Cake Help Please

[kirsty b]

Ok, as many of you know I am getting married in July, (may have mentioned it once or twice ) and simply don't have the budget to have a 'proper' wedding cake made and duly hand over a couple of hundred quid for it.

I have been looking around at the supermarket plain iced celebration cakes, I have not found what I'm really looking for so can I please bounce some ideas off you guys and the more experienced bakers among you?

For starters, we are having this http://www.celebrationtoppers.co.uk/...opper-p-7.html on top, so I'm thinking I need the top tier around the 20cm mark.

Does the bottom one have to be larger or could I have one the same size?
I was hoping to have a smaller fruit cake, but was told that fruit is really better on the bottom as it is a heavier cake, but want to give guests a choice.

I can make decent sponges, but how do I cook them to make the top come out a flat as possible? (for info I have a fan oven)

I plan on having a practice run or two, just to see if I can cope with making my own, as my lot never turn down cake when its made!!
Was going to ice using marzipan and roll out icing, and gold ribbon around the bottom and a wonderful friend is making sugarpaste roses to sit next to the pillars holding the top tier up.

Saving money (or not spending for the sake of it) is becoming a bit of an obsession now, but if I go ahead with making it, I want it to look as good as a 'made' one - which is why I plan to keep it simple - so all advice will be very much appreciated.
Sorry its been so long winded.
Kirsty

[SarzWix]

Well, firstly, you don't need to worry about getting the top perfect - you just cut any major lumps off then turn the cake over, so that the smooth bottom becomes the top Secondly, getting the roll out icing smooth isn't as easy as it looks, have plenty of trial runs! Thirdly, you don't have to use pillars, if you have a cake docorating shop nearby they probably hire out stands, that way you can have a big sponge on the bottom and a smaller fruit cake on top
I made my sister-in-law's wedding cake for her, and the stress of it nearly killed me, so practice as much as poss before the real thing

[blackkitty]

Hi Kirsty
I'm not an expert in wedding cakes but make a fair few other cakes so here's what I would think: there's no reason why the bottom layer couldn't be the same size as the top, the bottom layer is better being fruit as it will support the top layers better. The advantage with fruit is that you can make and ice it at leisure while sponge has to be iced fairly last minute. I have heard that you can make the cake in advance, freeze it and then marzipan and ice it frozen but I've never done it myself, I'm sure there're websites that could tell you. As for level tops, just cut the top off and place it upside down, its what the big bakers do.
I hope this helps

[blackkitty]

oops forgot to say, when rolling out plastic icing use a little cornflour to dust the surface rather than icing sugar as it doesn't get sticky.

[SarzWix]

Here, this is what i mean by a stand. It cost me less than £20 to hire for the weekend. The bottom cake is a madeira cake which stayed moist for about 5 days and could also be frozen. I'll fish the recipe out for you if you like, but most cake decorating books will have a similar recipe, and how to multiply it for bigger tins.

[kirsty b]

Thanks guys!!

The hotel where we are having the ceremony and reception has a cake stand I can borrow for theday (just remembered), I'll ask for a look at that first so I know what I've got to play with.
I have a simnel cake recipe which I have made up as a plain fruit before (did not put almond paste in middle of cake) and it came out nice and moist, kept for a good bit too.
I'm no good at piping, which is why I was going to go for plain roll out icing, with maybe very simple iced beading around bottom of cake.
Sarz, that madeira recipe sounds ideal - may I have it please?
Will visit library tomorrow and have a look at what they have on the shelves re: cake decorating.

[Two_Sheds]

you need Wellie! Wellie is the cake-lady

[shirlthegirl43]

It is well worth investing in a special smoothing gadget for smoothing the roll out icing onto the cake - stops it melting with the heat from your hands and gives a really great finish. Mine cost me about a fiver (if memory serves) from the local cookshop.

Decorating can be done easily with some silk bows and flowers from your local dressmaking shop and it is easy to co-ordinate with your wedding flowers and colour theme.

I did a hexagonal cake for a friend's handfasting and decorated it in orange and black which were the colours she chose. I am not a cake decorator of any great skill but even I reckon the end result wasn't bad (will post a pic later if I can find it)

[di]

Wellie's definately the Girlie you need!!!
A couple of quickie tips from me whilst you wait....make sure the cake is totally cold before you try to cut bits off it.I find the easiest way to get a flat bottom is to put the cake back in the tin & then using a large bread knife...make sure it has a serrated edge...slice it level to the edge of the tin.
For decorating,how about getting some little sugar paste decorations that you can stick around the base.....far less stress than trying to pipe an even "frill".
My biggest tip though from an amateur,is less is definately more!(or however the saying goes??!)Make it as simple as possible...leave the room for an hour or even get someone in to give their opinion on whether it's complete,before being tempted to add more detail.You can always add more,but not take off without looking untidy!Oh...& don't roll the icing to thin.
And,finally(promise!!)enjoy doing it!!!

[jackie j]

I cheated and bought mine from Tesco but a friend did ice it for me as a present, you can get different shaped cake stands for my son's wedding we had one that had the cakes in a S shape.

[Growem]

Another totally different idea, but something for you to consider. Are any of your family or guests accomplished cake makers? Maybe you could ask them to make it for you as their wedding gift to you. Obviously worded a bit more tactfully than that, but you know what I mean. That would save you money, give you something made with love by someone who cares about you and save you time and energy to concentrate on other aspects of your wedding planning. Just a thought for you. Good luck with the planning!

[Sprocket*]

Have a look at the BBC Good Food Website. They did a feature on making your own wedding cake and the recipes are foolproof. I did my aunts wedding cake a couple of years ago and iced it - never ever again.... stressed does not even cover it. The cakes look amazing and there are some suggestions about doing cup cakes rather than a large cake which also look great. The web site is BBC Good Food - Recipes and cooking tips. Even if there is nothing on there, it contains some amazing recipes.

[ailsasyl]

Hi Kirsty
type cake into youtube there is loads of hints and tips videos on there, Stacey and I used it when we had to make a cake for the girls brigade competition.

[kirsty b]

Shirley - that cake looks fab, will look for a smoother thingy, there is a cookshop in Newmarket that stocks all sorts of things like that.
Di - thanks for the tip about letting it cool first and how to trim it straight!! and yes, less will definitely be more when it comes to icing. Getting a porcelain topper for top and Sunbeam is making sugar roses for bottom one.

Will get the bits I need for a practice run when I get paid, and will publish results on here!! Depending on how that goes I will make final decision on doing the real one myself. Himself not keen, but hasn't said why. I hope for his sake its because he doensn't want me putting myself under too much stress.

if its cos he thinks I will do a bad job I may have to throttle him!

[Jay Bee]

I have not got any experience of this option - it merely "popped" into my head as reading this thread. How about contacting your local catering college/night classes and see if they have any reasonably experienced students who would like to have a go just to get more practice. I guess I am thinking along the lines of many years ago I used to get cheap hairdos and beauty treatments by going to the local college where the students needed to practice.

(I made mine when I got married but I jobbed out the icing to a local lady)