How do I make my own stacked wedding cake?

Question

Ok, so my wedding is over a year away but I am starting everything now. I live in a very northern town, we are busy, but with not enough business and services. I want to have a fondant wedding cake. No one does these here, well there is one girl, but her cakes taste like crap.

I am going to make my own cake. So I want to do a 3 or 4 tier cake and I was wondering if I am to stack them right on top of each other how I go about doing this, you know the ones with no spaces. I have a pretty heavy chocolate fudge cake I want to use (yes they are traditionally white, but hey, I am wearing a red dress!) So anyways, how to I keep the cake from sinking into each other.

It's not that I am cheap, hell I would spend 500 bucks on a cake if thats what it took, but there is no one up here that does cakes the way I want and I know I will kick but at it as I already kick but at normal cakes. I will be doing a test run of this first to make sure my wedding day is perfect.

I just wanted to remind people that there is no real places in my area that can do these cakes.

I also wanted to add that the reason the one girls cakes taste like crap is because the cake itself tastes like crap, not the icing.

I am marrying a great guy, no need to rethink here. We both are college educated with wonderfull careers and a beautiful house. We have been together for 7 years this july and we would like to have a family now so I think we are at the age of readiness and responsiblity, no need to worry.

I also wanted to let you guys know when I say north I mean the REAL NORTH. I live in northern Canada!

However I think I may still look around to see if someone else can do it. I just want it done right.

Answer 1

You can just use a firm cardboard that you trace the shape of teh cake pan and cut it to size, place a bit of buttercream on the board to keep the cake from sliding. Make each cake individually with the layers you want and cover it with the fondant, rolling fondant can be tricky so be prepared you need to rool our your piece almost twice the size of the actual cake on all sides... place it over your cake after you have iced it with buttercream to hold it in place.

Next stick your dowels in the cake starting in the center and evenly spacing them to add enough support mark where th dowel sticks out and cut at that point so it is flush with the cake.

Decorate the cake how you want it to look and transport the layers indivdually. Do not try and asemble the cake and then transport it you will most liekly have a disaster.

Make sure you get a really sturdy bottom board, you would be surprised how heavy it will end up being.

Also one more quick comment, you can add a clear vanilla flavoring to counteract the taste of fondant. I made my freinds wedding cake and even tinited it tiffany blue. Took a long time to work the color in but it was worth it...photo link below.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c85/jsaulsbury81/24618090811_0_ALB.jpg


Oh and one more think! Make sure to cut the dome off the cake so it is flush with the cake pan after baking, this will make sure you have alevel surface.

Answer 2

You need to buy Dowel rods. The rods are used to support the tiers of the cake and MUST be food grade dowels. These will need to be cut once the cake is iced. If you can't find them you can use plastic drinking straws. Here is an how to article:


Use plastic drinking straws to support the other tiers of the cake. Insert one straw into the center of the bottom tier, and make a mark with a pen about 1/8" above the icing.

The next step is to use plastic drinking straws to support the other tiers of the cake. Insert one straw into the center of the bottom tier, and make a mark with a pen about 1/8" above the icing.


Remove this straw and use it as a guide to cut 4 additional straws of the same length.

Reinsert the center straw, and insert each of the remaining straws into the bottom tier of the wedding cake in regular intervals, about 2 inches in from the edge. Then place the bottom tier on the serving platter.

Place the middle tier of the wedding cake on top of the straws. It should thus provide a level surface for the middle tier to rest on. If it is uneven or unsteady in anyway, perhaps you need to either recut the straws, or add a little more frosting between the tiers.

Repeat the process, measuring and inserting five straws in the middle tier to support the top tier.

Answer 3

Honey, the reason this girl's cake tasted bad is because fondant DOES NOT taste good. That's why a lot of baker's aren't doing them...they don't taste good. But just about any baker can mimic the design you want with smoothed frosting.

A wedding cake is not a normal cake. Making a wedding cake is not easy. If you try it yourself, you are not going to be happy with the results. You will also spend hours of the night before and the morning of your wedding making a cake, since it cannot be done days ahead of time (it will be stale). You will also not like how it looks, since I don't think you know how to professionally decorate a cake.

Seriously, go with a baker. Any professional baker, just not you. You'll save a lot of headache and heartache. Forget the fondant if you have to. Many guests will thank you for it.

Answer 4

PLASTIC DRINKING STRAWS!!! I have made over a dozen wedding cakes and if you are stacking layers, plastic straws are not heavy enough at all. You need to use wooden dowels underneath the cardboard base of each layer!! Why on earth you would be thinking of baking your wedding cake the day before your wedding boggles the mind!! Even if you bake the layers a couple of weeks ahead and freeze them, you haver to thaw them a day ahead. Then there's the icing. If you are not an expert at making smooth buttercream or handling fondant, you will drive yourself - and everyone around you - nuts!! Every grocery chain sells wedding cakes and at reasonable prices, even small towns or cities of 4 to 5,000 population!! If you're still determined to do it yourself - place an ad in your local paper for someone with exeprience in cake decorating to ice the cake. Don't just hire them - look at actual photos! there's a big difference between making a "Cookie Monster" kids cake and a wedding cake. And - yes - you need special pans. WILTON makes most and you will be paying about $75 for 3 pans, $90. for four plus shipping and handling plus cake ingredients (chocolate is expensive and you want the good stuff) plus another $5. for the dowels. Actually WILTONs and MICHAELS sell pre-made fondant too....this cake will cost you about $200 - $250. to make yourself. Versus about $300. for a professional one. Re-think your plans, sweetie!! Or maybe order a huge cupcake tree and bake cupcakes two weeks ahead, freeze them, and have four or five people over to ice them the day before. They won't be evenly matched or iced professionally but it seems like you're prepared to "settle" for a lesser version of the real deal.
***** You say you're in northern Canada - I've lived in Whitehorse, Yukon; Churchill,Manitoba; Yellowknife,NWT; and Fort McMurray,Alberta and Peace River,Alberta - -- you can get professionally decorated cakes in even those places so unless you happen to be in Old Crow,Yukon, or Tuktoyuktuk --you can get your cake done as well or BETTER than "Ace of Cakes".

Answer 5

I know you are in a northern town and nobody around makes weddings cakes, but have you considered going to a grocery store bakery and seeing if they would do it? That's what I am doing for my wedding (it'll be in very northern Minnesota). I have taken a cake decorating class...you will not want to make your own cake, believe me! You will have hundreds of other things to worry about. Good luck!

Answer 6

Ok, you probably don't have one of these stores up there, but you can go to the website and order one of the books. Just about any book store or a place like Hobby Lobby or Michael's Craft Store. They have website and I've seen the books in there before. Cake decorating books!

Answer 7

You just make 3 or 4 separate cakes and use some type of cake platter that can stake. Also, you need to bake around the places where you are going to put in the stakes to hold up the platform.

in other words, get someone from a bakery to do it...its really really complicated...

Answer 8

First you need professional cake pans. They aren't expensive, but important. The key is that the sides are straight, not slanted like the cake pans you probably already have. Then you need wooden dowels to hold them together. You can get most of this at a craft store.

Good luck!

Answer 9

Martha Stewart!! Below is a link for you. She has detailed instructions and some videos for wedding cakes.

http://marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat310&navLevel=2&rsc=bottomnav

Answer 10

Have you ever seen the show ACE OF CAKES?.They make THE cake you want and deliver it I think almost anywhere.And they are fondant you should try looking them up.They are very good at what they do.Best wishes to you and you fiance.