Royal Wedding Cake: Will And Kate's Expensive Treat

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, cost $80,000. The couple's main cake was a three-foot-tall fruitcake with eight tiers, weighing 220 pounds. It was decorated with intricate handcrafted details, including the couple's monogram and 17 types of flowers and leaves. The cake was designed and baked by Fiona Cairns, who revealed that Kate had a clear vision for her wedding cake and was closely involved in the process.

The cake was three feet tall and eight tiers wide

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake was a grand confection, standing at an impressive three feet tall. But what truly set it apart was its width—a staggering eight tiers. This made it a true show-stopper and a cake fit for royalty.

The cake's impressive dimensions were not simply a matter of extravagance. The cake was designed to be displayed in the Picture Gallery of Buckingham Palace, a grand and spacious room. Fiona Cairns, the cake's talented baker, understood the challenge of creating a cake that would not be dwarfed or lost in such a vast space. She recalled, "We were making a cake to a scale that we had never made before... She [Kate] knew that we had not made such a big wedding cake."

The width of the cake was not just about making a statement; it served a practical purpose as well. The cake was a traditional fruitcake, which, by nature, is a rather dense and heavy confection. By having eight tiers, the weight of the cake was distributed more evenly, ensuring stability and making it less likely to topple over.

The eight-tier design also allowed for a greater number of intricate handcrafted details. Each tier featured different floral designs, with over 900 individual elements crafted by hand out of sugar. These included 17 different flowers and leaves, such as the English rose, Scottish thistle, and lily of the valley, each symbolising the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The width of the cake presented some logistical challenges as well. In fact, a door had to be temporarily removed at Buckingham Palace to get the cake into the reception venue! This little hiccup even caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth, who remarked to Cairns, "I hear that you've been dismantling my house."

It cost £57,000 and took six weeks to make

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, cost £57,000 and took six weeks to make. The cake was a three-foot-tall, eight-tiered traditional fruitcake, weighing 220 pounds. It was adorned with intricate handcrafted details, including the couple's monogram and over 900 sugar paste flowers and leaves. The flowers symbolised England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, with lily of the valley included to convey "sweetness and humility".

The cake was designed by Fiona Cairns, a renowned cake baker and designer in England. Cairns was approached just a few months before the wedding, which took place on 29 April 2011. She recalled that the brief was to create a cake that was "romantic and informal in structure" rather than "ostentatious or grand". The couple specifically requested a softer icing made with a sugar paste base instead of the traditional royal icing.

Creating the cake was a complex and stressful process for Cairns and her team. They had to work in tight secrecy and faced the challenge of getting the enormous cake into the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, which involved removing a door. The cake was so large because it had to be big enough to not be dwarfed in the massive Picture Gallery. It took two and a half days for a team of people to assemble the cake, which was displayed alongside a separate groom's cake, a three-tier chocolate biscuit cake enjoyed by Prince William as a child.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake is considered one of the most incredible cake designs, with its stunning architectural structure and intricate handcrafted details. It took a team of 12 cake makers working for six weeks to create this magnificent confection, resulting in a final cost of £57,000.

It was made by Fiona Cairns and her team of 12

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton was made by Fiona Cairns and her team of 12. Cairns, a cake baker and designer in England, 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, and Prince William and Kate Middleton were already familiar with her fruitcakes.

Cairns has been making fruit cakes since 1985, initially as Christmas gifts for friends. In 1986, she and her husband, Kishore Patel, started a cake business, Fiona Cairns Ltd. Over the next 25 years, she gained extensive experience in creating incredible sweets, which prepared her well for the task of making the royal wedding cake.

Cairns and her team of 12 people worked tirelessly to create the magnificent eight-tier wedding cake, which stood three feet tall and weighed 220 pounds. It featured intricate handcrafted details, including the couple's monogram and over 900 sugar paste floral and leaf decorations. The design incorporated 17 different flowers and leaves, symbolising the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The process of creating the cake began in February, just two months before the wedding in April. The fruitcakes were baked in March to allow them to mature, and then the team spent two and a half days assembling the cake at Buckingham Palace. It was a challenging and stressful endeavour, but the team was honoured to be a part of such a significant moment in history.

The top tier was saved for the christening of their first child

The wedding cake of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was a grand affair. The couple's main cake was a three-foot-tall, eight-tiered traditional fruitcake, weighing a massive 220 pounds. It was designed and baked by Fiona Cairns, a renowned cake maker and designer in England. Cairns revealed that the couple, particularly Kate, had a clear vision for the cake, which was to be "romantic and informal in structure".

The top tier of this magnificent cake was saved for a very special occasion—the christening of their first child. Following British royal tradition, a tier from the wedding cake was served at Prince George's christening in 2013. This continued for their other children's christenings as well, with pieces of the fruitcake served at all three of William and Kate's children's christening ceremonies, most recently for Prince Louis in 2018.

The preservation of the top tier of a wedding cake for a child's christening is a long-standing tradition, and it adds a special touch to the celebration. It symbolises the continuation of family traditions and the creation of new memories. In the case of royal weddings, saving the top tier of the cake also holds historical significance, as it represents the continuity of the royal lineage and the importance of family within the monarchy.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake was not only a delicious treat but also a work of art that played a significant role in their wedding celebrations and continued to be a part of their family's milestones. The top tier of the cake, saved for their first child's christening, is a testament to the thoughtful planning and adherence to tradition that went into the creation of this magnificent confection.

A slice of the cake sold for $7,500 at auction

A slice of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cake sold for $7,500 at auction in 2014. The cake was originally served at the couple's wedding reception at Buckingham Palace on 29 April 2011. The original cake was one metre tall, with eight tiers, and was made by 12 cake makers over six weeks, at a cost of £57,000.

The slice of cake that sold for $7,500 was presented in its original white and gold presentation tin, designed by Peter Windett and Sally Mangum. The tin measures 5½” x 4¼ x 2”. The cake had never been opened and was in its original packaging, complete with a printed card from Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

The auction house, Juliens Auction House in Los Angeles, described the item as "a very rare and visual piece of Royal Memorabilia". The sale of this slice of cake set a new record for the price of a piece of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cake at auction.

The original cake was a traditional fruit cake, adorned with 900 handcrafted leaf and floral touches, and topped with the couple's cipher. It was designed by Fiona Cairns, who recalled that the brief was "not to be ostentatious or grand, but romantic and informal in structure". The cake took a team of six people three days to assemble.

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