There was a time when wedding cakes consisted of three tiers of fruit cake covered in royal icing with a bride and groom on top.

...But no longer.

Choose from:

• Traditional or contemporary fondant iced cakes
• Chocolate wedding cakes
• Individual or cupcakes
• Croquembouche profiterole cakes

Or for something more unusual, perhaps for an evening reception:

• Cheese wedding cakes
• Chocolate fountains
• Dessert style wedding cakes

It can't be that difficult...can it?

In the days of fruit cake, when the cake could be made and iced many weeks before the wedding, allowing time to correct disasters, it was common practise for a friend or family member to make the wedding cake.

It is not, however, something we would recommend for several reasons:

• Domestic ovens: Professional cake makers use professional ovens, which can cook 12" tiers evenly. Try it in a domestic oven; the sides of the cake burn before the middle cooks.
• Freshness: You want your cake to taste fresh, but the icing and decorating may take a day or two, and you don't want to be finishing it on your wedding day. Individual or cup cakes should ideally be baked on the morning of the wedding.
• Collapsing tiers: Regardless of whether the cake is to be stacked or seperated with pillars, each tier must be correctly dowelled to prevent to cakes collapsing into the bottom tier.
• Rescue me: If you have a go at making a cake, and it all goes wrong, most cake makers won't be willing to re-ice it for you as it is more work than starting from scratch.
• Legal issues: Some venues require liability insurance for any food items being brought into the venue for their caterers to serve.

If you are still keen to take up the challenge, check back here soon for recipes and instructions.

Thank you to Fancy That! for their assistance with this article.