“From Scratch to Stunning: My Step-by-Step Wedding Cake Journey”
The Wedding Cake I Made: A Labor of Love and Sweet Success
When I first decided to make a wedding cake, I’ll admit—I felt completely intimidated. The pressure of creating something so special for such an important day felt immense. But you know what? I did it. I poured my heart, creativity, and a lot of hours into this cake, and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding baking projects I’ve ever undertaken.
I filmed the entire process of making the cake and carefully wrote down my recipe, because I wanted to share not only the final product but also the journey of getting there. And trust me, it is a journey. From baking the layers to perfecting the frosting, assembling, and decorating, it was no small feat. But here’s the thing: while it was definitely time-consuming, it wasn’t the hardest thing I’ve ever baked.
If you love baking and have always dreamed of making a wedding cake—whether it’s as a gift for someone special or even for your own wedding—don’t hesitate to try. I promise, with some preparation, patience, and a little creativity, you can absolutely pull it off. The beauty of making a wedding cake yourself is that you can truly customize it to reflect the couple’s personality and style. Whether it’s a classic white tiered cake, something floral and colorful, or even a quirky, themed design, the possibilities are endless.
The best part? Seeing the happy faces of the couple and their guests when they see (and taste!) the cake. That moment makes every hour spent baking, frosting, and decorating completely worth it. It’s pure joy, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
So here’s what I want to say to anyone who’s thinking about making a wedding cake but feels a little scared: I believe in you. Seriously, you can do this! Start small, plan it out, and take it step by step. Perfect your favorite cake recipe, practice your decorating techniques, and just go for it. The results might surprise you—in the best way possible.
I’ll be sharing my full recipe and the step-by-step video of how I made this cake soon, so stay tuned if you’re looking for some inspiration and guidance. And remember, no matter how it turns out, the love and effort you put into it will shine through. Happy baking everyone!
Here’s the video of me making the cake (obviously sped up). The whole process took me about 3 days! Every interaction with my YouTube video is greatly appreciated—feel free to write your questions and thoughts in the comments or just let me know whether you liked or even disliked my video. Thank you so much for your support!
Every Cake starts with a …
Grocery List
Planning and creating a time-intensive cake requires a well-thought-out structure. It all begins with proper preparation. First, I brainstorm ideas for flavors, design, decorative elements, and possible add-ons. I start by focusing on the decorations, selecting which designs appeal to me, deciding what I want to customize, and ensuring I have everything I need. By purchasing all the decorative pieces in advance, I establish a clear vision for the cake’s appearance.
Next, I shift my focus to flavors. For this particular project, I chose a flavor I knew the couple loved, which is always a great recommendation. Typically, I make a version of a Giotto (the candy)-inspired tiramisu. However, knowing this wouldn’t be stable enough for a three-tier cake, I experimented with frosting options. Swiss? French? German? There are countless buttercream varieties, and after thorough testing, I decided on Russian buttercream. It stood out not only for its simplicity—requiring just two ingredients—but also for perfectly complementing my recipe. The sweetened condensed milk in Russian buttercream tied back to my original Giotto tiramisu flavor.
For the cake itself, I tested several variations of biscuit cake until I developed a recipe that was simple, quick, and used minimal ingredients. Most importantly, it was stable enough to support the tiers while remaining light and fluffy. To ensure my plan would work, I created a mini one-tier version about a week before the wedding. It turned out perfectly, confirming my vision.
Four days before the wedding, I purchased all the necessary ingredients and prepped everything to start building the cake. So the Day after, I was ready to tackle the final creation with confidence!
I’m excited to share my cake recipe with all of you! However, I encourage you to customize the flavors and design to create your perfect version. While I loved how my cake turned out, feel free to make it uniquely yours! I’ll also be posting more recipes soon, including different buttercream variations that are incredibly versatile and fun to experiment with. If you decide to make my cake as is, I’d love to hear your thoughts—let me know how it turned out!
Recipe
Springform pans 26cm diameter, 12cm diameter and 8 cm diameter
Ingredients:
(For the biscuit-cake)
25 eggs
850g sugar
Vanilla extract
800g AP-Flour
2 pck. Backingpowder (32g)
(For the sirup)
500ml milk of choice
Caramel sirup (I used sugar free)
(Optional simple sirup out of equal parts sugar and water)
e.g: 500ml water
500g sugar
(For the light Buttercream)
750g Butter
1 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
(For the dark Buttercream)
500g Butter
1 can caramel sweetened condensed milk (basically dulce de Leche)
(For the crunchy-filling)
400g chopped Hazelnuts
Fondant homemade or store-bought roughly 1.25-1.5 kg for the whole cake.
Instructions
Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract using a hand mixer or stand mixer until the mixture becomes light, frothy, and nearly doubles in volume.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder thoroughly.
Gently incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring until a smooth, uniform batter forms.
Pour the batter into the prepared springform pans and bake at 160°C for 30-45 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center—if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
*cooking time varies on the size of the springform*
After baking, carefully remove the cakes from the springform tins and let them cool completely.
Bake each springform size twice, resulting in a total of six biscuit cakes.
While the cakes cool, prepare the buttercream frosting.
For the white cream, begin by whipping the butter until it becomes extremely fluffy and noticeably lighter in color. This process typically takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl while whipping the butter to ensure a smooth, uniform texture. This helps eliminate any yellow tint in the frosting, keeping it as white as possible—even if it will later be covered with fondant.
Once the butter reaches a light and fluffy consistency, gradually pour in the sweetened condensed milk while continuing to mix with a hand or stand mixer.
Whip until smooth and fluffy, then transfer into piping bags or plastic bags. For a firmer frosting, let it chill—just keep in mind that colder buttercream will be harder to pipe out later.
Repeat the process for the Caramel Buttercream, this time incorporating the Caramel Condensed Milk.
For the syrup, I simply combined the milk and caramel syrup at this stage. However, feel free to prepare a basic syrup in advance if you prefer.
By now, the cake should have cooled sufficiently and is ready to be sliced into 2 or 3 layers, as demonstrated in the video.
Drench your cakes in your syrup of choice, then either wrap each layer in cling film to pause and resume assembling later or proceed to frost the cake immediately.
When frosting your cake, start by adding a small dollop of frosting onto your parchment-lined board. For the largest tier, I used my oversized chopping board, which conveniently fits in the fridge. This step helps secure the first layer of cake in place.
After rim your Cake with the light Buttercream first (as shown in the Video).
Place the caramel buttercream in the center of the light buttercream, leaving just enough room to add a sprinkle of chopped hazelnuts.
Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts evenly over the caramel buttercream, taking care to avoid the light buttercream. Ensure the height of the hazelnut layer and both layers of buttercream are level to maintain the cake’s stability and prevent it from collapsing.
Place the next layer of biscuit cake on top and continue repeating the process.
Place the final cake layer on top and apply a thin crumb coat of light buttercream. Refrigerate the cake to chill and set the coating.
Repeat this process for each layer to complete the remaining two tiers.
Once the buttercream has cooled and hardened, you can either add more buttercream if needed and let it cool again, or use a sharp knife to carefully clean up the edges for a polished finish. (Refer to the video for guidance.)
Prepare your fondant by warming it in the microwave for a few seconds. If the package provides instructions, follow them. Otherwise, try heating it at 580-600 watts in 5-second intervals until it reaches your desired softness.
Once the fondant has softened to a workable consistency, knead it thoroughly and roll it out on a clean surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar.
To ensure the fondant was large enough, I measured my cake tiers beforehand. For the largest tier, which measured approximately 26x12x12, I rolled out the fondant to a diameter of about 50 cm to provide ample coverage.
After the fondant was rolled to the perfect size, I carefully placed it over the top of my tier, gently smoothing it down to adhere to the cake. Gradually, I worked my way down the sides, softly pressing the fondant to ensure it fit snugly and seamlessly, avoiding any creases or imperfections.
Before diving in, consider practicing on a test cake if you’re new to working with fondant. It can be a bit challenging at first, but don’t worry—you’ve got this! Stay confident and have fun!
Once the fondant is smoothly applied to the cake, use a sharp, precise knife to trim away any excess fondant around the base.
Cut approximately 0.5cm longer than the actual base to give the cake a cleaner appearance. Tuck the excess neatly underneath the cake tier for a more polished and professional look.
Once finished, place the Cake Tier in the refrigerator to set and firm up.
Repeat the process of applying fondant to the other tiers.
Once all the cake tiers are covered with fondant, it’s time to stack them.
For a cake of this size and weight, it’s essential to include proper support beneath the bottom layer.
. Take out one *straw of your Cake support and measure out the height of the cake and trim accordingly.
Make sure to be as accurate as possible, to avoid a bump or an indent in the final look of your cake.
Once all the straws are precisely measured, assemble your cake support and carefully insert it into the center of your base cake tier, which is the largest layer.
Once completed, gently position the second-largest tier atop the base tier.
I suggest wearing gloves for this step. However, don’t worry too much—since the tiers have been properly chilled, they are quite sturdy at this stage!
Make any necessary adjustments, then carefully position the smallest tier on top of the second layer.
At this stage, I haven’t used an additional cake support for the final tier. If you carefully follow my instructions, I’m confident you won’t need one either. However, if adding another layer of support gives you greater peace of mind, feel free to do so. ❤️
And there you have it—your base is complete! Now it’s time to unleash your creativity and design your cake just the way you like. If you’d like to recreate the same look as my cake, simply follow the placement of decorations shown in the video, including fake flowers, figurines, a topper, and edible gold. Otherwise, feel free to let your imagination run wild and add any elements that inspire you!
FYI: I opted for semi-realistic fake flowers for my cake because they looked beautiful and were practical. I wanted to avoid the hassle of sourcing fresh flowers on the same day and decorating the cake last minute. However, if you have the time and prefer fresh blooms, I’d love to see your recreation of my cake using real flowers!
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY…
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