier and the next.  Even if you pipe a boarder it is still fun to add a few fresh flowers on the other tiers.  Fresh flowers are great on top of the cake too if their is not a bride and groom statue.  Most of the time fresh flowers are the way to go.  Although sometimes a creative bride and groom will have something else like a bicycle built for two, etc.  Once you finish the cake be sure to clean up all the flowers and get a few photos.  I was a guest at this wedding and so had to go change and never actually took a photo myself so I would like to thank Sunflower Productions for sharing these photo which they took with me.  The last thing to remember is to talk with the bride and groom or directly to the catering staff about how to get all your bases back.

Photo by Sunflower Productions

The cake I made in June was 4 tiers high with each tier stacked upon the other.  Sometimes cakes have separators in the center for space and flowers, etc.  In those cases the crystal pillars and plates which are available commercially are great and very sturdy.  I loved the style this bride and groom choose for their cake.  The wedding was in a barn - a real barn on a real farm - with chickens out back where you parked and a John Deere tractor for the kids to play on out front.  They had made a base for the cake which was from the stump of a tree.  They wanted the icing to mimic the base's bark.  This was a fun and simple way to decorate a cake.  I loved how they brought nature into the theme of the cake and how it fit into the surrounding atmosphere of the raw wood sides of the barn.  It was a beautiful day and so being inside the barn with the sun streaming through the spaces in the wood added to the charming country atmosphere.

The most important thing to remember when making a wedding cake is to breathe.  Weddings are always so happy and icing is pretty forgiving so as long as you have everything you need with you to make any last minute adjustments and plenty of flowers to decorate or cover any areas you cannot adjust, things will turn out great.  Good luck and happy baking!

Experimenting is Good! Simple Tips for Making an Existing Cake Recipe More Moist

Every now and then I need to try something new.  Usually, it's because someone asks me to make something I don't have a recipe for in my collection.  This time it was Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. Now, I have recipes for Lemon Pound Cake, Lemon Chiffon Cake, Almond Cake with lemon zest, and I have recipes for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and Breads, but I did not have a recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.  So, I had to look around for one.  I wanted one made with butter and buttermilk and as luck would have it the first one I found had both. Perfect!

I made this perfect Lemon Poppy Seed Cake and the flavor was good, but it was just a little dry.  So I did some more research on what to do when you want to make a cake more moist.  After much experimenting here are my favorite tips for making a cake more moist.

Tips for Making a Cake More Moist

These first two are both changes to make to the actual recipe before baking and are intended for a recipe which yields an 8" to 10" cake.

1)  Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in with the liquids. 

2)  Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of sour cream or plain yogurt.  Fold it in at the end or with the wet ingredients. 

These last three are done during or after the cake is already prepared per the existing recipe.

3)  Check the cake 5 minutes before its baking time is up.  Do not under bake the cake, instead test it with a long wooden skewer to see if it might be done.  It the skewer comes out wet it is not done.  If it is dry but has crumbs then it is probably done.  Totally dry and it is done for sure, perhaps too far.  You can also test by touching it lightly with the flat part of your finger, to see if it springs back into its shape, if so then it's done. One more way to tell if it is done or very close is to check the sides of the cake.  If they are pulling away from the cake pan then the cake is probably done. Over baking will dry out the cake, so if you can become an expert at knowing when cakes are done that will help you bake a moister cake.

4)  Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool only 5 minutes on a rack, then put it right into the freezer - still in the pan.  Hopefully, you have a relatively empty area in your freezer for this and can put it on a shelf so that the cold air is all around it.  Leave it there for 30 minutes, then remove it and allow it to cool the rest of the way as needed on a cooling rack before refrigerating it or removing it from the pan. This tip is one is my favorites and took me completely by surprise.  I had seen it on-line but did not believe it could really work.  I was just taking a cake out of the oven when my friend Nico came over and told me that she had tried it.  So I gave it a try and it worked great. Thanks Nico!

5)  Once the cake is fully cooled and while preparing to fill the layers with icing, brush the layers with simple syrup.  This is typically done whenever you are making a genoise style cake and I often recommend it for a chiffon cake as well.  A genoise cake is meant to be dry when finished baking and should always be soaked or brushed with a simple syrup.  It works the best if the layers are being split horizontally as when preparing them for a torte since that opens up the cake and allows the syrup to soak in.  Often the simple syrup can have a small amount of liqueur added to it, such as orange or coffee flavored liqueurs. This is traditionally done when making a trifle. 

The recipe for Simple Syrup from Baking Pure and Simple is in last weeks blog.  It is unbelievably simple as are all of these tips.   

6)  Here is one last tip - try combining one of the tips for changing the recipe along with one or both of the tips for after the cake is baked.   

I hope this is helpful.  Soon I will reveal the revised and perfected Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipe.  Until then have fun experimenting on your own recipes!

Inspiriation from Disaster! Irish Stout Cake and Irish Cream Cheese Mousse Trifle

Sometimes inspiration springs from disaster.  I was making the Irish Stout Cake from Baking Pure and Simple and as I was taking it out of the oven with my new, stiff hot pads I dropped it right on the edge of the oven rack, splitting it in half.  I quickly flipped it over and saw that about half of it was fine, and half of it was smashed.  So, I made it into this trifle and I think it is my favorite trifle of all time!  It never would have happened unless I had dropped the cake.  Since this was an impromptu inspiration I don't have a photo of this particular trifle.  The closest I could find was for a trifle made with 3 kinds of mousse and strawberries instead of raspberries. Either way I think you get the idea...  

Irish Cream Cheese
Mousse Trifle

1 recipe Irish Stout Cake (below), sliced in half vertically 

1 recipe Irish Cream Cheese Mousse (below), 

4 pints fresh raspberries, 3 pints rinsed once and dried with paper towel 3 times

½ cup raspberry jam (optional)

½ cup Simple Syrup (below)

¾ cup chocolate shavings

In the bottom of a 5-quart trifle bowl begin with a layer of Irish Stout Cake, cut side up.  Top with half of the washed and dried fresh raspberries, lining raspberries up around the outside first then filling in the center with the rest and half the raspberry jam (if desired).  Top with one third of the Cream Cheese Mousse.  Repeat the process with the remaining cake, another third of the mousse and washed and dried raspberries.  Place the remaining mousse into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe into rosettes around the edges of the trifle bowl then make a circle of rosettes in the center of the top layer of raspberries.  Sprinkle the open area between the whipped cream rosettes with the unwashed raspberries and the chocolate shavings.  Serves 16 to 20.

Irish Stout Cake 

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

½ cup unsalted butter

1½ cups brown sugar

½ cup molasses

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup stout beer

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl over simmering water in a saucepan, set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar.  Add one egg at a time, mixing until thoroughly incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Add molasses and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl.  Add a little of the batter to the melted chocolate and stir to combine completely.  Add the chocolate mixture back to the batter and mix until combined.

Slowly add the beer to the batter in intervals, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.  Sift the flour, salt and baking soda.  When the beer has been fully incorporated, add half of the flour mixture to the batter and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add the buttermilk, again scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing until fully incorporated.  Add the remaining flour mixture and mix thoroughly.  Pour the batter into a greased 10-inch round spring form pan.  Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Allow the cake to cool completely.  Run a knife around the edge of the cake before removing the outer ring of the spring form pan.

Simple Syrup

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup water

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan.  Cook on high heat until boiling and sugar has dissolved.   Cool.  Store in the refrigerator.  Makes ½ cup.

Irish Cream Cheese Mousse

12 ounces cream cheese

1 cup sugar

½ cup Irish cream liqueur such as Bailey's

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 quart heavy cream

Whip heavy cream and set aside in the refrigerator.  Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, cream the cream cheese and the sugar.  Stop mixing and scrape down the bowl at least once then resume mixing.  Add vanilla and continue to mix, stopping to scrape down the sides often.  Add the Irish cream liqueur and scrape down the sides at least once during mixing.  When the cream cheese mixture is soft and well combined, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture in thirds.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

More trifle recipes are available in Baking Pure and Simple.