Easiest Ever Wedding Cake Food

ITALIAN WEDDING CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly coat 2 (8-inch) cake pans with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, buttermilk, egg whites, and extracts. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in crushed pineapple, coconut, and 1 cup pecans. Divide batter into 2 prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 31 to 36 minutes or until tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn out on to wire racks to cool completely.
• In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1 cup pecans and frosting. With a serrated knife, cut both cakes horizontally to make 4 layers. Frost the top of each layer with 1/2 cup of frosting and stack on top of the next layer. Use remaining frosting to frost the entire outside of cake. Slice and serve.

EASIEST EVER WEDDING 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.

CREATING YOUR WEDDING CAKE

Steps:

• COVER THE FRUIT CAKE WITH THE MARZIPAN: How to do it: Boil the apricot jam with 2 tbsp water and sieve into a bowl. Brush the 15cm cake board with a little of the apricot jam. Cut off the rounded top of the cake and turn upside-down onto the board. Measure across the top and sides of the cake with string, cut to length and set the string aside. Brush the cake all over with a thin layer of apricot jam.
• Dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll the marzipan into a circle big enough to cover the cake top and sides, using the cut string as a guide. Lift over the cake and smooth with your hands. Trim the marzipan to the base of the cake (so you can't see the board) and leave to dry for one day if time. If not, the cake can be iced straight away.
• FILL & COVER THE CHOCOLATE & LEMON CAKES WITH BUTTERCREAM: Adding good-quality lemon curd or silky chocolate ganache transforms simplebuttercream into an indulgent filling.
• How you do it: First make the buttercream. Beat the butter until creamy, then gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar. Weigh 600g/1lb 5oz of the mix and stir 5 tbsp of the lemon curd into it.
• In a small pan, bring the cream just to the boil, then pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for 2 mins, then stir until smooth. Once cool but still liquid, fold into the remaining basic buttercream.
• Once each cake is completely cool, level off the top using a long serrated knife. Spread a little of the corresponding buttercream over the matching thin cake board. Turn cake upside down onto the board and brush all over with a thin layer of the sieved apricot jam - this helps to prevent stray crumbs getting into the buttercream.
• Cut into three layers horizontally - don't worry if you cut the layers unevenly as it won't affect the finished cake. If it's a hot day or warm in your kitchen, refrigerate the cakes for a while - it will firm them up and make cutting and lifting much easier. Lift off each layer as you cut it, and set it aside so that when you re-stack the layers they are in the right order.
• If you've made the buttercream in advance and it has hardened slightly, warm in the microwave on Defrost for 10 secs and beat well. Using a palette knife, spread approx 1/4 of the buttercream over the first layer of the cake. For the lemon cake, swirl another tbsp or so of lemon curd over the icing. Stack the remaining layers this way, spreading all of the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake, smoothing it down to meet the cardboard cake base. Smooth all over with your palette knife and set aside. The cakes are now ready for covering with ready-to-roll icing. Filled with buttercream and iced, the cakes will keep for up to 3 days.
• COVER ALL THE CAKES WITH READY-TO-ROLL ICING: The next stage is to subtly colour the different tiers with the ivory, dusky pink and cream colouring pastes.
• How to do it: For the marzipanned fruit cake only, first lightly brush with cooled, boiled water to help the icing stick. For all the cakes, dust the work surface with icing sugar and knead the icing until pliable. Add a few specks of the food colouring with a toothpick or the end of a skewer - be very sparing as a little goes a long way. Work the colour in until you have an evenly coloured, smooth paste. Add more and knead again if you want the colour to be more intense.
• Lightly dust the work surface again and roll the icing into a circle large enough to cover the sides and top of the cake, with a little excess. Use string to measure as before. Lift the icing over the cake, using your rolling pin to help you.
• Smooth the icing around the cake with your hands, then trim off the excess with a sharp knife. Leave overnight to dry. Once iced, keep for 3 days.
• Once you've iced the cakes, cover the 35cm base. Lightly brush with cooled, boiled water and cover with ivory-coloured icing. Trim and leave overnight to dry.
• STACK THE CAKES: Dowels give stability and strength to tiered cakes. By measuring and cutting the dowels to the same length, you're providing an even platform for the next cake to sit on, even if your cake is a bit wonky. For this cake, the tiers are stacked like steps, just off centre.
• How you do it: In a large bowl, gradually beat icing sugar into the egg white until thick and smooth. Cover with cling film until ready to use.
• Starting with the chocolate cake, insert three dowelling rods in a triangle, slightly offset to one side and no wider than the base of the lemon cake that's going to sit on top. With a permanent pen, lightly mark where the top of the icing comes to on the dowel.
• Carefully pull out the dowels and line up on the work surface. Using a ruler, re-mark each rod to the highest point. Score the dowels with scissors around the new marks and snap the plastic cleanly.
• Re-insert the rods in their original holes, rounded end down. Cut the thin ivory ribbon to fit around the thick base board, securing at the back with glue or double-sided tape. To stack the cakes, spoon a little royal icing over each of the dowel holes. Carefully lift the chocolate cake onto the covered board, then stack cakes on top of one another, positioning each cake and gently lowering one side of it onto the base or cake below. Slide your palette knife under it at this point and gently lower the cake down. Slide the knife out at the last minute. (If you're moving the cake to the venue, put the cakes into their boxes and take the icing with you.)
• THE TIME PLAN: UP TO A MONTH AHEAD: 1. Make the fruit cake and cover with marzipan. 2. Make the chocolate and lemon cakes if freezing - they will freeze for up to 1 month (although they are best made fresh if you can).
• UP TO 4 DAYS AHEAD: 1. Make the chocolate and lemon cakes if making fresh - keep well rapped in baking parchment and cling film in a cool place. 2. Make the chocolate and lemon buttercream and keep in the fridge. 3. Make the chocolate and lemon cakes if making fresh - keep well wrapped in baking parchment and cling film in a cool place. 4. Make the chocolate and lemon buttercream and keep in the fridge.
• UP TO 3 DAYS AHEAD: 1. Fill and cover the chocolate and lemon cakes with buttercream and cover all of the cakes and the board with icing. 2. Insert the dowelling rods.
• UP TO 2 DAYS AHEAD: 1. Frost the rose petals.
• ON THE DAY: 1. Stack the cakes and decorate with petals once the cakes are in place.