Day One
I've been asked to make a simple, elegant cake for my cousin, and I'm so keen to get started!
Today is Day One of the real stuff. Getting the cake to look like a real wedding cake! I've layered marzipan on the fruit cake. I made the fruit cake 6 weeks ago ago, and I've been feeding it a bit of brandy every fortnight, just to keep it's moisture (and keep the guests feeling happy!!). It's smelling divine.
Now is the time to get baking the sponges. The sponge cakes can't be made any earlier unless you intend on freezing them, which is not ideal for a wedding, as you want the flavour and texture to be of top quality. Today I've baked the 10" round lemon cake which will be on the lower tier. This is a Madeira type cake as it's keeping quality is excellent.
I'm also covering the lower cake drums with ivory fondant icing for a coordinated finish, so that when the cake tiers are put on top, it gives a lovely sleek and elegant look.
The fresh beetroot from my garden also got boiled today.... that's for tomorrow's baking... I'll let you know the outcome!!
The pictures show the fruit cake and the icing of the lower drum. I cut out the centre to save waste as this is never seen or necessary.
Day Two
So today I'm baking red velvet cakes; this is where the beetroot comes in!
I'm cooking three 8" sponge-type velvet cakes. Grated beetroot added to the mix helps with colour and moistness. I'm also fondant icing the 6" fruit cake for my niece today and making lemon butter icing and royal icing. This stores well in the fridge; just bring it back to room temperature to use.
Day Three
Today, the lemon Madeira cake gets sliced into three and filled with a combination of lemon butter icing and lemon curd then crumb coated and left in a cool room to set. This is quite a pressure-filled moment... trying to get an even split, and keeping the butter icing cool needs a steady hand! I actually had to switch the electric fan on today to get it cool enough... a heatwave in my kitchen in October!
The red velvet cake also gets the same treatment of filling and crumb coating. Once the butter icing has set I can now cover both cakes with ivory fondant. Plenty of rubbing now with the smoothers to get the finish as smooth and silky as possible. My arms will be sore tonight!
Day Four
On to Day Four! Stacking to start with, so I need to use royal icing to stick the two drums together first then measure and insert dowels in the lower two tiers to keep everything level and balanced.
Next comes the ribbon type decorations. The bride chose hessian, lace and pearls for this one...
The electric fan has been going on full this morning, all thanks to hurricane Ophelia! It's so humid the fondant is getting sticky.
Now, onto the detailed royal icing and a steady hand... then lastly I added the flowers that I'd made earlier in the week... a recheck with the brides picture of the style that she chose and that's it.... ready to box up and await collection!
The bride has chosen her own wedding topper for this cake, and she had quite a clear theme in mind! Once the wedding cake was delivered and set up, the topper was added just to finish it off for her theme. Happy Wedding Day Lorna and Steve!
Jenny makes wedding cakes as an amateur cake decorator... although when you see these pictures, it's pretty clear these cakes are top notch!
Jenny is our resident cake maker; feel free to follow her page and speak with her directly. If you'd like to book Jenny for your cake through us, we can ensure a discount on your cake.
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