It’s Going to End in Tiers

Whether you’re a professional baker looking to tackle your first wedding cake commission or you bake as a hobby and want to offer the special couple in your life a heartfelt gift, we present the Cake Craft Company guide to baking a wedding cake.

Here, you will find advice and guidance on what you need in your kitchen to bake a beautiful wedding cake that tastes as good as it looks. Plus, further tips and tricks to ensure the big day ends in tiers, not tears!

Can I Make a Wedding Cake at Home?

There are many different reasons you might want to consider making a wedding cake yourself at home for many different reasons. From budgeting to more sentimental reasons, we want our customers to know that professional bakers are not the only option.

So, can you make a wedding cake at home? Absolutely!

Current wedding cake trends are much more minimalist than they have been in the past, and as long as you have the basics of baking under your belt, we know you can do it. In previous years, intricately piped wedding cakes were the must-have. Still, more recently, couples opt for simple, clean styles with minimalist decor. This makes baking a wedding cake much easier for any newbies to the wedding cake scene.

Getting Started

The first step you need to take is to decide what recipe for the sponge you will follow. You might already have a few favourite recipes, or you may have even been given clear instructions from the couple.

We love when wedding cakes have multiple tiers of different flavours, that way; there is something for everyone to enjoy. Plus, the couple can each pick their favourite flavours and then come together to decide on a third flavour that combines their personalities. Just like their wedding day in cake form!

But having the plan in your mind and executing are two different steps. So, what do you need to be able to bring your idea to life?

4 Things You Need to Make a Wedding Cake

To help you get started with your wedding cake bake, here are four must-have pieces of equipment you need ready to go. These items can be adapted for all cake styles and are what we believe are the fundamentals of any extravagant wedding cake. So, tick them off your list and make sure you don’t forget them.

1. Cake Tins & Moulds

The first piece of equipment you should ensure you have absolutely right for the big day is the size and number of cake tins. You need to calculate how many people are attending the event and take into account the couple’s wishes and use this to formulate the size of your cake.

You might immediately be picturing a towering cake with several tiers that will wow the couple and guests. But our advice to you is always less is more. Aiming for a simpler style will ensure you get it perfect, especially if you do not have as much professional baking experience.

Traditionally, a wedding cake should have three tiers. You can play around with each tier to find the perfect size for the number of guests and the ceremony.

These traditional three tiers comprise the bottom base, which would be cut and eaten at the ceremony. The middle tier is usually distributed to guests after the event, and the top tier is saved.

However, this traditional method is not the only way, and more couples are choosing to forego this tradition in favour of single or double-tier cakes.

Wedding Cake Tin Sizes

So, once you know how many tiers you need, you can choose the right cake tins to make them. We recommend choosing cake tins two inches smaller than the one below them to create the perfect shape.

We have put together some sizes and serving suggestions to help you choose the perfect sizes.

• 6 inch: Top tier providing 10 servings.
• 8 inch: Top or middle tier providing 20-24 servings.
• 10 inch: Middle or bottom tier providing 30-38 servings.
• 12 inch: Bottom tier providing 45-56 servings.

Based on the above measurements, you can decide what will be best for the number of guests invited to the ceremony. Explore our collection of cake tins to find the perfect sizes for your bake.

2. Cake Boards

By now, you should have your number and size of tiers worked out, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s your tier system finished.

Every tier on your wedding cake needs a cake board to support it. They are essential both for keeping your cake upright and secure as well as helping to keep the cake together during transportation.

Cake boards are typically the name used to refer to all boards that support the cake. However, you may also hear the bottom board referred to as the cake drum and the smaller boards for the tiers referred to as ‘cake circles’.

When choosing cake circles, you should choose boards that are the same size as each tier exactly. Once all tiers are stacked, these boards will be cleverly hidden and disguised through piping work.

The cake drum or bottom board should have two to four inches of clearance around the cake base, so it should be four to eight inches wider than the bottom cake tier. This is the only board that will remain visible to guests, so you may want to choose one that matches the style and theme or one that can be decorated to suit the event.

Find cake boards in our collection to suit your wedding cake plans today.

3. Rods & Dowels

Another hidden secret to keeping your tiered wedding cakes perfect and secure is a cake dowel or rod. So, yes, you do really need them if you’re planning any large cake for more than one tier!

Dowels prevent the bottom tiers of the cake from holding all of the weight from the top tiers. Imagine simply placing cake on more cake. Those soft sponges will eventually flatten the sponge beneath it and cause edges to curve and middles to fall through. That’s the last thing the bride and groom want to worry about on their special day.

If you’re wondering how many dowels you should use for your cake, keep in mind this simple method.

You should have a dowel for every 2 inches of cake. So, for example, a twelve-inch cake will need six dowels.

Cake Dowel Tips

Here are a few more tips to ensure you get your cake dowels right.

• Chill your cake sponges before adding dowels to ensure they’re firm and hold securely.
• Wash and dry wooden dowels to avoid contamination.
• Cut dowels down to size away from your cakes and ingredients to avoid falling sawdust.
• Insert dowels straight and not on an angel.

Explore a wide range of cake dowels and rods in our collection to find the best option for your wedding cake.

4. Finishing Touches

Finally, once your wedding cake is constructed, you can get to the finishing touches! Now you might find this to either be the fun part or the most nerve-wracking. After all, this could make or break your finished wedding cake result.

So, to make sure you nail the finale and present a showstopping cake that the newlyweds love, here are a few ideas you must not forget.

Piping Supplies

Most wedding cakes will have some form of piping to complete the design, whether to finish the edges and hide any boards or create a fully detailed and intricate design. So, it is best to have some piping supplies on hand to suit any design theme.

Don’t forget that you will need plenty of piping bags and the right nozzles to suit your design theme. You can find tips to help you create ruffle effects and more beautiful detailings in our piping nozzle range.

Stencils & Airbrush Supplies

For some wedding themes, a minimalist design is preferred; in fact, naked wedding cakes are growing increasingly in popularity.

But for traditionalists that have had their wedding planned since they first understood what a wedding was, the dream of an intricately designed wedding cake is the only option.

For these styles, you can rely on the help of stencils and airbrushing supplies to add beautifully delicate designs and patterns to the walls of your tiers with subtle and shimmering colours.

Decorations & Toppers

Finally, the perfect finishing touches to your wedding cakes are the decorations and toppers that tie the whole thing together to create your masterpiece.

There are a huge variety of edible decorations you can choose from. Whether the happy couple prefers a traditional bride and groom topper to sit atop the cake or wants natural beauty incorporated into the design with artificial flowers,

Once you have added these finishing touches, you can take a step back, blow a sigh of relief and enjoy the cake you have created. We’re sure the happy couple will love it just as much!

If you’re looking for more supplies and decorations, don’t hesitate to shop our wider collection of cake decorating supplies and tools available.

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