HOW TO ASSEMBLE A WEDDING CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the roses, pinch off a little icing and roll it in the palm of your hands to make it more malleable. Shape the icing into an oval shape, smooth out one end of the oval to make it thinner so that it resembles the frilly part of the tip of a rose petal. Make 8-10 more rose petals in this way. To make a rose, roll a small ball of icing into a cone shape, then wrap a rose petal around it. Carefully press the remaining rose petals around the central petal to form a rose shape. You may need to ‘tease’ the petals out from each other a little bit.
• Carefully brush the edges of the roses with pink dust. Repeat the process until you have made about 15 roses. Set aside for 2-3 hours, or until the icing has hardened. (The roses can be made up to a month in advance and stored in an airtight container.)
• Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 15cm/6in, 23cm/9in and 30cm/12in round cake tin.
• For the 15cm/6in tier, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl until well combined. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Stir in the dried fruit, orange zest and treacle, then fold in the bicarbonate of soda, flour and spices until well combined. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven for about two hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Repeat step 4 for the 23cm/9in tier and bake in the oven for three hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Repeat step 4 for the 30cm/12in tier and bake in the oven for 4½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• When the cakes are cooked, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Remove them from the tin and set aside on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Warm the apricot jam in a saucepan, then pass it through a sieve.
• Level the top of the 15cm/6in fruit cake, paint the top with a little apricot jam, then turn it upside down onto the 15cm/6in thin cake board. Using a piece of string, measure the top and sides of the fruit cake (this is so that you roll the marzipan out to the right size). Paint the fruit cake all over with the apricot jam.
• Dust a work surface with icing sugar and roll 500g/1lb 2oz of the marzipan out until it is large enough to cover the top and sides of the fruit cake (use the piece of string as a guide). Carefully lift the marzipan onto the cake and smooth it on with your hands. Trim off any excess marzipan, ensuring the cake board is also covered.
• Paint the cake with cooled, boiled water. Knead 500g/1lb 2oz of the white icing until soft and pliable and roll it out until it is 5mm/¼in thick and large enough to cover the top and sides of the fruit cake (use the piece of string as a guide). Carefully lift the icing onto the cake and smooth it on with your hands. Trim off any excess icing. Leave the cakes overnight so that the icing can dry (do not store the cakes in the fridge).
• Repeat steps 9, 10 and 11 for the 23cm/9in cake using 1kg/2lb 4oz each of marzipan and icing.
• Repeat steps 9, 10 and 11 for the 30cm/12in cake using 2kg/4lb 8oz each of marzipan and icing.
• Once the icing has dried, apply a thin line of edible glue around the bottom edge of each cake and carefully stick some ribbon around the cake, securing the join with a little extra glue.
• To insert the dowelling rods, hold a dowelling rod at the side of the 23cm/9in cake and mark with a pencil where the icing comes to. Cut the rod and three others to the same length. Push the rods into the cake about 5cm/2in away from the sides, to form the four corners of a square in the centre of the cake. Measure, cut and insert the rods in the same way for the 30cm/12in cake.
• To cover the 20cm/8in thick cake board, knead 400g/14oz of the icing until soft and pliable and roll it out until it is 5mm/¼in thick and large enough to cover the cake board. Spread a little glue over the board, then carefully lift the icing onto the cake board, smoothing it until flat. Trim the edges. Apply a thin line of glue around the edge of the cake board and carefully stick the ribbon around the cake, securing the join with a little extra glue.
• Repeat step 16 using 500g/1lb 2oz icing for the 28cm/11in cake board and 750g/1lb 10oz icing for the 35cm/14in cake board.
• If you’re transporting the cakes to a venue, it’s best to transport them separately and assemble the cake at the venue. To assemble the cakes, first stick the 30cm/12in cake to the 35cm/14in cake board: add a little glue to the middle of the 35cm/14in cake board, then position the 30cm/12in cake in the middle. Place four of the pillars on top of the largest cake, positioning each one over a dowelling rod. Top with the 28cm/11in cake board, and repeat the process with the 23cm/9in cake, finishing with the 20cm/8in cake board and the 15cm/6in cake. Using the edible glue, arrange the fondant roses in a cluster on the top of the cake and around the side of the 23cm/9in and 30cm/12in cake.

Steps:

• Line the cake tins with baking parchment and butter the bases and sides well. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Combine all the cake ingredients in a freestanding mixer until smooth and pale, starting at a low speed as the bowl will be very full; or use an electric handwhisk and a large bowl, if you prefer.
• Set the 25cm cake tin on scales and pour in 1.5kg batter. Do the same with the 20cm tin and pour in the rest (it should be about 1kg).
• Bake the cakes in the oven for 1 hr or until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean (see tip). Cool the cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Can be made ahead and frozen.
• To make the buttercream, cut the butter into pieces, add about 1/3 of the icing sugar and beat well with an electric handwhisk. Once fully combined, add the next 1/3 and beat again. Repeat once more with the remaining sugar, the milk and lemon zest, and keep beating until pale. For the filling, stir the lemon juice and curd together in another bowl and set aside until needed.
• To assemble the cake, trim the tops and cut both cooled sponges in half horizontally using a serrated knife. Spread just over half the filling on top of one of the larger sponges and the rest over a smaller one. Leave for 5 mins. Spread 250g buttercream over the filling on the larger sponge and sandwich the other larger sponge on top. Do the same with the smaller sponges, using 150g buttercream.
• Stick your cakes onto cake boards using a small blob of buttercream under each. Spread some of the remaining buttercream all over the tops and sides of both cakes in a really thin layer – this will bind with loose crumbs to create an undercoat for your chosen decoration. Put both cakes in the fridge for 1 hr to firm up.
• To stack the cakes, push a straw down into the centre of the larger cake. Snip the top off with scissors so that it’s flush with the buttercream layer. Add five more straws around the central one, equally spaced apart. Carefully place the smaller cake on top, then spread the rest of the buttercream all over the surface to cover it or fill in any gaps. Design 1: Floral (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. Design 2: Ruffles (keeps for 3-4 days) ❤ Roll 700g 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. Design 3: Polka dot (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.