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The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was an eight-tiered, three-foot-tall, 220-pound traditional fruitcake. It was designed and baked by Fiona Cairns, a renowned cake baker and designer in England. The cake featured intricate handcrafted details, including the couple's monogram and sugar flowers representing England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It stood on display in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace during the wedding celebrations.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Height | 3 feet |
Number of tiers | 8 |
Weight | 220 pounds |
Main baker | Fiona Cairns |
Main baker's team size | 6 |
Number of handcrafted details | 900+ |
Flavour | Fruitcake |
Icing | Sugar paste |
Colour | Ivory |
Decorations | The couple's monogram, 17 types of flowers, leaves, hanging ribbons, bows |
Flowers | Lily of the valley, Irish shamrock, English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil |
Purpose | To be displayed in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace |
Cost | $80,000 |
What You'll Learn
The cake was designed by Kate
Kate's cake was a traditional fruit cake, which is a longstanding tradition for royal weddings. The cake was three feet tall, with eight tiers, weighing 220 pounds. It was decorated with intricate, handcrafted details, including the couple's monogram and 17 types of flowers that symbolised the four nations of the United Kingdom.
Kate's attention to detail extended beyond the cake's appearance. She and William chose to serve a more modestly sized cake compared to other royal couples, opting for a confection that was three feet tall rather than the towering nine-foot cake of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip or the five-foot cake of Princess Diana and King Charles.
Kate's collaboration with Fiona Cairns resulted in a cake that reflected the architectural beauty of the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, where the cake was displayed. The cake was designed to be wide as well as tall, ensuring it wouldn't be dwarfed by its surroundings.
The cake-making process was a collaborative effort, with Cairns describing Kate as "natural and lovely" and stating that "the ideas came from her". The experience of creating the royal wedding cake was a memorable one for Cairns and her team, who felt the weight of responsibility in delivering a cake fit for a future king and queen.
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It was made by Fiona Cairns
Fiona Cairns is a cake baker and designer based in England. Cairns made her first fruit cakes in 1985, which she gifted to friends as Christmas presents. Her husband, Kishore Patel, proposed that she start a cake business, and in 1986, Fiona Cairns Ltd. was born.
Cairns was approached to bake the royal wedding cake just a few months before the big day. She had previously made several cakes for the royal family, including for Prince Charles and Princess Diana, so William and Kate were already familiar with her fruitcakes. Cairns described the commission as "an enormous responsibility", and admitted to having sleepless nights as soon as she was commissioned. She also had to keep the project a secret leading up to the wedding.
Cairns described the cake as an "architectural project". It took her and her team of six assistants three days to assemble the eight-tiered, three-foot-tall, 220-pound cake. The cake was then transported to Buckingham Palace, where it was displayed in the Picture Gallery.
The cake was a traditional fruitcake, covered in ivory sugar paste. Cairns decorated it with the couple's monogram and 17 types of flowers, including the English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil, and Irish shamrock. The flowers were chosen to represent the four nations of the United Kingdom.
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It was a traditional fruit cake
The cake was designed by Fiona Cairns, a well-known cake baker and designer in England. Cairns had previously made cakes for the royal family, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and William and Kate were already familiar with her fruitcakes. The couple approached her just a few months before their wedding, and she worked closely with them to create a cake that reflected their unique vision.
Cairns described the process as an "architectural project," and it certainly was a massive undertaking. It took a team of six people three days to assemble the cake. The cake featured intricate handcrafted details, with the couple's monogram and 17 different types of flowers and leaves that symbolised the four nations of the United Kingdom.
The cake was displayed in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, and it was a challenge to create a cake that wouldn't be dwarfed by the grand space. Cairns made the cake as wide as it was tall, creating a stately and impressive display. The cake was not only a delicious treat but also a work of art that contributed to the beauty of the celebration.
In addition to the traditional fruit cake, William and Kate also had a more unconventional chocolate biscuit cake, which was said to be William's favourite treat when visiting his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
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It featured 17 types of flowers
The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, featured 17 different types of flowers and leaves. This included the national flowers of the four United Kingdom nations: the English rose, Irish shamrock, Scottish thistle, and Welsh daffodil. The lily of the valley was also included to symbolise "sweetness and humility". The flowers were crafted by hand out of sugar, with 900-plus handcrafted details in total. The cake was designed by Fiona Cairns, who was approached just a few months before the wedding. She described the experience as "the most stressful thing I've ever done".
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It was three feet tall
The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton was three feet tall. This height was modest compared to other royal wedding cakes, such as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's nine-foot cake or Princess Diana and King Charles' five-foot-one cake. The cake was also wide, creating a stately display. It stood tall with eight tiers, weighing a whopping 220 pounds.
The three-foot-tall cake was an enormous responsibility for the baker, Fiona Cairns, who had to pinch herself as she realised the cake was a very important part of the royal wedding. It was the biggest and most important commission her business had ever received. Cairns had to keep the project a secret leading up to the big day, to avoid ruining any surprises.
Cairns and her team started the process almost immediately after meeting with the royal couple. They baked the cakes at the beginning of March, giving them two months to mature. Then, several days before the wedding, they arrived at Buckingham Palace to assemble the cake. It took a team of people two and a half days to build the eight-tier fruitcake.
The cake was displayed in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, which is a massive room. Cairns made the cake as wide as it was tall so that it wouldn't be dwarfed or lost in the large space. The couple's wedding cake was certainly considered a show-stopper, with intricate handcrafted details and a pure white design.
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Frequently asked questions
The cake had eight tiers.
The cake was made by Fiona Cairns and her team.
The cake was three feet tall.
The cake was a traditional fruit cake.
Yes, they also had a chocolate biscuit cake.