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 practice 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 cupcakes should ideally be baked on the morning of the wedding.
- Collapsing tiers: Regardless of whether the cake is to be stacked or separated with pillars, each tier must be correctly dowelled to prevent 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.
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