How To Make A Wedding Cake Yourself

Making your own wedding cake can be a great way to enhance the memory of an already special day; though it may seem like a daunting task, you don't need to be a pastry chef to make this dream a reality. If you've ever made and decorated a cake from scratch, especially for a large gathering, you're already have an idea of how to make a wedding cake.

Durability is an important part of the process, you will need a batter that can literally stand up to the challenge of being a larger dessert. Lighter batters such as a chiffon or sponge may be better suited to smaller designs, or designs that will be lightly iced/frosted. Larger desserts may fair better if they are constructed of a sturdier batter, such as a pound cake or a dense chocolate cake.

As you consider the type of icing/frosting you will use it is worthwhile to think about the weather you anticipate having on your wedding day. Part of knowing how to make a wedding cake is understanding how your structure will fair in heat or cold; this should not be your primary factor in choosing a coating, but it should be considered.

Buttercream is a traditional choice to coat a cake, in part because of it's relative stability. Cream cheese is gaining in popularity because many people find buttercream to be too buttery. Whipped cream is a favorite of those who prefer a lighter taste.

Fondant graces the outside of many wedding cakes because it is a decorative coating that provides a smooth finish, and offers some protection by helping to maintain the over-all structure of the dessert. Whether using fondant or not, it is advisable to refrigerate the dessert so that it will firm up for transport, before going back to room temperature.

You can decorate your cake by piping a design with the topping you previously chose if you are not using fondant, or you can use royal icing if you are. The nice thing about royal icing is that you can pipe a design onto wax paper, allow it to harden, and then adhere it to the fondant with more icing/frosting; you can also shape decorations out of marzipan and adhere them the same way.

Knowing how to make a wedding cake can be a satisfying task to undertake; when that first slice is shared by you and your beloved it will taste even sweeter knowing that it was a genuine labor of love.