The Art Of Wedding Cake Assembly: A Step-By-Step Guide

Putting together a wedding cake is no easy feat, but with enough practice, the right tools, and a good recipe, it can be done. Wedding cakes are denser than traditional layer cakes, so they need to be structurally sound to withstand stacking and moving. The process involves baking and stacking cake layers, creating a crumb coat, applying a final layer of frosting, and adding decorations. Wedding cakes can be decorated with flowers, toppers, or royal icing shapes, and fresh flowers or sugar flowers can be used to match the wedding theme or the bride's bouquet. Timing is key, and it's important to plan ahead, allowing enough time for baking, cooling, assembling, and decorating the cake.

Practice making a wedding cake in advance

Practising making a wedding cake in advance is a crucial step in the process of preparing a wedding cake. Here are some tips to help you master the art of wedding cake creation:

Plan and Practice:

Start by researching professional wedding cake bakers and their techniques. Study their methods, from cake ordering to delivery, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the process. This will help you set realistic expectations and identify any potential challenges.

Test Your Recipes:

Before the big day, it is essential to test your recipes and techniques. Create a practice cake, experimenting with the flavours, frostings, and decorations you plan to use. This trial run will ensure your final cake design is feasible and help you refine your skills. It also gives you an opportunity to manage your time effectively and identify any potential issues.

Master the Basics:

Familiarise yourself with the fundamentals of cake assembly and decoration. Learn how to level cake layers, fill and frost cakes, and use tools like icing spatulas and smoothers to achieve a professional finish. Practice assembling and stacking cake tiers, ensuring stability and precision.

Manage Your Time:

Wedding cakes can be time-consuming, especially if you're aiming for a specific design. Plan your time accordingly, allowing for hands-on tasks such as baking and decorating, as well as hands-off periods for cake layers to cool and chill. This will help you stay organised and avoid last-minute stress.

Gather the Right Tools:

Ensure you have the necessary equipment, such as baking pans, a kitchen thermometer, and an offset spatula for frosting. Consider the type of cake you're making and invest in or source specialised tools if needed, such as cake boards, dowels, or bubble tea straws for stacking and supporting tiers.

Embrace Imperfections:

Unless you're an experienced baker, embrace the beauty of imperfection. Opt for a rustic or semi-polished cake design, as intricate details and perfectly smooth finishes can be challenging to execute. Focus on creating a delicious and structurally sound cake, and don't be too hard on yourself if it doesn't turn out exactly as planned.

Seek Help:

If possible, enlist the help of friends or family members, especially if you have small children or other commitments. Having an extra pair of hands can make the process more enjoyable and less stressful, especially when it comes to assembling and delivering the final cake.

Remember, practice makes perfect! The more you experiment and familiarise yourself with the process, the more confident you'll be on the day. So, embrace the challenges, learn from your mistakes, and have fun creating a memorable wedding cake.

Decide on the type of cake and icing

When it comes to wedding cakes, the type of cake and icing you choose is important. It should reflect your personal taste and the overall theme and style of your wedding. Here are some things to consider when deciding on the type of cake and icing for your wedding:

Type of Cake

The style of wedding cake you choose can range from classic, rustic, modern, vintage, custom, minimalist, textured, naked, or geometric. A classic cake is a timeless option, usually featuring a white or ivory cake with simple, elegant decorations such as flowers or ribbons. If you're having an outdoor or country-themed wedding, a rustic cake with simple, rustic ingredients like nuts and fruits might be a better choice. For a contemporary wedding, a modern cake with clean lines, geometric shapes, and minimalist decorations can make a statement. Vintage-inspired cakes are perfect for couples who want a touch of nostalgia, often featuring lace, pearls, and delicate flowers. If you can't find a cake that fits your style or theme, consider a custom cake designed specifically for your wedding. Minimalist cakes are elegant and trendy, often with a single tier or a small number of tiers and a smooth, polished finish. Textured cakes offer a unique look with various textures like ruffles, quilting, or wood grain. Naked cakes are popular for rustic or bohemian weddings, with minimal frosting showcasing the natural beauty of the cake. Geometric cakes, on the other hand, are bold and unique, featuring geometric shapes and patterns, perfect for contemporary or minimalist weddings.

Type of Icing

The most popular types of icing for wedding cakes include buttercream, fondant, chocolate ganache, and royal icing. Buttercream is a classic choice, made with butter, sugar, and cream, and is usually topped with simple icing or frosting. It is light and fluffy, making it ideal for summer or outdoor weddings. Fondant, a firm sugar icing, is another popular option known for its clean, polished look. It is versatile and can be easily dyed, making it perfect for adding decorative elements like edible illustrations, sugar crystals, and flowers. Fondant also holds up well in warmer temperatures and keeps the cake fresh. Chocolate ganache is a rich and decadent option, made by mixing chocolate and cream, providing a smooth and silky finish. It holds up well in higher temperatures but is susceptible to temperature variations, so it's important to consider transportation and venue conditions. Royal icing, made from sugar, water, and egg whites, dries to a hard, matte finish, making it stable in all conditions. It is often used for destination weddings or when the cake needs to travel long distances.

When deciding on the type of cake and icing, it's important to consider the cake design, venue temperature, and length of travel. You can also opt for a combination of icings, such as using a layer of ganache under fondant or royal icing to enhance the taste while maintaining the smooth appearance. Ultimately, the choice of cake and icing should reflect your personal preferences and complement your wedding style.

Gather the right tools

To put a wedding cake together, you will need a variety of tools to help you bake, assemble, and decorate the cake. Here is a list of tools you should gather to make the process easier:

Baking Tools:

• Oven thermometer: To ensure your oven is at the correct temperature, especially if you are using someone else's oven.
• Baking pans: Solid baking pans are essential for baking the cake layers. Choose pans that are two inches deep to prevent batter spillage.
• Kitchen thermometer: Useful for making certain types of buttercream and ganache.
• Mixers: A stand mixer or a hand mixer will help you mix the cake batter. If you plan on making a large amount of batter, a stand mixer is preferable.
• Spatulas: Rubber or silicone spatulas are perfect for scraping down the sides of the bowl and incorporating ingredients.
• Mixing bowls: If you don't have a stand mixer, you'll need large mixing bowls to mix the batter by hand.
• Measuring cups and spoons: These are essential for accurately measuring ingredients.
• Sifter or fine-mesh sieve: A sifter is necessary for aerating the dry ingredients and removing lumps. It is also useful for dusting treats with cocoa powder or confectioners' sugar.
• Parchment paper rounds: Using parchment paper rounds in your cake pans ensures that your cakes will release easily after baking.

Assembly and Decoration Tools:

• Cake boards and cake drum: Cake boards are used to support each tier of the cake, while a cake drum is the thicker base for the entire cake. The cake drum should be large enough to have a two-to-four-inch clearance around the bottom cake tier.
• Cake dowels: Dowels are crucial for supporting the weight of the upper tiers and preventing the lower tiers from collapsing. You will need one dowel for every two inches of cake.
• Cake turntable: A turntable makes it easier to frost and decorate the cake by allowing you to spin the cake as you work.
• Offset spatulas: These spatulas are perfect for frosting the cake, especially when decorating multiple layers at once.
• Bench scraper: A bench scraper helps to smooth out the frosting around the sides of the cake.
• Piping bags and tips: If you plan on doing any piping work, you will need piping bags and various tips to create different effects.
• Stencils and airbrushing supplies: If you want to add intricate designs and patterns to your cake, stencils and airbrushing supplies will come in handy.
• Decorations and toppers: Whether it's artificial flowers, a bride and groom topper, or fresh fruit, choose decorations that fit the theme and tie the cake together.

Stack the cake layers

Stacking the cake layers is a crucial step in assembling a wedding cake. Here's a detailed guide on how to do it:

Firstly, it's important to have the right supplies. You'll need baked and prepared cake layers, a sturdy cake base such as a foam core board, cake boards for each tier, dowels for support, a cake leveler or a large knife, icing spatulas and smoothers, and tools for cutting the dowels such as scissors or wire cutters.

Before stacking, it's essential to level each cake layer. Use a cake leveler or a large knife to trim any domes or uneven surfaces on the cakes. This ensures that your cake tiers are straight and stable.

Now, you can begin stacking the cake layers. Place the bottom layer of cake on a turntable or cake board. Pipe a ring of frosting, such as buttercream, around the outer top edge of this layer. This ring acts as a dam to hold in the filling. The ratio of the frosting dam to the cake layer can be adjusted according to your chosen filling. For example, a 2:1 ratio is recommended if using buttercream, but you may use less if filling with ganache or fruit preserves.

Once the frosting dam is in place, spread the filling of your choice evenly within the dam. Carefully place the second layer of cake on top, ensuring it is level and straight. Repeat this process for any additional layers, always checking that the cake remains stable and doesn't lean.

For the final layer, place it upside down or cut-side-down to minimise crumbs when icing the outside of the cake. At this point, you can make any necessary adjustments to ensure the cake is straight and level. Use your hands if needed to gently push and manipulate the layers. If there are any major humps or lumps, use a serrated knife to even them out.

After stacking, the next step is to create a crumb coat. Fill in any gaps between the layers with additional frosting and use an offset or straight metal spatula to even out the frosting. Add a dollop of frosting on top of the cake and spread it evenly, pushing any excess towards the edges. Begin to frost the sides of the cake, adding more frosting as needed to create a thin, even layer that completely coats the cake. It doesn't need to be perfectly smooth, but it should be even.

Finally, chill the cake in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to set the frosting. This will ensure that your final coat of icing is neat and free of crumbs.

Now your cake layers are stacked and ready for the next steps in assembling your wedding cake!

Decorate the cake

Now for the fun part: decorating the cake!

If you're using fresh flowers or fruit to decorate your cake, you'll want to add these just before serving, so they stay fresh. You can, however, make sugar flowers or other decorations well in advance. If you're making sugar flowers, you'll need flower paste, wires, stamens, petal cutters, edible glue, petal dust, pliers, wire cutters, a paintbrush, and florists tape. You can also add a cake topper, or opt for a simple, rustic look with textured icing.

If you're going for a tiered cake, you'll need to add some support to the bottom tier to prevent it from collapsing under the weight of the upper tiers. To do this, use wooden or plastic dowels, or even bubble tea straws, to reinforce the cake. Insert five dowels into each tier—one in the middle and four arranged in a cross around the centre. Mark where they protrude from the icing, then remove them from the cake, trim them down to size, and reinsert. Check the surface is level by resting a board or piece of card on top.

Once your dowels are in place, you can stack your tiers. If your cake is buttercream, chill it first to make it firm and easier to stack. Use a large metal spatula or hamburger flipper to help you lift the tier. If your cake is fondant, you can place your hand on the back of the cake to guide it into place. Move the tier around to get it centred, then use a cake smoother or your hand to smooth out any bumps.

Now, take a step back and make sure the sides are nice and straight. If not, push and manipulate the layers so that they are straight. Use a long serrated knife to even out any major humps and lumps.

Finally, add a crumb coat—a thin, even layer of frosting that completely coats the cake. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, then you're ready for the final layer of icing.

Frequently asked questions