So You Want to Bake a Wedding Cake - Cake 2 (Part 1)

So You Want to Bake a Wedding Cake - Cake 2 (Part 1)

June 12th, 2009 @ 10:27 am by Mrs. Bear Cub

A wedding cake is, generally speaking, a pretty big undertaking. Unless you want to make something like this, you’re going to have to think outside the box a little.

this cake definitely surpasses the box

What’s most important to you - the presentation? the decorations? the flavor? the height? the color? Unless you’re a professional baker (or you’ve got a lot of time on your hands and are willing to take a cake decorating class), you may have to prioritize what you want in a wedding cake, especially if you plan on making it yourself.

I already told you that I’m making (with my sister) three “normal” sized cakes to serve as a wedding cake buffet. I decided early on that I don’t really care so much about the decorations; simple is sophisticated, and I want the flavor to speak louder than the fondant. Just to remind you, this is what I consider a beautifully decorated wedding cake:

source

I do, however, want one of my wedding cakes to be what I consider a “stereotypical wedding cake” - light as air, fluffy as marshmallows, and trend-settingly elegant in flavor palette. This will be our “main” wedding cake, the one we slice into and feed to each other (and the one with little birdies on top!).

This was (believe it or not) the hardest cake for which to pin down a recipe. After looking in several places, I first tried the smittenkitchen-recommended Vanilla Buttermilk cake. The author of this awesome cooking blog made an amazing wedding cake from this recipe, so I figured it could work great for me!

I baked this trial cake with my parisienne ex-pat friend for our Obama-rama election party.

There’s a reason I don’t want to decorate my wedding cake.

Great friends, Obama-rama parties, and Charlie the Unicorn. That’s how I roll.

The cake was everything it was supposed to be - moist, rich, and yummy. But it wasn’t quite right. (Besides my suck-tastic decorating skillz.)

I decided I’d have to invent my own wedding cake recipe.

How did you decide on the flavors for your wedding cake? What’s the most important thing to you when deciding on a wedding cake - the presentation? the decorations? the flavor? the height? the color? other?

Tags: cake, diy |

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16 Responses to “So You Want to Bake a Wedding Cake - Cake 2 (Part 1)”

Member

ejs4y8 (message) 6,922 posts, Bee Keeper

Cost. I’m tired of the expensive cakes that taste like CRAP! But I know they cost the bride hundreds if not a thousand bucks. We figure with all the booze we’re providing, people won’t notice the fantastic cake we are serving is actually from….Sam’s Club. $70 for 150 servings. For us? We spent $75 on a 35-SERVING CAKE for us to cut. I cringe. We’re having white/strawberry, chocolate/chocolate and carrot/apricot mousse.

6/12/09 @ 10:44 am (reply)

Member

ejs4y8 (message) 6,922 posts, Bee Keeper

I have a very delicious frosting recipe if you are interested, Miss Bear Cub! We used it to frost mini tiered wedding cakes this weekend. It pipes wonderfully and goes on smooth, but doesn’t dry “wet” like lots of frostings. PM me if anybody wants it! Its’ buttery and smooth, and just enough sweet. Not super sugary though. Just enough!

6/12/09 @ 10:45 am (reply)

Guest

liz

lol, that obama cake is amazingly funny.

i’m big on taste and texture. dry, crumbly cake does nothing for me, no matter how beautiful it is.

6/12/09 @ 11:05 am (reply)

Member

NixLapi (message) 406 posts, Helper bee

Taste was definitely #1 for me. Is it possible to have a not-yummy cupcake? Sadly, yes.

If you’re looking for recipes try: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/
She’s making her own wedding cupcakes, and posted a variety of recipes she tried out in the process.

6/12/09 @ 11:11 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Bear Cub (message) 1,350 posts, Bumble bee

@NixLapi: thanks for the link! That looks like a great cooking blog, too!

6/12/09 @ 11:23 am (reply)

Member

crowsnest (message) 22 posts, Newbee

I still haven’t decided on a flavor! BUT - its easy since I only have one flavor to decide on. Its going to be a simple 3tier cake, but only the top will be cake, the bottom two tiers will be RICE KRISPY SQUARES!! muahahah. Then I’m serving the guests cupcakes, which I’ve been baking and freezing in the meantime.

Taste is tops for me - since only me and FH will be eating it! decorations are simple: fresh flowers or butterflies like Marthas cover, done by me.

6/12/09 @ 11:24 am (reply)

Member

Miss Sapphire (message) 623 posts, Busy bee

Uh, that first cake…is there even a “box” that that sucker would fit in? Yikers!

6/12/09 @ 11:30 am (reply)

Guest

Mrs Cola

I made my own wedding cake - a three tiered pound cake, but I used different flavorings for each tier, i.e., almond for one - then soaked with Frangelico - mocha for another - then soaked with Kahlua, almond for the last - then soaked with Amaretto. We called it our “Creamy Drink Cake”…everyone loved it!

6/12/09 @ 11:31 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Bear Cub (message) 1,350 posts, Bumble bee

@Mrs Cola: wow, that sounds delicious!! How long do you soak the cake? And how did it not smoosh together under the weight of being tiered??

6/12/09 @ 11:42 am (reply)

10.

Member

ASDJD (message) 178 posts, Blushing bee

i love Charlie!!!

6/12/09 @ 12:17 pm (reply)

11.

Member

tea (message) 2,616 posts, Sugar bee

i’d say taste. i love cake so i’m always disappointed with a pretty cake that tastes not so pretty.

my sister is a trained pastry chef and has graciously offered to make my wedding cake.

@Miss Bear Cub: from what i’ve seen, you can use supports in the cake and rest each tier on it’s own cake board and not necessarily cake on cake. that way the cake is support by the board and the board by the internal supports. am i close mrs. cola?

obviously my “expertise” comes from hours of watching ace of cakes and those food network cake competitions. LOL

6/12/09 @ 12:31 pm (reply)

12.

Bee

Miss French Bulldog (message) 6,063 posts, Bee Keeper

I LOVE that picture of you two w/ your cake!
For me the most important thing about the cake is how it tastes… and I’m going to keep telling myself that b/c my baker has no idea what I mean by cake buffet.

6/12/09 @ 1:14 pm (reply)

13.

Member

usflilbull (message) 13 posts, Newbee

If you want light, fluffy, and oh so wedding like, I recommend Chiffon cake.

Here is a recipe for an Orange Chiffon that I love!

http://www.joyofbaking.com/OrangeChiffonCake.html

6/12/09 @ 2:39 pm (reply)

14.

Bee

Miss Mouse (message) 3,301 posts, Sugar bee

Hehe–your American flag is, um . . . special! I bet that cake was delicious.

6/12/09 @ 3:35 pm (reply)

15.

Bee

Miss Bear Cub (message) 1,350 posts, Bumble bee

@usflilbull: thanks! I ended up going with a chiffon cake, actually!
@Miss Mouse: “special” is a really good word for it btw our “obama cake” was a vanilla buttermilk cake with chocolate frosting (hint hint ) teehee!