Wedding cake

alive

Hi all,
thinking of offering to make my brother's wedding cake. Before I commit to what I assume would be a massive task, just wondering if anyone here has done this? Is it very difficult for someone who usually only bakes for fun or is it something best left to the professionals? Does anyone have any recommendations of books or magazines on the topic.
Thanks

phormium

It is quite possible to do yourself but it depends on what type he is looking for, or more importantly what does his future wife want? Certain types are very easy to do yourself, for example chocolate cake with the chocolate curls around them, this requires no real skill as you just stick them on. Something sugarpasted is more difficult if you are not used to it and after that the skys the limit. One thing I would say is if you need to buy tins, equipment etc and end up doing several trial runs it may work out dearer than buying it in the finish up.

Goodne

It really is a lovely gesture but can I offer some advice from my own experience. My sister in law paid for my wedding cake. Through a conbination of me being too afraid to tell her what I wanted & her wanting the whole thing to be a surprise for me; I hated the cake. I cried when I saw how small it was. Be very sure if you go ahead that you know exactly what the couple want.

lmfao4eva

Id leave it to the pros.if you ask them and if they dont really want you to do it that would be some awkward situation.unless you are very good,but I think they would ask you if they wanted you to do it instead of you asking them

showgirlrita

My brother is getting married New years eve and has asked me to do their wedding cake,but only if i was happy to do it. I only bake as a hobby & told the bride that if she wanted a 3 tier wedding cake then she should go to a bakery as i would not have the facilites at home to prepare, bake & store. I had suggested a 7/8 tier cupcake stand with smallish cutting cake on top. In the end she said that she would be completely happy with this idea & left all decorating ideas up to me as she said she would be more confident going with my ideas judging on what cakes ive made before, than her own. Thank god this bride is really laid back im looking forward to the challenge. Ive invested in an 8 tier acryclic stand as i will use again, and have already decided on cake & cupcake design. Ive previously baked 75 cupcakes & a shoebox/shoe cake for a friends bday so im hoping i will have the same success with double the amount of cupcakes & smaller cake. I have the whole wk after christmas to get this done as I am on holidays which is a plus. Best of luck with the cake, if you are confident that you can do it then Go for it!

tootired

The first cake I ever made was for my sisters wedding, I followed a BBCs good food magazine recipe. It had everything laid out in order of when you need to do it etc, it also had a very useful shopping list. I followed everything to the letter and it turned out great, mind you I didn't enjoy being at the wedding because I was so worried about the cake. Now I make cakes for a living, who knows it could be the start of a new career:)

Here's a link to BBC good food website which outlines how to stack(invaluable) ice and a list of equipment needed . The recipes aren't bad either.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4578/creating-your-wedding-cake

alive

Thanks for all your replies. I think I'm gonna offer anyways, see what their response is, if it's something they'd really like then I'll prob give it a stab! Might have to keep a local bakery's number on stand by! Thanks again.

cookie82

alive wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies. I think I'm gonna offer anyways, see what their response is, if it's something they'd really like then I'll prob give it a stab! Might have to keep a local bakery's number on stand by! Thanks again.

hi there i made my brothers wedding cake 2 & a half years ago. in fairness i was bricking it as i hadnt done any sort of cakes before. i enjoyed doing it & the cake was absolutely loved everyone was so shocked that i could have made the cake. from there on i have gone on to start my own little cake business from home i would be more than willing to give you any advice or help you need.

f9710145

First proper decorated cake I did was my own wedding cake. Have made many more since.

carleigh

showgirlrita wrote: »

My brother is getting married New years eve and has asked me to do their wedding cake,but only if i was happy to do it. I only bake as a hobby & told the bride that if she wanted a 3 tier wedding cake then she should go to a bakery as i would not have the facilites at home to prepare, bake & store. I had suggested a 7/8 tier cupcake stand with smallish cutting cake on top. In the end she said that she would be completely happy with this idea & left all decorating ideas up to me as she said she would be more confident going with my ideas judging on what cakes ive made before, than her own. Thank god this bride is really laid back im looking forward to the challenge. Ive invested in an 8 tier acryclic stand as i will use again, and have already decided on cake & cupcake design. Ive previously baked 75 cupcakes & a shoebox/shoe cake for a friends bday so im hoping i will have the same success with double the amount of cupcakes & smaller cake. I have the whole wk after christmas to get this done as I am on holidays which is a plus. Best of luck with the cake, if you are confident that you can do it then Go for it!

I am doing the same for my brothers wedding in September! I bought a 7 tier stand and have made an 8 inch fruit cake (and another one for slicing) that will be on the top tier, and the plan is to make about 100 cupcakes the day before we travel to Kerry for the wedding and decorate them at the reception venue the night before the wedding. I think I have all the bases covered so far. I bought ivory cupcake wrappers and I have sugar flowers for the cupcakes, and a nice pink sequined ribbon for the cake itself when it is iced. All I have left to do is buy the cake icing and the week before, ice the cake. My brother and his fiancee were not going to have a cake atall, so I offered to do it as their wedding gift. But is is quite expensive......so far, €180 including the stand.