Stained Glass Wedding Cake: A Step-By-Step Guide

Stained glass cakes are a popular choice for weddings, with their vibrant colours and intricate designs. The stained glass effect is created by replicating the look of coloured glass or works of art. This effect is achieved through various methods, such as using edible dusts and gels, painting with food colouring, or outlining with black royal icing. The process requires patience and time, but the result is a stunning cake that resembles a jewelled stained glass window.

Choosing a cake theme and colour scheme

Start by gathering inspiration: Look for inspiration in nature, fashion (such as wedding dress designs), architecture, and art. You can also draw inspiration from stained glass windows or other stained-glass art forms. Consider the occasion: Since you are creating a wedding cake, you may want to incorporate traditional wedding colours or themes. However, don't feel limited by this; a stained-glass cake can be customised to fit any colour scheme or theme you desire.

Decide on a colour palette: Choose a colour scheme that complements the wedding colours or the theme you have selected. You can go for a soft and romantic colour palette with pastel shades, or opt for bolder and brighter colours for a more vibrant and modern look. Consider the level of detail: When choosing a theme or pattern for your cake, it's important to consider the level of detail. Simple shapes, flowers, or other recognisable objects are often more effective than intricate or complex designs, especially when viewed from a distance.

Select the right flowers: If you decide to incorporate flowers into your design, choose varieties with distinctive and recognisable shapes, such as poppies, tulips, roses, or orchids. This will make them more easily identifiable on the cake. Consider the size and shape of the cake: The size and shape of the cake can also impact the overall theme and colour scheme. For example, a multi-tiered cake can provide more surface area for intricate designs and multiple colours, while a single-tier cake may be better suited to a simpler design.

By taking the time to carefully choose a theme and colour scheme for your stained-glass wedding cake, you can create a truly stunning and unique centrepiece for the special day.

Assembling the cakes

There are several ways to assemble a stained-glass wedding cake, and you can adapt the following methods to suit your preferences.

Firstly, level off the tops of your cakes to ensure an even surface to work with. When covering cakes in fondant, use a thin layer of frosting to prevent air bubbles. Roll out the fondant to about 1/8" thickness and use a rolling pin to lift and place it onto the cake. Work slowly and use a fondant smoother to create a smooth finish all the way around the cake.

For support, place cardboard under each cake and use hollow plastic dowels. Typically, you would use four dowels per cake layer. You can also use a sharpened wooden dowel through the entire cake once it's assembled.

Before moving on to the next steps, you can add a decorative pearl border using white royal icing. Pipe a border around each layer of the cake. This step is optional, but it gives the cake a more finished look.

Now, you can add your chosen design. Using an edible marker or black food colouring and a thin paintbrush, draw your chosen design onto the cake. Start with the bottom tier and work your way up, adding flowers, stems, and leaves.

Drawing the flowers

Now comes the fun part! You can use an edible marker, like Americolor, or black food colouring with a thin paintbrush. There's no right or wrong way to do this, but it's recommended to start with the bottom tier and work your way up. Begin by drawing the flowers, then add the stems and leaves.

If you're not confident in your freehand drawing skills, there are a few alternative methods you can try:

• Lightly emboss flower images onto the cake using patchwork cutters or any plastic or metal flower-shaped cutter.
• Print out flower images at the desired size and use them as templates. Trace the image onto tracing paper or parchment paper, then transfer it to the cake using a sterilised scribe/pin.
• Cut out the flower template and draw around it onto the cake with an edible food pen. Make some cuts down the petals to guide you in finishing the flower centre when the template is removed.
• Trace the image with an edible pen on parchment paper, then smooth it onto the cake gently.
• Project the image onto the cake and draw on it to transfer the image.

Once you've drawn the flowers, it's time to add the stalks and calyxes. These add interest to the design and an additional colour. Anemones, for example, have stalks and calyxes in varying colours, shapes, and sizes.

Keep in mind that flowers with a simple and recognisable shape work best for this type of design. Poppies, blossoms, tulips, primroses, roses, lilies, orchids, and anemones are all great choices as they have distinctive shapes and not an excessive number of petals.

After drawing the flowers, it's time to move on to painting them and the background.

Painting the flowers and background

Now for the fun part! You can use an edible marker, like Americolor, or black food colouring and a thin paintbrush to draw the flowers. There's no right or wrong way to do this. I started with the bottom tier and worked my way up, drawing the flowers first and adding the stems and leaves after.

To make the paint, mix food colouring with vodka, and use white food colouring to lighten the shades. Start with the flowers, using one colour for each and then lightening it to create several shades. For the background, decide on the shade of blue and yellow you want to use, and paint in sections, adding a little white each time and eventually adding some yellow to transition seamlessly. Don't worry if it's not perfect, as once you add the lines for the glass, it will look a lot better.

I started by painting the stalks and calyxes. You could equally do the flowers first, and probably would if you weren't going to outline the whole thing in black. Next, paint the flowers, and lastly, the background. To add interest, use two shades of blue, both very weak washes. Alternate the colours and concentrations slightly in different sections to add interest to the design. You don't have to do this, though—you could just use one colour for the background. Use your inspiration picture to help.

Now it's really coming together! Use black royal icing and a number 1.5 PME nozzle to pipe the outline. To further define the flower centres, pipe little dots of black, and some stamen lines with heads (dots) to help identify the flower type from a distance. For the outline technique, I did the top tier and then the base tier. I started with the flower centres, then the petals, working from the inside to the outside. Next, I did the stems and calyxes, and finally, the background lines joining it all together.

If you make a mistake, don't worry. Just scrape it off gently and run a wet paintbrush over the mark to remove it.

Outlining the flowers and glass

Now for the fun part: outlining the flowers and glass! This is a pretty lengthy process, so be sure to take your time. Using black royal icing and a #1 or #2 tip, outline all the flowers and the stained glass sections in between. If piping isn't your forte, you can use a craft gun to extrude black gumpaste through a single 1.5mm diameter hole attachment. Simply stick the gumpaste onto the cake along the guidelines and use modelling tools to adjust as needed.

If you're a vegetarian or don't consume alcohol, you can skip the confectioner's glaze and vodka, respectively. Instead, you can pipe or extrude the lines and then paint over them using gel/paste colours mixed with piping jelly to achieve that shiny effect.

Once you've outlined the flowers and added the stained glass effect, your cake is almost done! You can add some sugar flowers or other embellishments if you like, and don't forget to let everything dry completely before moving or stacking the cakes.

Frequently asked questions