How to Make Your Own Wedding Cake

On April 23, 2012, in DIY Cake/ Wedding Cake Decorating, In the Kitchen, by Glenda Embree

Using some fantastic tools from Wilton, I was able to make our daughter’s wedding cake. It was a beautiful success, fairly simple to complete and helped us keep this wedding under our $2000 budget. Yes, we managed a frugal and yet, wonderful wedding at less than 1/10 the national average for weddings. I’ll be sharing [...]

Using some fantastic tools from Wilton, I was able to make our daughter’s wedding cake. It was a beautiful success, fairly simple to complete and helped us keep this wedding under our $2000 budget. Yes, we managed a frugal and yet, wonderful wedding at less than 1/10 the national average for weddings. I’ll be sharing some of our tips in a later post. Be watching for those, and in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these snapshots of the cake I baked for our daughter and son-in-law’s wedding celebration. And be sure to save the recipe, below, to your favorites. It will become your go-to white cake. (Right click your mouse on either photo and select View Image to see the pictures full-size.) For sheet cakes, add a perfect Buttercream Icing. This one, from Wilton, is my favorite and the one I used for the sheet cakes.

lavender lace wedding cake

I baked and decorated this cake for our daughter's wedding. You will never eat a tastier white cake recipe, EVER! lol I promise. And know one will guess it starts by adding your own custom ingredients to a white cake mix and coloring pre-made fondant to cover the layers.

top layer of wedding cake

A closeup of the top layer, fondant flowers and lace detail.

 

fondant rose

I hand-made the flowers for the top of the cake with pre-made fondant. Click this picture to go to the TUTORIAL for making the roses.

 

sheet cake

Sheet cake I made (I made 9!) for the reception from the same cake recipe. Click on this picture to go to the TUTORIAL for making the fondant flowers.

 

fondant

Close-up of the fondant flowers. I made each one by hand with some great tools from Wilton.

 

white cake

Just in case you thought I was joking about moist and dense. This is THE most delicious white cake you will EVER eat!

 

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The Best White Wedding Cake EVER!!!!

Rating: 51

Yield: 14 cups of cake batter

This recipe popped up in so many places around the Internet, it is not possible to cite it’s original author. The recipe I worked from can be found here, at Food.com. 276 five-star reviews seemed like a safe bet. The only change I made was to leave out the almond extract and increase the vanilla. We weren’t disappointed.

Ingredients

  • 2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (we used Pillsbury)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 2/3 cups water
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 Tablespoons pure Madagascar bourbon vanilla
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 8 large egg whites (It was a real time-saver for me to buy these already separated. Get them in a carton, near the eggs, in your grocer's dairy case.)

Instructions

  1. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. (This makes a large amount of batter, 14 cups; so be sure the bowl you select will accommodate it.)
  2. Add the wet ingredients. (Note how full the bowl is. You really do need a large bowl.)
  3. Mix ingredients, thoroughly, and then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Don't skip that 2 minutes. It will really "fluff up" your batter.
  4. Grease and flour baking pans. I used regular pan spray and then dusted with all purpose flour.
  5. I used the largest (14″) of the Performance Pans™ Round Pan Set, 3 in. Deep. If you're not sure how much cake batter to put in the size pan you are using, Wilton has a great resource chart, with exact measurements for wedding cake pans.
  6. I used the Decorator Preferred Bakeware Heating Core from wilton in the center of my larger cake pans. I always learn so much when visiting the Wilton website or reading one of their publications. When I was researching pans for baking the wedding cake, I learned how important the heating core is for anyone baking cakes 10″ in diameter or larger, especially since I was using 3 inch deep pans, instead of 2. It helps to insure even baking, making certain that the cake is baked all the way to the center — no crunchy outsides and gooey centers! When you see how beautifully my cake baked using these fabulous kitchen tools, you’ll be as excited as me to see how simple it is to bake perfect cakes for special occasions.
  7. Pour the batter into greased and floured pans. Note that I first placed the heat core in the center of the pan and then added the batter. I also filled the heat core to the same level as the pan, meaning the heat core was greased and floured INSIDE and OUT. I used all 14 cups of batter for this largest pan of the set. (I ended up making three batches of batter, with some left over for the sheet cakes, to create all three layers of the wedding cake.)
  8. Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles and then bake the cake at 325° for the time recommended for your cake pan size. In this instance. the cake baked 1 hour and 15 minutes.
  9. I was so excited when I removed this cake from the oven! It was evenly baked and just as important, smooth on top. I don’t think I have ever made a round cake that didn’t have a slight “mound” rising in the center. I don’t know if it is the recipe or the pans and heat core or a combination of both, but now that I have the secret formula, I’m going to stick to it!
  10. The heat core slid right out, thanks to the earlier greasing and flouring. And the little cake plug released easily from inside it, though it did bake a little taller than the cake, probably due to my “eyeball it” method of filling it to the same height as the pan. I removed the heat core and then laid my pizza stone over the top of the cake pan, flipped it and then lifted the pan. Perfection! The cake didn’t stick in even one small spot. It released beautifully! I put the cake “plug” from the heat core into the hole in the center of the cake and cut it level with the cake top.
  11. For our wedding cake I used Wilton pre-made fondant and Wilton lavender gel food coloring to tint it. I just kneaded the color into the fondant until it was the color we wanted. (HINT: For a large multi-layer cake, dye all your fondant at once, so the color will match throughout the cake.)
  12. I rolled out the fondant and covered each of the three layers, smoothing the fondant to get a nice finish. I used 6 wooden dowels to hold the bottom two layers together and four to hold the top to layers. This is an important step, since the thick layers could easily slide and make the cake lop-sided.
  13. I refrigerated the cake for several hours before adding the decorations, which consisted of adding a white lace pattern over the entire surface and white fondant roses, lilies and spring flowers to the top.
  14. To create the lace effect on our cake, I actually found lace at the fabric store, with a pattern that we liked. I purchase two yards and had plenty. I cut a circle the size of the top layer and then "doughnuts" the size of the tops of the bottom two layers. Then I cut strips the widths of the sides of each layer.
  15. Starting with the bottom layer, I placed the doughnut of lace onto the top of the bottom layer. Then I iced over the top of the lace with a thin layer of Royal Icing, pressing down gently to make sure the icing went through the openings in the lace. When the entire piece of lace has been covered, with icing, carefully lift the lace off the cake. It will leave behind your gorgeous lace pattern and the icing will dry completely in only minutes, so that it won't smudge as easily as other decorations. Still handle it with caution, obviously, but it is more forgiving than other frostings, if you accidentally touch it.
  16. I repeated this process, with the tops of the middle and top layers, then moved to the sides of each layer. Once the cake had been covered in "lace". I used small amounts of Royal Icing to cement my fondant flowers into place on the cake top.
  17. And there you have it, my very first wedding cake.
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How Much Batter and How Long Do I Bake It?

(I got these helpful batter-to-pan measurements from the Wilton website.  This first chart is for pans that are 2 inches deep.)  If you’re confused about how much batter to use, what temperature works best for that size and how long you should bake your cake, this chart should help out.

 

 

Pan Shape Size Cups Batter1 Layer, 2 in. BakingTemperature Baking TimeMinutes
Round 6″

7″

8″

9″

10″

12″

14″

16″

 2

2-1/2

3-1/2

5-1/2

6

7-1/2

10

15

 350°

350°

350°

350°

350°

350°

325°

325°

 25 – 30

30 – 35

30 – 35

30 – 35

35 – 40

35 – 40

50 – 55

55 – 60
Sheet 7 x 11

9 x 13

11 x 15

12 x 18

14 x 22″

 5-1/2

7

11

14

16

 350°

350°

325°

325°

325°

 30 – 35

35 – 40

35 – 40

40 – 45

45 – 50
Square 6″

8″

10″

12″

14″

16″

 2

4

6

10

13-1/2

15-1/2

 350°

350°

350°

350°

325°

325°

 25 – 30

35 – 40

35 – 40

40 – 45

45 – 50

50 – 55

For 3-inch deep pans.

Pan Shape Size Cups Batter Baking Temperature Baking Time (Minutes)
Round 6″ 3 350° 35-40
8″ 5 350° 55-60
10″ 8 325° 65-75
12″ 10 1/2 325° 60-65
14″ 15 325° 75-85
16″ 18 325° 75-85
Square 8″ 6 1/2 350° 60-65
10″ 9 325° 65-75
12″ 14 325° 65-75
14″ 19 325° 65-75
Sheet 9 x 13″ 11 1/2 325° 70-75
11 x 15″ 16 325° 80-85
12 x 18″ 20 325° 85-90

…

my first wedding cake

I love the way it turned out and more than that, my daughter loved it! That was my "icing on the cake" moment!

 

 

……..

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My Very First Wedding Cake: Fondant Roses

On April 13, 2011, in Budget-wise, DIY Cake/ Wedding Cake Decorating, DIY Projects/Gifts, Home and Garden, In the Kitchen, Weddings, by Glenda Embree

I was going to try and do this cake decorating tutorial in one post, but it would be 27,000, 962 miles long    and load so slowly for you with all the pictures, that I am going to spread it over several days and do individual tutorials for each decorating step we tried, whether we [...]

roses for cakes

I was going to try and do this cake decorating tutorial in one post, but it would be 27,000, 962 miles long  :)   and load so slowly for you with all the pictures, that I am going to spread it over several days and do individual tutorials for each decorating step we tried, whether we used it in the final product or not.  I made many varieties of flowers, both for practice and for the actual wedding cake, in the process of learning these techniques.  Plus, the Jr. High Youth Group, from our church, recently did a fundraiser to help defray the costs of our upcoming summer mission trip.  The fundraiser was a dessert auction (Remind me to tell you about it later.  It was an absolutely fabulous and fun way to raise money for a great cause.)  My first fondant flowers were used on a couple cakes for that auction.

chocolate cakes decorated

The two cakes I baked for the dessert auction. I did calla lilies and some little lavender spring flower on one and then did leaves and what reminded me of wild roses, on the second one.

chocolate cake with fondant flowers

Another view of the cakes for the auction. The fondant flowers on them were my very first attempts. As with each new thing I tried with fondant, I learned that rolling it thinner, produced a much more realistic product.

Let it be said, from the start, that I could never have accomplished these beautiful flowers without some great tools from Wilton.  Many were included in the Ultimate Decorating Set, I recently reviewed.  Others were part of

Wilton's Ultimate Decorating Set

My final confession, before showing you the easy steps for creating beautiful fondant roses is that I switched to a  different point and shoot camera, recently, and have had terrible problems with my photo quality, in our poorly lit (flourescent) kitchen; so I have to apologize from the outset that these photos are not as clear as I would like.  I will be switching back to my Canon Rebel for still shots I share with you AND I have decided that the only realistic way for me to do useful tutorials is to put my video camera on a tripod and have both hands free to work, instead of trying to snap one-handed photos with my left hand.  :)   So, tonight I will use the photos I have to show you some of the ways I have used fondant flowers in the past few weeks and specifically how to create a fondant rose.  Then, over this coming weekend, I hope to video the simple steps to create other flower varieties and post those for you, along with the technique for creating lace on the surface of your cakes.

……….

Fondant Roses Tutorial

…………..

  • Step 1:You only need a few basic tools to make pretty roses for your cakes and desserts.  The fondant rolling pin, forming cup, angled paint brush, thin foam and modeling stick were all included in the Wilton Ultimate Decorating Set.  The small, medium and large petal cutters were from my own Wilton Floral Collection Gum Paste Flower Making Set.  And of course you will need a small amount of fondant.  I added a tiny container of clear water and that’s it!

    Tools for making fondant roses.

  • Step 2:Roll the fondant until it is thin enough that the petals will resemble real flower petals.  I found that less than 1/8 inch is best.  Take care to try and make sure the fondant is rolled to a uniform thickness, so your petals will be consistent.  For a rose you will need to cut 4 small petals, 5 medium petals and 7 large petals.

    Fondant cut for making roses.

    Fondant petals cut for making a rose.

  • Step 3: Roll a small ball of fondant and then narrow one end into a rounded point, to form a cone. Set it aside for a bit while you work on petals.

    fondant base for rose

    This cone of fondant is the base of your rose.

  • Step 4: Using the side of the modeling stick, roll one half of each petal to thin and “ruffle” that side.

    Use the edge of the modeling stick and roll down one side of each petal, being careful to keep the end of the stick along the halfway point on the petal. This will create a thin ruffly edge and the other side will still be the original thickness.

    A rose petal pressed and ruffled. (I went over the halfway point on that one. It still worked fine.)

  • Step 5:To attach the petals (start with the 4 small ones) and begin forming the flower, dip the paint brush in water.  Tap off most of the excess.  You want it damp, but not dripping.  Moisten the thick (unrolled) side of each petal.

    Attach each petal to the fondant cone. Place the first petal, point side down, against the cone (which is point side up) and gently press to seal it along the edge where you brushed the water.

  • Step 6: Repeat this process with the other three small petals, until all are attached around the circumference of the cone.

    Start the second row using the medium petals.

    Step 7: Continue working around the flower, attaching each of the 5 medium petals.  I used the pointed end of the modeling stick to gently lift petals away from the bud if the were sticking down further than I wanted them and the rounded end of the modeling stick to curl the top edges of petals back a bit.

    The center bud with all 5 medium rose petals attached.

  • Step 8: You will add the last row of petals around your flower, by attaching the 7 large petals you have prepared.  A few times, if the rose was not as full as I wanted, I added one or two extra petals.  Once all petals have been attached and you have used the modeling stick to shape them as you want them to lay, allow the rose to air dry in the forming cup.  The curved bottom and sides on the cup helps the rose to hold its shape.

    A few of my finished fondant roses. I did make one fondant rose for the final wedding cake that sat in the center of the calla lilies.

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My First Wedding Cake: Part 3

On April 6, 2011, in Budget-wise, DIY Cake/ Wedding Cake Decorating, In the Kitchen, Weddings, by Glenda Embree

I won’t get to post the how-to tutorial, until Thursday or Friday, but I wanted to share pictures of the finished product with you, this afternoon.  Using some fantastic tools from Wilton, I was able to make our daughter’s wedding cake.  It was a beautiful success, fairly simple to complete and helped us keep this [...]

I won’t get to post the how-to tutorial, until Thursday or Friday, but I wanted to share pictures of the finished product with you, this afternoon.  Using some fantastic tools from Wilton, I was able to make our daughter’s wedding cake.  It was a beautiful success, fairly simple to complete and helped us keep this wedding under our $2000 budget.  Yes, we managed a frugal and yet, wonderful wedding at less than 1/10 the national average for weddings.  I’ll be sharing some of our tips in a later post.  ( If you missed my first two posts with the fantastic white cake recipe and the decorating of the sheet cakes, be sure to check those out, too. )  Be watching for those,  and in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these snapshots of the cake I baked for our daughter and son-in-law’s wedding celebration.  (Right click your mouse on either photo and select View Image to see the pictures full-size.)  We were very fortunate to have such a great photographer, Mary Hubbard, from Breaking the Surface Photography.  She creates exceptional photo memories at an affordable price.  I highly recommend her services.

lavender lace wedding cake

The wedding cake I baked and decorated for our daughter's wedding. Photo is published by permission and copyright © Mary Hubbard at Breaking the Surface Photography 2011.

top layer of wedding cake

A closeup of the top layer, fondant flowers and lace detail. Photo is used by permission and copyright © Mary Hubbard at Breaking the Surface Photography 2011.

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My Very First Wedding Cake: Part Two (and Our Wilton Giveaway Winner)!

On April 5, 2011, in Budget-wise, DIY Cake/ Wedding Cake Decorating, DIY Projects/Gifts, Weddings, by Glenda Embree

First things first.  I know you have all been patiently waiting for the announcement of the winner in our Wilton Wedding Cake giveaway. Preparing for the wedding took me right through the deadline date without selecting the winner, so I don’t want to make you anticipate any longer.  The lucky reader who will be receiving: [...]

First things first.  I know you have all been patiently waiting for the announcement of the winner in our Wilton Wedding Cake giveaway. Preparing for the wedding took me right through the deadline date without selecting the winner, so I don’t want to make you anticipate any longer.  The lucky reader who will be receiving:

  1. Performance Pans™ Round Pan Set, 3 in. Deep
  2. Decorator Preferred® Bakeware Heating Core
  3. Wilton Wedding Cakes – A Romantic Portfolio

…

is #185, Susie Lee Weiner, who said in her comment,
“like Busy-at-Home on fb as susan wiener. swiener1[at]tampabay.rr.com
Congratulations, Susie!  You have been sent an email with instructions for receiving your prize!
Please reply within 48 hours, so Wilton can ship it right out to you!
…

Well, it’s done.  The months and weeks of practice, planning and preparation culminated in a beautiful wedding day, Saturday.  I spent most of Sunday and Monday just relaxing and soaking in the reality of this newest chapter in our family story.  Our daughter and son-in-law climbed into the moving truck, headed for California on Sunday morning, and I am slowly reclaiming those areas of my home that were overrun by powdered sugar, fondant, fresh flowers and myriad wedding prep necessities.  What a glorious weekend!  What a bittersweet send-off.  What an exciting new journey is just beginning for two of our most loved people.  God is truly good!

I have, as you can imagine, been occupied with all things wedding these past two weeks and most especially with my task as wedding cake baker and decorator — a responsibility that gave me both great excitement and exceptional fear.  :)   I am happy to say that bride, groom and guests were very pleased with the results and I will classify my first experience with wedding cakes a success.  I attribute that in no small part to the fabulous Wilton baking and decorating tools that I have been reviewing and the ones I already personally own.  I have been a Wilton fan for years and so my personal collection of their kitchen tools is fairly extensive.  Add to that the use of the Ultimate Decorating Kit, Wilton Preferred Round Cake Pans (3″ deep), the Wilton Heat Core and Wilton’s beautiful wedding cake book filled with decorating tips and instructions, all sent for our review here at Busy-at-Home, and my chances for a beautiful outcome were multiplied exponentially!

Wilton sheet cake pan

Wilton Decorator Preferred Sheet Pan

I baked and decorated nine, 12 x 18 sheet cakes, in addition to the wedding cake.  I baked the sheet cakes in Wilton’s  Decorator Preferred Sheet Cake Pans. I love, love, love these extra thick aluminum baking pans.  They distribute heat more evenly, meaning your finished products will bake and brown more evenly.  Beautiful!!!  The extra thick aluminum means no warping in the oven and the hand-formed edges make lifting and carrying the pans a breeze!  They are 2″ deep and are covered by a Lifetime Warranty.  I cut 24 extremely generous pieces from each pan and most people were shocked at the size of the servings, so you could easily get  28-30, if you cut them slightly smaller.  Ours was a simple cake and punch reception, so I opted for larger servings of cake.

Wilton Ready-to-Use Fondant

Wilton Ready-to-Use Rolled Fondant

To decorate the sheet cakes, I tinted Wilton Ready-to-Use Rolled Fondant, purchased at our local Wal-Mart.  Our daughter had a spring colors theme for her wedding and so we tinted some of the fondant lavender, some peach, and left some white.   I’m sure I used less than one pound in total to create the leaves and flowers for all nine sheet cakes.   It required very small amounts of Wilton Orange and Violet Icing Colors to achieve the pastel tints I wanted.  Once the fondant was colored, by kneading the color into the fondant, I sprinkled a light coating of cornstarch on the counter and rolled each color into a very thin sheet (less than 1/8 inch).  I was fortunate to have the fondant roller included in Wilton’s Ultimate Decorating Set.  It comes with bands that allow you to roll any dough or fondant to a uniform thickness.  Since I wanted the flowers to be even less than 1/8 inch I removed the bands and rolled it by “feel”.

Wilton Ultimate Decorating Set

Fabulous Wilton Ultimate Decorating Set we have been so excited to test and review.

Once the fondant was rolled, I used the smallest pink flower cutter, also included in the Ultimate Decorating Set and cut 220 of each flower color.  I did each color separately, as I didn’t want the first ones cut to dry before I had a chance to shape them.  To shape these simple posies, I used the rounded end of the thin modeling stick and the foam block, both included with the Ultimate Decorating Set.  I placed each fondant flower onto the foam and using the modeling stick, pressed an indentation into the center, which automatically turned up the petals, to give the flowers a dimensional shape.

cutting out fondant flowers

Cutting the peach fondant into tiny flowers for the sheet cakes.

shaping fondant flowers

Pressing centers and shaping fondant flowers on Wilton's Thick Foam block with their Thin Modeling Stick.

fondant posies

Freshly shaped fondant flowers.

peach fondant flowers drying

I allowed the fondant posies to dry on the two Wave Flower Formers included in the Ultimate Decorating Set. These formers were critically important when drying larger flowers for the actual wedding cake.

I simply repeated this process for both the lavender and white flowers.  The leaves were formed using a small petal cutter that I owned previously.  It’s part of Wilton’s Floral Collection Flower Making Set.  I rolled and cut the leaves in the same way as the flowers.  Then I used the “shell-shaped” end of the green ball tool to imprint “veins” into the leaves and allowed them to dry as well.

The sheet cakes were baked using the same Perfect White Wedding Cake recipe that I shared with you in the first wedding cake post.  One recipe filled one 12 x 18 pan.  When the cakes were cooled I used Wilton’s simple Butter Cream Icing recipe.  I won’t repost the recipe for you here, since you can get it easily at their site and the only variation I made was to use Bourbon Vanilla in place of the clear Vanilla.  The flavor is outrageously delicious!

After icing the sheet cakes, I lightly scored the frosting to show where I wanted the cake cuts to be made, which created the framework for laying out the flower decorations.  The cakes were moist and delicious with extreme vanilla flavor.  The icing was rich and vanilla-ey and the perfect canvas for the fondant decorations.  Guests raved about the taste and loved the decorations.  What do you think?

decorated sheet cake

One of the finished sheet cakes. Pretend you don't see that thumb-print I had to smooth back out, after moving it. :)

decorated sheetcake closeup

Closeup of finished sheet cake. I filled a decorator bag from the Ultimate Decorating Set with butter cream icing and used the second smallest round tip, tip #2, to pipe in little dot centers in each of the flowers.

A yummy slice of moist, dense, intensely vanilla sheet cake ready to be served at the wedding.

Just in case you thought I was joking about moist and dense. :) You have to try this yummy recipe!

There’s one more wedding cake post coming.  It’s going to have tons of larger, more intricate flowers, a cool “lace” decorating technique and lots of pictures.  This next picture is just a teaser and to let you have a peek at the finished product we took to the wedding reception.

cake topper

A quick "teaser" peek of the wedding cake top.

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Step One…Catch the Mockingbird: How to Make a Wedding Cake (and a Wilton Wedding Cake Tools Giveaway!)

On March 15, 2011, in Budget-wise, DIY Cake/ Wedding Cake Decorating, Giveaways, In the Kitchen, Reviews, Weddings, by Glenda Embree

Our family is kind of crazy.  You hadn’t figured that out, yet, right?    We have all these silly inside jokes that come to mind or are used in what seem like unrelated circumstances, to most people.  A few years ago, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was a homeschool reading assignment at our house.  When handed [...]

Our family is kind of crazy.  You hadn’t figured that out, yet, right?  :)   We have all these silly inside jokes that come to mind or are used in what seem like unrelated circumstances, to most people.  A few years ago, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was a homeschool reading assignment at our house.  When handed the book, a silly conversation between two students ensued, that went something like, “To Kill a Mockingbird!!???!!!  How could you kill a mockingbird?”  To which the reply was, “Step One…catch the mockingbird.”  See, I told you we were nuts.  -lol-  Anyway, that line has become a catch phrase of sorts, whenever we are starting a new project that we aren’t sure how to tackle.  One daughter in particular, uses it liberally.   Essentially, it just means, “Get out there and take the first step!  Do the next thing.”  We had a “Step One…catch the mockingbird” moment a few days ago.

Another of our beautiful daughters will be married on April 2.  I love these times — the excitement, the planning, the anticipation.   The past couple of years have been a bit of a financial strain, however, and the current state of the economy isn’t really making that any easier.  The national average of $22,000, for a wedding, is going to be radically skewed by OUR family, but  I also want this to be an amazing day for our daughter and son-in-law.  We’re spending money, frugally, where it is necessary and investing time  to save money, where it can be.  So,  I am tackling something I have never done before, for this exciting celebration.  I’m making the wedding cake.   Okay, get up off the floor and fetch an ice pack for the bump on your head.  Let’s talk about this for a minute.  :)

I have decorated many, many cakes, over the years, for birthdays and family gatherings, but something as large and as “needs to be perfect” as a wedding cake, has not been on my list of projects tackled.  After a time of procrastination and lots of discussion, our middle daughter reminded me, “Step One…catch the mockingbird.”  Okay, okay.  Just do it.  So, that’s how I’ve been spending a lot of my free time, the past week.  We researched recipes, (Our family is not filled with white cake fans, so it had to be awesome!), we learned all about fondant and how to use it, we learned that we’re not particularly fond of fondant, we tried making homemade rolled buttercream to replace fondant, and we learned that we will definitely be using fondant, just rolling it thinner.  We also made the most adorable little fondant flowers.  All the practice is in hopes of making a perfect final product.  I’m going to keep practicing and sharing what we learn along the way, so get ready for several upcoming wedding cake experiments.  And lastly, I’m going to be sharing some of the tools that are making this SO much easier.

Thanks to the fantastic Wilton company, we have the perfect kitchen tools and decorating supplies to be successful wedding cake creators.  And Wilton is generously providing one Busy-at-Home reader with some wedding cake baking supplies of their own.  Yes!  An exciting giveaway is part of this post, but first I want to share some pictures and a few of the things we’ve been doing this week, as well as the yummy recipe we selected for the perfect wedding cake.

…

Ingredients for the perfect, moist and delicious, white wedding cake.

….

The Perfect White Wedding Cake

Yield: I got exactly 14 cups of cake batter from this recipe.

(This recipe popped up in so many places around the Internet, it is not possible to cite it’s original author.  The recipe I worked from can be found here, at Food.com.  276 five-star reviews seemed like a safe bet.  We weren’t disappointed.  :) )
…
…
Ingredients:
  • 2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (we used Pillsbury)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 2/3 cups water
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons real vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 8 large egg whites

    • …

    Directions:

    Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  (This makes a large amount of batter, 14 cups; so be sure the bowl you select will accommodate it.)

    Dry ingredients in my stand mixer’s mixing bowl.

    Add the wet ingredients.

    Adding wet ingredients to the dry.

    Mix ingredients, thoroughly, and then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

    Grease and flour baking pans. I used regular pan spray and then dusted with all purpose flour.

    Grease and flour pans carefully. Be sure the heat core is greased and floured inside AND out.

    I used the largest (14″) of the Performance Pans™ Round Pan Set, 3 in. Deep, that I received to test and review from Wilton.  You all know how much I love this company and their products when it comes to baking.  The cake pans are extraordinary.  They are heavy and sturdy aluminum, plus an incredible three inches deep, making beautifully tall layers.  I didn’t have to guess about how much batter to use.  The package insert, included, showed exactly how much each pan size could hold.

    The Performance Pans Round Pan Set I received to test and review, from Wilton. The pan set includes 4 pans - 14", 12", 10" and an 8". They are 3 inches deep.

    I also received the Decorator Preferred® Bakeware Heating Core.  I always learn so much when visiting the Wilton website or reading one of their publications.  When I was researching pans for baking the wedding cake, I learned how important the heating core is for anyone baking cakes 10″ in diameter or larger.  It helps to insure even baking, making certain that the cake is baked all the way to the center — no crunchy outsides and gooey centers!  When you see how beautifully my cake baked using these fabulous kitchen tools, you’ll be as excited as me to see how simple it is to bake perfect cakes for special occasions.

    The Decorator Preferred® Bakeware Heating Core was a life-saver in baking the large-sized cake layers.

    …

    Pour the batter into greased and floured pans.  Note that I first placed the heat core in the center of the Performance Pan and then added the batter.  I also filled the heat core to the same level as the pan.  I used all 14 cups of batter for this largest pan of the set.

    Fill the heat core to the same height as the batter in the pan.

    Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles and then bake the cake at 325° for the time recommended for your cake pan size.  In this instance. the cake baked 1 hour and 15 minutes.

    I was so excited when I removed this cake from the oven!  It was evenly baked and just as important, smooth on top.  I don’t think I have ever made a round cake that didn’t have a slight “mound” rising in the center.  I don’t know if it is the recipe or the pans and heat core or a combination of both, but now that I have the secret formula, I’m going to stick to it!

    baked cake

    Just out of the oven.

    The heat core slid right out, thanks to the earlier greasing and flouring.  And the little cake plug released easily from inside it, though it did bake a little taller than the cake, probably due to my “eyeball it” method of filling it to the same height as the pan.  I removed the heat core and then laid my pizza stone over the top of the cake pan, flipped it and then lifted the pan.  Perfection!  The cake didn’t stick in even one small spot.  It released beautifully!  I put the cake “plug” from the heat core into the hole in the center of the cake and cut it level with the cake top.

    14" cake layer, 3" deep, evenly baked and perfect! I'm so excited! (That's my large pizza stone it is sitting on. I hadn't considered how large a plate I would need for a 14" cake layer.)

    Now, all that’s left is the decorating!!!  We did run through some decorating techniques and ideas with this practice layer, but I want to do that in a separate post, so I can really showcase some of the decorating tools that Wilton sent for us to test and review.  For now, I want you to bask in the perfection of this lovely cake and the simplicity with which I was able to achieve it by using the correct tools for the job.  Wilton’s Performance Pans and Bakeware Heating Core made my finished product look as though a professional baker had completed it.  And coming from die-hard “if it isn’t chocolate, it isn’t cake” kind of people, it is amazing that the simple cake recipe, above, gets 5 stars for flavor, texture and moistness!  I anticipate that there will be many more of these white cakes in our future.

    To kick off this series on making your own wedding cake, Wilton has graciously agreed to give one lucky Busy-at-Home reader three products to help them create a dream cake of their own:

    1. Performance Pans™ Round Pan Set, 3 in. Deep
    2. Decorator Preferred® Bakeware Heating Core
    3. Wilton Wedding Cakes – A Romantic Portfolio

    Wilton Wedding Cakes - A Romantic Portfolio - This is the book where we got the decorating idea for the cake we will make for our daughter's wedding. It is loaded with pictures and instructions for completing each cake, plus decorating tips, techniques and information. You'll love this resource!

    Isn’t that fantastic!!??!!!  What a generous prize set.  Would you love for it to be yours?  Then read the rules and enter below!

    Giveaway Rules:

    You must be 18 or older and a resident of the U.S. to enter.  Mandatory entry must be completed for any optional entries to be counted.  Deadline for entry is midnight, Sunday March 27, 2011.

    …

    Mandatory Entry:

    Visit the Wilton website and pick a cake design you would like to try on your own.  Leave the title  of the design you pick and a link to the page, in a comment below.

    …

    Optional Entries:

    1. Visit Wilton and find another product you would like to own.  Leave a comment below telling me what it is.
    2. Like Wilton on Facebook.  Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
    3. Follow Wilton on Twitter.  Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
    4. Follow Busy-at-Home on Twitter.  Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
    5. Like Busy-at-Home on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
    6. Follow Busy-at-Home on Google Friends Connect.  Use the “Join” button in the right-hand sidebar.  Leave a comment letting me know you’ve done it.
    7. Subscribe to the Busy-at-Home Newsletter with this link (or in the right-hand sidebar).  You will receive an email confirmation with a link that must be clicked to confirm your subscription.  Once you click the email link to confirm your subscription, leave me a comment to let me know you’ve done it.
    8. Post this giveaway on your Facebook page.  Win fabulous cake baking tools from Wilton at Busy-at-Home!!! http://ow.ly/4fneS Leave a comment below with a link to your post.
    9. Tweet this giveaway (1x daily) : Win fabulous cake baking tools from @WiltonCakes @busyathome!!! http://ow.ly/4fneS
      #giveaway #review Leave a comment below with a link to your tweet.

    …

    I received Performance Pans™ Round Pan Set, 3 in. Deep; Decorator Preferred® Bakeware Heating Core; Wilton Wedding Cakes – A Romantic Portfolio; and the Ultimate Decorating Set in order to test them and conduct this wedding cake review series.  No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required.  As with all Busy-at-Home reviews, the opinions and views expressed are true and wholly my own.

    ….

    This recipe post is linked to Tasty Tuesday and Grocery Cart Challenge.

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    What’s Next? Wilton, Zojirushi & a Wedding on a Frugal Budget

    On February 14, 2011, in Budget-wise, Family Circus, Giveaways, Reviews, by Glenda Embree

    Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone!  I just wanted you to know I haven’t forgotten you and that I appreciate you all so much!  Our family has been really under the weather, lately.  Seriously — we’ve had bouts with bronchitis, pneumonia and pleurisy.  Oy!  I think we’re all about back on our feet, though, so I will [...]

    Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone!  I just wanted you to know I haven’t forgotten you and that I appreciate you all so much!  Our family has been really under the weather, lately.  Seriously — we’ve had bouts with bronchitis, pneumonia and pleurisy.  Oy!  I think we’re all about back on our feet, though, so I will be back to a regular posting schedule, soon.

    We have several exciting things happening in our house over the next few weeks.  The top priority is our second daughter’s wedding, April 2.  If you’re interested in how to do a great wedding on a frugal budget, you’ll love our upcoming posts, not to mention a fabulous giveaway from Wilton, who has generously provided tools to test and make the wedding cake, here at home!

    Want to be one of the first to learn about Zojirushi’s new Umami Micom Rice Cooker?  We’re going to test it out in our kitchen, share some delicious recipes and one lucky Busy-at-Home reader will win one of their very own!

    Be watching for some great money saving tips and ideas, that will not only stretch your budget, but help you get more organized in 2011, in our new series, “The Cost of Saving Money”.

    I’m looking forward to sharing so many informative posts and exciting products.  Have a blessing-filled Valentine’s Day!  I hope you’re surrounded by all the people you love and some unbelievable sweets!

    –Glenda

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