Make Your Own Wedding Cake!
Baking, cake decoration and clay figures... a world of fun! Baking can be a real family experience. Making your own wedding cake is something you can share with your mum, favourite auntie, perhaps your grandma or chief bridesmaid.
There is a world of decorating ideas out there, and you can practise as much as you like before the big day (your writer is not a big fan of dieting for a wedding!) - whether you're buying a cake to decorate, or starting with a bag of flower and some icing sugar... just have great fun with your wedding cake!
Make Your Own Traditional Wedding Cake
Ingredients:- 425g unsalted butter
- 425g light muscovado sugar
- 8 medium eggs
- 625g plain flour
- 2 tbsp ground mixed spice
- 50g chopped stem ginger
- 2Kg dried mixed fruit
- 100g chopped almonds
This will make a 25cm (10”) round cake, or a 23cm (9”) square cake. (See below for smaller cakes / higher tiers.)
The night before you start baking, soak the dried mixed fruit in brandy or tea and leave overnight.
Cream the butter and sugar together (in a food processor if you have one) until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a little at a time. Add the flour and ground mixed spice together, a little at a time. Then add mixed fruit, ginger and almonds.
Grease your cake tin and line it with greaseproof paper. Add the cake mixture and level the top with the back of a metal spoon. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven at Gas Mark 1 (140°C or 275°F) for 4 - 4½ hours.
Check the cake is cooked by sticking a skewer into the centre of it. If it comes out doughy, give the cake another 10 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin, then wrap it in good quality foil or a couple of layers of greaseproof paper, put it in an airtight cake tin and store in a cool dry place. This cake will keep for up to 3 months.
To keep the cake moist, feed it with brandy every three weeks or so. Remove the paper or foil, poke about 10 holes in the top with a cocktail stick and drizzle a few tablespoons of brandy over the top before wrapping and putting it back in the tin.
To make a 20cm (8”) round cake or an 18cm (7”) square cake, use 250g of sugar and butter, 5 eggs, 325g of flour, 1½ tbsp of mixed spice, 40g ginger, 1Kg of mixed fruit and 75g of almonds. Cook for 3½ - 3¾ hours before testing.
To make a 15cm (6”) round cake or a 12cm (5”) square cake, use 150g of sugar and butter, 3 eggs, 200g flour, 1tbsp of mixed spice, 25g ginger, 600g of mixed fruit and 50g of almonds. Cook for 2 - 2½ hours before testing.
Make Your Own Wedding Sponge Cake
Ingredients- 475g caster sugar
- 475g unsalted butter
- 8 medium eggs
- 150ml full fat milk
- 750g self raising flour
- 2tbsp vanilla extract
This recipe will make one 25cm (10”) round cake, or one 23cm (9”) square cake. For smaller cakes & higher tiers please see the bottom of this recipe.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs with the milk so they’re mixed together.
Bit by bit, add both the egg/milk mixture and the flour into your butter and sugar.
Pour the mixture into a greased & lined cake tin and smooth the surface so it’s flat with the back of a metal spoon.
Bake in the middle of a preheated oven at Gas Mark 3 (160°C or 325°F) for 1¼ - 1½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Leave the cake in the tin for 15 minutes then carefully transfer it onto a wire rack to cool.
To make a 20cm (8”) round cake or an 18cm (7”) square cake, use 300g butter and sugar, 5 eggs, 4 tbsp of milk, 400g flour and 1tbsp of vanilla extract. Bake for 1 hour.
To make a 15cm (6”) round cake or a 12cm (5”) square cake, use 175g butter and sugar, 3 eggs, 2 tbsp of milk, 250g flour and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Bake for 40 minutes.
This cake will keep frozen for 3 weeks or in a cool airtight container for 7 days.
Cupcake recipes and cake decorating ideas coming soon!
