Making your own wedding cake

Http://www.allaboutyou.com/food/Wedding-cake-making/special

This is a site I have used before, when I made a friends cake, she wanted a sponge based cake (4 tiers). I used this site for the recipe and it worked a treat.

I will be making my own, but will be going for fruit cake.

Thanks Donnarose, the chocolate truffle cake on there looks amazing!! I may have to give it a try, imt thinking a drop of ameretto in the truffle filling would be lush!!

We have a family friend who makes wedding cakes and has very kindly volunteered to make mine. It's a huge mother of a thing and will be amazing. The only advice that I got that may help you is to make sure that your layers are not too heavy. Make the chunky one like fruit cake (which I know you'e not having) at the bottom to give a sturdy base. Oh and wooden dowels.

Good luck Naboo. There are so many cake books that you can find in waterstones, maybe not for the recipe but for how to decorate or assemble the thing.

We went cake shopping the other day, 5 boards, marzipan, icing and wooden dowels cost £50 already eek! Wedding is in August and they are baking next weekend, can't wait.

Ooo exciting MrsBear2b, make sure you flash a piccy to inspire me!

Naboo I have sketches (doodles) of what the cake will be like, I'll try and get them up. It is going to be quite simple with icing and fresh flowers. It's just huge. 4 or 5 tiers, but we're only cutting the bottom (no idea why this was agreed by lady and mum). All tiers will be fruit, and they take ages to soak and really mature that's why they are doing it so soon. Then we are having a big vanilla/buttercream cake, chocolate/buttercream cake and possibly a lemon one too which will be sliced by kitchen staff. Won't be decorated with flowers or anything, just white iced. And OH's family are vegan so they will have their own cake.

Just lots and lots of cake in general. I was meant to post a thread and ask everyone if this was ok or if it was too cake - thanks for reminding me.

You'll have to do lots of experiments and test how long your cake can last before turning ick. Just so that you can factor in all the timings for the wedding. I know fruit can be stored for ages, not sure about the plain sponges though.

My boss is doing my cake- she did her daughters cake last yr and soaked the fruits in so much alchol the icing wouldnt stick and had to dry thecake off to get theicing on ? itold er to go easy on mine haha

I am (stupidly!) making my own wedding cake!! I am doing a fruit cake and one of the cakes will be chocolate orange mud cake with cointreau sugar syrup (apparently everyone loves this but as i can't eat wheat i can't comment - but it smells divine!!)

there is a debbie brown book 'Debbie Brown's Deam Wedding Cakes' which is fab for loads of recipe ideas and hints and tips (but that cakes probably aren't that do-able) - and my cake making bible is The Essential Guide To Cake Decorating! Both books are fab!

However, I am cheating marginally with my cake!! the bottom tier is fruit cake, the other tiers are polystyrene 'cakes' that will be iced and no-one will know that they are 'fake cakes' as we can still cut the bottom tier!! And i am making cutting cakes that the venue will just cut up and put out when the cake is brought out!! as long as they are iced the same colour as the cake that everyone seens, then no one will have a clue!!

I also google image wedding cakes for inspiration!

Naboo, the ameretto sounds like a winner to me. Good luck, i'm sure it will be fabulous x

This is pretty out there but you asked for inspiration...so here you go! Could be good if she's not having marzipan etc as it can be hard to get a smooth finish without it (or so I'm told?)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Special-Days-Cakes/121147887945409#!/photo.php?fbid=153252014734996&set=a.153250794735118.32818.121147887945409&theater

This is the cake that has inspired me to make my own wedding cake, and its really easy!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/three-tier_red_velvet_17795

I'm making my own. It will be designed at 3 tiers, but there will be a couple of other cakes out back for extras, as 3 tier looks easier to find hired cake stands for, and a stacked one would be too much of a pig to transport to the venue.

Bottom tier (and 1 or 2 of the "extra" cakes) will be fruit cake, also known as Nigella's Christmas cake recipe which I know works. Middle tier and possibly and extra cake, depending on time will be a chocolate victoria sponge with chocolate fudge icing, over which will be white royal icing (tried this once, was yummy, just need to be careful when putting the icing over the chocolate not to smear it everywhere).

Top tier will be a normal victoria sponge, not really decided whether to have just jam or jam and cream in it. Will use raspberry jam to stick the icing to it, no marzipan as this cake if for the fussies in the family!

Major issue is that I really need to make the two sponges on the day before the wedding, which might be fraught already. Also need to practice my decoration techniques (other than ribbons in the same material as my bridesmaid's dresses)