With all of the pressures of today’s economy, everyone’s looking for little ways to cut costs. One of the most obvious is the wedding cake. Not, of course, the quality or size, but the preparation.
If you’re determined, a DIY wedding cake can be an effective way to save money--and bring you a lot of personal satisfaction. But it's not without its pitfalls.
If you're considering it, hold your breath, dive deep, and employ these tips to help speed you along to success.
Determine a size
Choose your design and determine how many servings of cake you will need. Most of the baking industry considers a serving size to be 2”x 2”. Keep this in mind when looking at serving guides. And remember that while those tall, intricately decorated cakes are stunning, they're a bear to make and transport.
Choose a design
In choosing your design, keep it simple, especially if you've never decorated a cake before. Use real or artificial flowers, and make liberal use of ribbon in place of icing or fondant. If you're making your own cake this saves a LOT of time. If you're paying someone else, it also saves a LOT of money.
Most of the cost associated with a wedding cake is for labor. Consideration should be given to what type of icing is to be used for covering and decorating. A lot of the beautiful wedding cakes that you see are covered in fondant, a sugary dough, which gives the cake that perfectly smooth surface. It looks good but tastes awful and can be tricky for a novice.
Consider your location
But, if the cake is going to be served in a warm location, such as outdoors, fondant is a better choice. Butter cream is versatile, easy to work with, and tastes heavenly but does NOT hold up well in heat. Also, using real butter changes the consistency significantly and is not suitable to decorate with.
Using coconut oil is a healthy choice that works well as long as the cake stays cool, but if it is going to get warm, or worse, be outdoors, choose a vegetable oil with a high melt point.
Learn from a pro
If at all possible, take a cake decorating class. Check with your local Community Education program if you have one in your area. Some bakeries and craft stores offer them from time to time as well.
At the very least, get a good beginner's book on cake decorating. My first one was Wilton's Basic Cake Decorating level I. It's full of useful tips and even has recipes for butter cream and royal icing.
Preparation
Get yourself some good quality “tools.” At the very least you'll need cake pans (round is easier to ice than square), icing bags (I like the disposable ones, but make sure you don't get the ones that tear on the side, as those tend to burst at the seam), at least one decorating tip, a cake spatula for icing and smoothing, a large serrated bread knife or cake leveler for leveling the cakes, divider plates, dowel rods if you're stacking the tiers, or pedestals if you want space between your tiers.
Have a plan
Allow yourself plenty of time. The cake will be done in stages, and sometimes things just go wrong. For example, a two-year old could pull the entire finished product off onto the floor. Yes, been there, done that.
For simple two- to three-tier cakes with minimal decorations, I allow at least three days. The larger and more intricately decorated, the more time involved, and the more extra time you'll need in case of disaster.
Double check supplies and ingredients
Before you begin the baking, make sure you have all the ingredients you'll need. You don't want to be running to the store at 10 o'clock at night for eggs. Yep, been there, done that too. Check your recipes and supplies at least twice.
Use a recipe for a heavy dense cake that will stand up under weight and movement, and won't crumble to pieces when iced. I usually use sponge cake or pound cake recipes. And use vegetable oil. Canola, corn, and some of the other oils do NOT respond well to heat and will ruin the flavor of your cake.
These are a handful of the tips you’ll need to get started on decorating your own wedding cake. Spend lots of time planning, give yourself plenty of lead time to handle the unexpected, and you’ll be assured a beautiful, tasty wedding cake everyone is certain to remember.
And if all this sounds like too much work? Call your friendly neighborhood baker!
Photos via courtesy of Live Fit Blog
Greg Hayes is the author of Live Fit Blog, where he writes about fitting fitness into busy lives. For more tips on choosing the best cooking oil, as well as the differences between canola oil vs vegetable oil, check it out!