How to make a wedding cake

Miriam Nice

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Discover three creative ways to design your own stunning two-tier wedding cake for the special day using our easiest ever guide to creating a showstopper.

This simple yet impressive wedding cake can be decorated in three different ways using Miriam Nice's delicious step-by-step easiest ever wedding cake recipe. The whole cake takes only 1 hour to bake, can be colour-matched to your wedding and costs under £35!

Option 1: floral design

(keeps for 2-3 days)

Dye 200g of your buttercream the colour of your choice using a few drops of food colouring.
Fill and cover the cake with the remaining buttercream.
Add a few daubs of the coloured buttercream on one side and blend it with the base colour using a cake scraper.
Go round the cake a few times with the cake scraper to create a rustic but smooth finish.
Decorate with edible flowers such as organic roses, and fresh herbs like rosemary, bay and thyme.

Option 2: ruffle design

(keeps for 3-4 days)

Roll 700g of white fondant icing out on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Drape over the largest cake after the buttercream has chilled, but before stacking. Smooth it over, then trim off the excess.
Do the same with 400g white fondant icing for the top layer, then stack the cakes.
Take a block of 600g white fondant icing and pinch off pieces each about the size of a large strawberry. Roll into thin, wide strips (it’s preferable to end up with a mixture of lengths), then use a sharp knife to cut them lengthways to create two pieces.
Make a thin paste using icing sugar and water, then spread a little along the flat edges of the strips.
Stick them to the sides of the cake, starting at the bottom and working up. Bend the fondant to create pleats and waves.
Overlap from the bottom up until all the sides are covered.
Decorate with a cake topper if you like.

Option 3: polka dot design

(keeps for 3-4 days)

Roll 700g pink sugar paste out on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Drape over the largest cake after the buttercream has chilled, but before stacking. Smooth it over, then trim off the excess.
Do the same with 450g of white fondant icing for the top layer.
Make a thick paste using icing sugar and water, and use it to stick on white chocolate buttons and white chocolate jazzies onto the larger cake to create a polka dot effect.
Push 2-3 tbsp edible silver balls into the smaller layer’s icing, then stack the cakes.
Add a cake topper and a ribbon, if you like.

Baking tips:

Ovens do vary, so you may find the larger cake takes longer. If so, cover with foil after 1 hr and check again every 10 mins.
Make sure the wedding catering staff are aware that there are straws inside the cake before they serve it.
Only ever use edible flowers and plants to decorate.

Looking for more wedding inspiration? Check out our beautiful wedding cake collection and DIY wedding guide, plus some tasty ideas for a stylish wedding buffet. If you want to get more creative with wedding cake decoration, here are some more helpful design tips and videos:

Cake decorating

How to cover a cake with fondant icing

How to ice a cake

Which is your favourite design? Let us know in the comments below...

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