Creating your wedding cake
See this recipe step by step

Creating your wedding cake

Jane Hornby's wedding cake is our simplest ever. And each tier is flavoured differently, so there's something for everyone...

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 104

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Several hours depending on ability

Method

  1. COVER THE FRUIT CAKE WITH THE MARZIPAN: How to do it: Boil the apricot jam with 2 tbsp water and sieve into a bowl. Brush the 15cm cake board with a little of the apricot jam. Cut off the rounded top of the cake and turn upside-down onto the board. Measure across the top and sides of the cake with string, cut to length and set the string aside. Brush the cake all over with a thin layer of apricot jam.
  2. Dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll the marzipan into a circle big enough to cover the cake top and sides, using the cut string as a guide. Lift over the cake and smooth with your hands. Trim the marzipan to the base of the cake (so you can't see the board) and leave to dry for one day if time. If not, the cake can be iced straight away.
  3. FILL & COVER THE CHOCOLATE & LEMON CAKES WITH BUTTERCREAM: Adding good-quality lemon curd or silky chocolate ganache transforms simplebuttercream into an indulgent filling.
  4. How you do it: First make the buttercream. Beat the butter until creamy, then gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar. Weigh 600g/1lb 5oz of the mix and stir 5 tbsp of the lemon curd into it.
  5. In a small pan, bring the cream just to the boil, then pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for 2 mins, then stir until smooth. Once cool but still liquid, fold into the remaining basic buttercream.
  6. Once each cake is completely cool, level off the top using a long serrated knife. Spread a little of the corresponding buttercream over the matching thin cake board. Turn cake upside down onto the board and brush all over with a thin layer of the sieved apricot jam - this helps to prevent stray crumbs getting into the buttercream.
  7. Cut into three layers horizontally - don't worry if you cut the layers unevenly as it won't affect the finished cake. If it's a hot day or warm in your kitchen, refrigerate the cakes for a while - it will firm them up and make cutting and lifting much easier. Lift off each layer as you cut it, and set it aside so that when you re-stack the layers they are in the right order.
  8. If you've made the buttercream in advance and it has hardened slightly, warm in the microwave on Defrost for 10 secs and beat well. Using a palette knife, spread approx 1/4 of the buttercream over the first layer of the cake. For the lemon cake, swirl another tbsp or so of lemon curd over the icing. Stack the remaining layers this way, spreading all of the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it down to meet the cardboard cake base. Smooth all over with your palette knife and set aside. The cakes are now ready for covering with ready-to-roll icing. Filled with buttercream and iced, the cakes will keep for up to 3 days.
  9. COVER ALL THE CAKES WITH READY-TO-ROLL ICING: The next stage is to subtly colour the different tiers with the ivory, dusky pink and cream colouring pastes.
  10. How to do it: For the marzipanned fruit cake only, first lightly brush with cooled, boiled water to help the icing stick. For all the cakes, dust the work surface with icing sugar and knead the icing until pliable. Add a few specks of the food colouring with a toothpick or the end of a skewer - be very sparing as a little goes a long way. Work the colour in until you have an evenly coloured, smooth paste. Add more and knead again if you want the colour to be more intense.
  11. Lightly dust the work surface again and roll the icing into a circle large enough to cover the sides and top of the cake, with a little excess. Use string to measure as before. Lift the icing over the cake, using your rolling pin to help you.
  12. Smooth the icing around the cake with your hands, then trim off the excess with a sharp knife. Leave overnight to dry. Once iced, keep for 3 days.
  13. Once you've iced the cakes, cover the 35cm base. Lightly brush with cooled, boiled water and cover with ivory-coloured icing. Trim and leave overnight to dry.
  14. STACK THE CAKES: Dowels give stability and strength to tiered cakes. By measuring and cutting the dowels to the same length, you're providing an even platform for the next cake to sit on, even if your cake is a bit wonky. For this cake, the tiers are stacked like steps, just off centre.
  15. How you do it: In a large bowl, gradually beat icing sugar into the egg white until thick and smooth. Cover with cling film until ready to use.
  16. Starting with the chocolate cake, insert three dowelling rods in a triangle, slightly offset to one side and no wider than the base of the lemon cake that's going to sit on top. With a permanent pen, lightly mark where the top of the icing comes to on the dowel.
  17. Carefully pull out the dowels and line up on the work surface. Using a ruler, re-mark each rod to the highest point. Score the dowels with scissors around the new marks and snap the plastic cleanly.
  18. Re-insert the rods in their original holes, rounded end down. Cut the thin ivory ribbon to fit around the thick base board, securing at the back with glue or double-sided tape. To stack the cakes, spoon a little royal icing over each of the dowel holes. Carefully lift the chocolate cake onto the covered board, then stack cakes on top of one another, positioning each cake and gently lowering one side of it onto the base or cake below. Slide your palette knife under it at this point and gently lower the cake down. Slide the knife out at the last minute. (If you're moving the cake to the venue, put the cakes into their boxes and take the icing with you.)
  19. THE TIME PLAN: UP TO A MONTH AHEAD: 1. Make the fruit cake and cover with marzipan. 2. Make the chocolate and lemon cakes if freezing - they will freeze for up to 1 month (although they are best made fresh if you can).
  20. UP TO 4 DAYS AHEAD: 1. Make the chocolate and lemon cakes if making fresh - keep well rapped in baking parchment and cling film in a cool place. 2. Make the chocolate and lemon buttercream and keep in the fridge. 3. Make the chocolate and lemon cakes if making fresh - keep well wrapped in baking parchment and cling film in a cool place. 4. Make the chocolate and lemon buttercream and keep in the fridge.
  21. UP TO 3 DAYS AHEAD: 1. Fill and cover the chocolate and lemon cakes with buttercream and cover all of the cakes and the board with icing. 2. Insert the dowelling rods.
  22. UP TO 2 DAYS AHEAD: 1. Frost the rose petals.
  23. ON THE DAY: 1. Stack the cakes and decorate with petals once the cakes are in place.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2006.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-40

  • Binder photo julie31

    15 September 2008

    julie31 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I just made the top (fruit) tier this weekend as a practice cake and it was absolutely delicious! It is the nicest fruit cake I've ever tasted full of subtle flavours.

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  • Binder photo flippa

    27 September 2008

    flippa commented on this recipe

    Good Housekeeping do a book called simple and stunning cakes - which has a section on weddings and includes a carrot cake in the wedding section

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  • Binder photo Rachel

    01 November 2008

    Rachel commented on this recipe

    Sounds delicious. Did you brush rose petals / sweet peas with egg white & sugar or use them as they were? Thanks! Rachel

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  • Binder photo Trudie

    11 March 2009

    Trudie commented on this recipe

    I'm an experienced cake maker but I have a challenge this summer, in August. I have to make a wedding cake and transport it to Germany, three days by car! This cake looks lovely. has anyone any experience of travelling with cakes like this? The car is air conditioned but it might be a heat wave. Also I would like to put it on columns rather than stack it. Has anyone done this successfully? Help!

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  • Binder photo LindaTenor

    31 March 2009

    LindaTenor commented on this recipe

    I like that each tier is a different flavor. That right there is worth the recipe! We were looking for a cake like this and found some we loved on <a href="http://www.gatheringguide.com/ec/wedding_cakes_bakeries.html">http://www.gatheringguide.com/ec/wedding_cakes_bakeries.html</a>, but delivery to the UK was a harder problem. So thank you for this recipe!

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  • Binder photo JAN

    01 June 2009

    JAN commented on this recipe

    I made these three cakes for my son's wedding as the top three tiers of a four tier cake. All three cakes were excellent. Had I not already made a traditional cake for the bottom tier. I would have made the light fruit cake as it is delicious and I now have a neighbour who is addicted to it. I froze left over chocolate and lemon cake for my son and his wife to have on returning from their honeymoon and found that the chocolate cake almost seemed to improve with freezing. the lemon cake was also OK. Knowing that, I would make and freeze before the event in the future, including the filling, making them a lot easier to ice. For people have problems with the lemon syrup, I had no problems the syrup and the cake both have to be hot for absorbtion.

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  • Binder photo liz_brower

    27 July 2009

    liz_brower commented on this recipe

    I'm thinking of making the chocolate cake as part of my sister's wedding cake, but the buttercream filling calls for lemon curd. I can't get that where I live (the Netherlands), so does anyone know what I can use as a substitute? Thanks!

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  • Binder photo rebeccam

    27 July 2009

    rebeccam commented on this recipe

    Liz - You can make your own lemon curd really easily! http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/lemoncurd_460.shtml

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  • Binder photo lalybaba

    04 August 2009

    lalybaba commented on this recipe

    I made this for a friends wedding last month and it was a huge success. People liked having the choice of cake. The lemon and chocolate cakes cut beautifully (even the hotel staff where the reception was held commented on how well it cut). All the cakes keep well as well. (I had several dry runs). The one I like the least is the lemon cake as I find the 'drizzle' can make it soggy. However all three will be being made again. I needed to leave all of the cakes longer in my oven than the suggested cooking times.

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  • Binder photo Catherine

    05 August 2009

    Catherine commented on this recipe

    Did anyone have a problem with putting the ready to roll icing on the large chocolate cake? It fell apart on me everytime I picked it up! Any advice??

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  • Binder photo julie31

    09 August 2009

    julie31 commented on this recipe

    Yay, success! I made this for my daughter's wedding and it was delicious. I had a trial run of each cake during the time leading up to the big day so I used much more buttercream icing and fondant icing than the recipe states to get a smoother finish. Also put the sponges in the fridge after buttercreaming to firm up before putting on the fondant. I agree with laybaba that the lemon was a little on the soggy side so just use less lemon juice for the drizzle. Also in reply to Catherine, as I said before use more ready roll icing - I used 3kg for the chocolate cake because I sat it on a 14" board and covered it at the same time :)

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  • Binder photo Jendeb

    09 August 2009

    Jendeb commented on this recipe

    Can anyone advise if i can make the chocolate cake 5 days before eating it instead of four?

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  • Binder photo Julie Brew

    16 August 2009

    Julie Brew commented on this recipe

    I made this cake for a wedding. This was the first time I've ever made a wedding cake and was absolutely stunned by the end result. I followed the plan to the letter and it was completely stress free. My only anxious moment was that I stored the chocolate and lemon cake in the fridge the night before and when I took it out the following day the icing became wet. However, within a few hours and after directing at fan at them both they dried out. Best to put them in the fridge after the event!!! Best to put them in cake boxes and cover with baking parchment. I also made the flowers myself using sugar paste as I wasn't sure how to frost real flowers.

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  • Binder photo Julie Brew

    16 August 2009

    Julie Brew commented on this recipe

    I think it would be fine to make the cake 5 days before, wrap it in baking parchment and store in the fridge until your ready to buttercream and ice it. Even if its iced you can put it in the fridge just remember that the icing will get wet when you take it out so you will need to dry out again but you can do anything with it.

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  • Binder photo Jendeb

    21 August 2009

    Jendeb commented on this recipe

    Julie Brew - Your a star! I am going to bake the choc cake on Tuesday, wrap it in greaseproof paper & keep it in the fridge. I am not going to ice & buttercream it until Thurs then decorate it on Fri to be eaten on Sat. If you read my post & think I am risking a disaster by baking one day earlier please let me know :)

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  • Binder photo Lizzie

    22 August 2009

    Lizzie commented on this recipe

    I rather rashly agreed to make a wedding cake for my friends whose big day is on the 19th September, but they want fruit cake for the larger base layer, I'm not sure what quantities to use - should I just double the fruit cake recipe for a 30cm tin? Help!

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  • Binder photo Lesley

    31 August 2009

    Lesley commented on this recipe

    Well, I haven't made these particular cakes myself but a good friend has been 'practising' on her friends in trial run for wedding cake (poor us!) and I can say that the chocolate and lemon cakes are totally lush. Re transporting cakes - in my own experience it's best to do this with the cakes in as untouched a condition as possible - i.e. slice, fill and ice on arrival at destination.

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  • Binder photo Laura

    31 August 2009

    Laura rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My first wedding cake ever! Went down a treat. Our family baking team changed middle layer to carrot cake and top layer to orange madeira and I did the chocolate and iced everything - times 2 - we were feeding DESSERT PORTIONS to 150. The chocolate is the best recipe ever! Thank you Good Food!

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  • Binder photo seasidenana

    20 September 2009

    seasidenana commented on this recipe

    I would like to try this for my daughter's wedding. Could you tell me please how deep the cake tins need to be?

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  • Binder photo rebeccam

    24 November 2009

    rebeccam commented on this recipe

    Brilliant. All three cake recipies were the best I've ever tried and I've baked a fair few cakes! The chocolate cake did sink a bit but I just iced it to a thicker board! Didn't make a practice cake, just went for it then froze the chocolate and lemon cake. Iced it all in white icing then added some black ribbon and some pearl beads round the bottom of each cake. Looked very elegant and my friend was very pleased!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 104

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Several hours depending on ability

Beautiful centrepiece. Also doubles as dessert

Ingredients

THE CAKES

  • 1 x top tier , see 'Goes well with'
  • 1 x middle tier , see 'Goes well with'
  • 1 x bottom tier , see 'Goes well with'

FOR THE MARZIPAN

  • half a 454g jar apricot jam , you'll use the rest later
  • 500g pack natural marzipan

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

  • 500g unsalted butter , softened
  • 1kg icing sugar , sifted
  • jar good-quality lemon curd
  • 142ml carton double cream
  • 200g bar plain chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces

FOR THE ICING

  • FRUIT CAKE - 500g/1lb2oz white ready-to-roll icing , cream food colouring paste
  • LEMON CAKE - 1kg/2lb4oz white ready-to-roll icing , dusty pink food-colouring paste
  • CHOCOLATE CAKE - 1.7kg/3lb 10oz white ready-to-roll icing , ivory food-colouring paste
  • FOR THE BOARD - 800g/1lb12oz white ready-to-roll icing , ivory food-colouring paste

FOR STACKING THE CAKES

  • 200g icing sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • dowelling rods

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT YOU WILL NEED

  • 15cm, 23cm and 30cm deep-round cake tin
  • plenty greaseproof paper
  • thick 35cm diameter silver cake drum (base)
  • thin 15cm, 23cm and 30cm diameter silver cake board
  • long serrated knife
  • palette knife
  • cream, ivory and pink food colouring pastes
  • long roll ing pin
  • 6 standard plastic dowelling rods
  • strong kitchen scissors
  • 1m ivory ribbon , 15mm wide
  • medium artist's paintbrush
  • cooling rack
  • string for measuring
  • 20cm, 25cm, 33cm cake boxes with lids (if transporting the cake)
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