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Considering I've made quite a few wedding cakes, my procrastination on putting together this instructable is slightly shameful. Making a wedding cake is fun, boring, painful, exciting, tiring and something that will fill you with pride, whether it's for yourself or a friend. There's little better than watchign people enjoy something you've created.
The cake in this instructable is a two tier fruit cake, decorated with gorgeous bright red poppies. This is a design specific to my friends' desires, but I have attempted to expand the instructable to cover making wedding cakes in general, from the ambitious planning stages to the nervewracking final set up. This may have led me to ramble a little more than I should, but buried amongst that are the little tips & tricks I've picked up a long the way.
The only way to learn is try, fail & try again, so get out there & give it a go.
The cake in this instructable is a two tier fruit cake, decorated with gorgeous bright red poppies. This is a design specific to my friends' desires, but I have attempted to expand the instructable to cover making wedding cakes in general, from the ambitious planning stages to the nervewracking final set up. This may have led me to ramble a little more than I should, but buried amongst that are the little tips & tricks I've picked up a long the way.
The only way to learn is try, fail & try again, so get out there & give it a go.
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Signing UpStep 1Ingredients and equipment
For the fruit mix (makes enough for a 9 inch round cake):
800 g sultanas
320 g raisins
185 g currants
155 g glace currants, quartered
250 g pitted prunes, chopped
125 mixed peel
250 ml brandy (this can be partially or completely substituted with fruit juice)
55 g brown sugar
80 g marmalade
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp ground cinammon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1/1 tsp ground nutmeg
For the cake batter:
250 g unsalted butter
230 g dark brown sugar
2 tsp grated orange zest
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp black treacle
4 eggs
250 g plain flour
60 g self raising flour
You will also need spoons, scales or measuring cups, bowls, and other general kitchen equipment, and cake tins. For the cake pictured I made a 9 inch and a 7 inch cake, both of which were quite deep, which used 2x the fruit cake recipe in all. Adjust this according to the size of your tins.
For those without scales, a good weight to volume converison guide can be found here.
For the poppies:
Flowerpaste (red and green)
Wires (gauge 30 and 24)
Stamens
Poppy petal cutters
Edible glue (CMC)
Petal dust (red, black and green)
Modelling tools
Pliers and wire cutters
Florists tape
Petal veiner (or a modelling tool and some patience)
Paintbrushes
For icing the cake:
Marzipan
Sugarpaste (fondant)
Marmalade
A cake drum for the base (I used a 12 inch)
A cake board for the top tier (I used an 8 inch)
Dowels
Posy picks
Cake smoother (optional but very handy)
Turntable (optional, I manage without one at home, but it does help to get a smooth even finish)
Rolling pin
Small sharp knife
Paintbrush
Cake boxes if you will be moving the cake to another venue
800 g sultanas
320 g raisins
185 g currants
155 g glace currants, quartered
250 g pitted prunes, chopped
125 mixed peel
250 ml brandy (this can be partially or completely substituted with fruit juice)
55 g brown sugar
80 g marmalade
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp ground cinammon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1/1 tsp ground nutmeg
For the cake batter:
250 g unsalted butter
230 g dark brown sugar
2 tsp grated orange zest
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp black treacle
4 eggs
250 g plain flour
60 g self raising flour
You will also need spoons, scales or measuring cups, bowls, and other general kitchen equipment, and cake tins. For the cake pictured I made a 9 inch and a 7 inch cake, both of which were quite deep, which used 2x the fruit cake recipe in all. Adjust this according to the size of your tins.
For those without scales, a good weight to volume converison guide can be found here.
For the poppies:
Flowerpaste (red and green)
Wires (gauge 30 and 24)
Stamens
Poppy petal cutters
Edible glue (CMC)
Petal dust (red, black and green)
Modelling tools
Pliers and wire cutters
Florists tape
Petal veiner (or a modelling tool and some patience)
Paintbrushes
For icing the cake:
Marzipan
Sugarpaste (fondant)
Marmalade
A cake drum for the base (I used a 12 inch)
A cake board for the top tier (I used an 8 inch)
Dowels
Posy picks
Cake smoother (optional but very handy)
Turntable (optional, I manage without one at home, but it does help to get a smooth even finish)
Rolling pin
Small sharp knife
Paintbrush
Cake boxes if you will be moving the cake to another venue
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http://sunflowersugarartusa.com/Poppy-Cutter-FV-003.htm?categoryId=-1
http://sunflowersugarartusa.com/Poppy-Leaf-Cutter-L-030.htm?categoryId=-1
i used them for a baroque wedding cake i made a few months ago. it was a four-tiered rectangular cake (each stack placed at different angles atop one another) and was covered in fondant painted in gold/red stripes. then i placed the poppies around the corners of the tiers. they weren't as vivid as yours though :( - ill try making them with red gumpaste/fondant next time.
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In Norway we only use marzipan to cover the cake, and it both looks good and taste great!
Your cakes look amazing. Great job, but again, please do not waste marzipan like that :-(