Archive for category DIY Weddings

I snagged this money-saving idea off the Thrifty Fun Weddings For Less board – this bride saved money off the cost of her wedding cake by purchasing a simple design with just buttercream icing and a piped edge. Her friends then used leftover wedding flowers to decorate it as shown.  The end result is a very elegant, elaborate design without the price tag!

I promised a while back that I would share what I learned while making these wedding cakes for my sister’s wedding last month so here goes:) I will start by sharing info on actually baking the cakes:)

First, I have to confess something – I used box cakes, lol. They are affordable and taste good but tend to be to light for a wedding cake. To resolve this problem,  I added a 1/2 cup of flour to each mix. This makes the cakes a little heavier and they hold their moisture much better as well.

To actually cook the cakes, I used three different size cake pans: 14″, 10″ and 8″. The 14″ takes 3 boxes (or 3 regular size cake recipes), the 10″ takes 2, the 8″ takes 1.

Preparing the cake pans:

These cakes take a while to cook, so you want them to come out nicely. I sprayed each pan with PAM Cooking Spray, and then coated with flour. I also traced the shape of the pan on parchement paper, cut it out and placed the cut out parchment paper on the bottom of the pan before pouring in the batter.

Another concern with a wedding cake is avoiding that ugly bump in the middle of a cake. To fix this, you can purchase Cake Bake Strip which are special strips that you soak in water and then wrap around the outside of the pan. This helps distribute the heat evenly so you get a flat, even cake.

For large cakes, like the 14″, you also need something in the middle. I used a tin can, cleaned and delabled. I placed it in the middle with a bit of batter in it then poured the rest of the batter around it. Once cooked, this bit of batter filled the whole in the middle. Make sure you spray and flour inside and outside of your can.

Cooking Times:

At 325 – the 14″ took almost 2 hours, the 10″ took just over an hour and the 8″ took just over 30 minutes. Once the cakes were done, let them sit and cool about 10 minutes, then flip cake onto cooling racks.

Filling:

You can buy special cutting tools for this – I jus tused a long knife. I am not terribly brave – so I cut only once. I cut each layer in half, lined the centers with raspberry jam, and then placed the halves back together. If you have the time and want to, you can cut the cake into three layers and feel in between each. You could even use different fillings in each center: chocolate icing in one, raspberry filling in the other, etc.

Coming Later: Decorating:)