Wedding Cake Recipes From Scratch

March 21, 2019 Carolyn

I will walk you through the steps of making 2 different wedding cake recipes from scratch in this article.

The first one is to make a white wedding cake and the second one for a chocolate flavor cake.

If you’ve been on this website before, you know how I like to provide economical and easy ways to achieve stunning results. These recipes reflect that as well.

In this post you will learn the easiest:

4 ingredients wedding cake batter recipe (makes two 9-in cakes)
4 ingredients vanilla buttercream recipe

Additionally, you’ll get to read about:

How to tier a cake!
What wedding cake flavors to choose
Baking Q&A
Inspiring cheap wedding cake ideas

Let’s get started!

White Sponge Cake Recipe from Scratch

Wedding Cake Batter Recipe

If you’ve never baked a cake before, this cake batter recipe is the best way to learn how to do it.

It’s a plain, simple and cheap batter recipe that you can adapt by adding your favorite flavor.

Moreover, I will show you some of the flavors that are the most popular and delicious (obviously 🙂 for wedding cakes and cupcakes later in this post.

Elegant wedding cake with luxury ornaments

Before We Start…

This is a basic batter recipe. The following ingredient amounts allow you to make two 9-in diameters (round) cakes.

The reason why you want to make two pieces is to be able to put one cake above the other and have a nice 4-5 in of height cake.

Don’t try to make one thick cake by putting all the batter in the cake pan at once to save time. Your cake won’t cook evenly and you will end up losing more time and money as you will need to do it all over again.

Also, the batter gains volume while baking. That’s why you shouldn’t fill the mold to the top. Otherwise, you will end up cleaning a mess in the oven and throwing your cake in the garbage.

So follow the steps carefully so you have a pleasant cake baking experience!

Ingredients:

2 cups of sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of white sugar (granulated sugar)
6 large eggs at room temperature (each egg should weight between 56 g and 63 g)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 to 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

Adding vanilla extract is not mandatory to make this recipe but it will add a nice flavor.

It’s especially recommended if you plan to make a naked cake.

If you don’t want to add any aroma to the batter, it’s completely fine! You can add flavoring of your liking later into your buttercream preparation.

For a summery aroma, add the zest of two lemons. This step is completely optional and up to you.

Pan Preparation

Taking a wedding cake recipes from scratch like this one is certainly the best way to learn on all small but helpful details.

This following steps will make it much easier for you to pull the cake out and also for cleaning the pan after use.

Cut a piece of parchment or wax paper the size of the bottom of the. pan. Make sure it’s not too big so it sits well at the bottom. Put it away for now.
Use a non-stick spray or shortening and spread it inside the pan.
Once you’re done, you can also add a little bit a flour in the pan. Simply move the pan from side to side to make it stick to the greasy bottom and sides.
Add the piece of parchment you previously cut into the pan.

Most recipes out there are using a stand mixer. It can be pretty useful especially for people that cook a lot of pastries, dessert and such that require beating ingredients vigorously for several minutes (e.g. meringues.)

It’s not mandatory to have one to make cakes, though. You will simply need to be patient and use the strength of your dominant arm instead. I like to alternate with my other arm when it gets too tough. You can see this as some sort of upper body work out 😉

A good and cheaper alternative to the stand mixer is an electric hand mixer.

It’s not as powerful but it’s definitely faster than whisking your eggs manually (and less painful too!)

Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder. Put aside.
Beat the eggs at high speed (or with passion if you don’t have a stand mixer)
Once eggs are starting to look somewhat homogenous, gradually add the sugar while beating in between each portion you add.
Keep on beating your eggs until you get a thick and fluffy texture

Tip:

You will now want to add the flour and baking powder to the eggs and sugar mixture. You’ll need to add alternately in the flour/baking powder mix in three additions.

6. Using a fine mesh sifter, sift the 1/3 of the flour and baking powder mixed earlier into the eggs and sugar mixture. Then fold it in before adding another batch.

7. Repeat 2 more times the previous step, or until you added all your ingredients.

8. Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure everything gets well mixed.

9. Keep folding until you get a uniform texture and that there are no more traces of flour to be seen.

10. Add half of the batter to your 9-in cake pan.

Tip:

If you’re unsure how much cake batter you got, use measuring cups to know exactly how much you should put in your pan. If you happen to have two same size pan simply fill them equally.

11. Put the pan(s) in the pre-heated oven on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Do not use the fan setting.

Tip:

Fight the temptation of opening the oven door. I know it’s hard to resist especially when that yummy smell starts to fill the kitchen, but please don’t.

This can really ruin the baking process. Wait until close to the end.

12. Once your cakes are done cooking they should have a nice dark gold color. Using your finger, apply a little bit of pressure in the center. It should be soft and spring back when you remove you finger.

13. Let the cakes cool in on the countertop on a cake cooling rack away from air drafts.

14. Using a regular bread knife, level the cakes on both sides to ensure they are flat.

Once your cakes are leveled you can easily put one on top of the other. You will then be ready to decorate your cakes with fondant, buttercream and icing.

You can also decide to freeze them and decorate them later. Simply wrap them in a food packaging plastic film and put them in the freezer.

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

You have now finished cooking your wedding sponge cakes. Now comes the time of frosting them. This next recipe is just as simple as the batter recipe i showed you earlier.

The real difficulty here is not to eat the buttercream before decorating the cake!

Ingredients:

You can frost a 9-in two layer cake with the following recipe

Recipe by Betty Crocker Kitchens

3 cups of powdered sugar
1/3 cup of butter, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla
2 tbs of milk

Instructions

1.Mix both powdered sugar and butter with a spoon or with an electric hand mixer (low speed)

2. Add the vanilla and one tablespoon of milk

3. Gradually add milk until you get a smooth and spreadable texture.

Tip:

If the mixture is too thick add milk a few drops at a time to get the perfect texture. If it’s too liquid add a small amount of powdered sugar

Tiering Your Wedding Cake

Stacking a wedding cake may look complicated at first. Honestly, I think it requires delicacy and patience more than skills. The artistry and finesse come with time and experience so do not be discouraged.

You may be surprised to know that you can stack a three-tier cake by using 7 wooden dowels.

I will show you how it’s done further with detailed graphics.

But first, these are the necessary steps to complete prior to starting stacking your cake.
(Note: Make sure you leveled them first as described previously) :

1.Assemble the two same size cake layers by spreading a thin buttercream layer on the top of one cake. Then, put the other cake on top. Also, remove any excess buttercream.

2. Secure the cakes on cake boards by applying a patch of buttercream on the cake boards.

Cake boards are very handy: they provide a safe place to put your fingers while applying the buttercream.

They are also useful when you’ll need to lift the cakes. They also create a sturdy surface when stacking your cakes

3. Cover your cakes with buttercream or fondant.

Doweling your 3-tier cake

You’ll be needing seven 12-in long cake wooden dowels. These are sold online or at your local cake store.

(First Tier)

1. Insert three dowels inside the largest cake (the basis) in a triangular design. Push until you reach the cake board. You may need to put more if you feel like the center part of the cake is not as compact or sturdy as it should be.

2. Mark the dowel by slightly scratching the surface with a sharp clean tool (scissors, short knife) as close as possible to the top of the cake.

3. Remove the dowel and cut it a just below the mark. The idea is that the dowel should sit at the same level as the top of the cake when you’ll put it back in.

Not to low as they won’t be supporting the weight well and not too high as you don’t want to have your cake tilting on one side.

4. Repeat the previous steps for the other two dowels.

5. Put the dowels back into the holes.

(Second Tier)

6. Lift the second tier and center it on top of the first tier

7. You will need to insert your three dowels in a triangular shape as done previously. The only difference is that you will need to get through the cardboard and a little bit further into the cake at the bottom.

Wooden cake dowels usually have a sharp side for that purpose. If not sharpen your dowels so that they can easily pierce it.

8. Repeat the steps 2, 3, 4 and 5

(Third and Last Tier)

9. Put the third tier in place

10. You’ll be using one last dowel that will get through all the cake layers. The role of this dowel is to ensure the cakes stay straight.

It has to cut through the last and middle cake cardboards and go all the way down to the last layer.

You will still need to cut the dowel but this time you simply cut it so you don’t see it at the top.

As long as it goes through all the cakes and that it does not show at the top, you’re fine!

Playing with Shapes and Sizes

Making a special shape cake is a very good option to have a stunning and one of kind cake at low cost. Once the batter is baked sky is the limit.

You can choose to make a multi-layer cake using two different heights of cake. For example, a typical 10-in basis that is 3-in high and a 6-in top layer that is 8-in high.

This adds magnitude to the cake without having the pyramidal shape we usually see at most weddings.

Another idea is to shape the cake yourself by cutting it into whatever you want. On the other hand, you can save time by using a unique cake pan shape to ensure it looks perfect and professional.

The Best Wedding Cake Flavors

Almond

Almond and Vanilla are very popular for white wedding cakes. These extracts are clear and perfect for a white cake.

Lemon and Orange

The perfect scent for a summer wedding cake! Zesty flavors bring a lot of personality to any pastry. These smells are also known to boost energy and enhance the mood. perfectly suited for a wedding party!

Butterscotch

A truly irresistible taste of butter and brown sugar. There is something very autumnal about it. Also, it pairs well with spicy flavor like cinnamon and cloves. It works very well with dark rum and whiskey too.

Honey

A very good flavor for a fruit decorated cake. I also have a feeling that it would taste heavenly with a hazelnut, walnut, pumpkin seeds type of wedding cake

Last but not Least… Chocolate!

I won’t bother explaining why this delectable flavor would be perfect for a wedding cake!

Baking Q&As

Learning how to bake cakes and pastries, in general is a trial and error process.

So don’t be too hard on yourself, even the best baker’s made indigestible cakes before they started mastering the technique.

What makes a cake dry and what to do to have a springy and moist cake next time?

There are three possible reasons:

Using too much flour;
Overbeating at too high speed your ingredients;
Putting the cake on the highest or lowest oven rack;
The baking temperature is too high / bake time is too long

Make sure you measure the flour and level it with a knife before adding it. Overbeating and at too high speed may also cause the cake texture to become dry and crumbly.

For example, folding is a step that should be done manually so you can see how the mixture is transforming to the exact texture you want.

Finally, oven temperature and time are definetaly aspects you will need to experience with. In fact, more often than not, ovens don’t all cook the same way.

This means that your mother’s oven may make perfect cakes at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, but yours should be set to 335 degrees for 30 minutes. That’s what you need find out .

Why does a cake sink when taken out of the oven?

This does happen fairly often for several different reasons:
Too much baking powder;
The batter was overbeaten and has too much air in it;
The mixture was left too long once it was ready before it was put into the oven;
The oven door was open in the early or middle stage of baking;
The cake has cooled in a too cold or drafty place like a corridor

Gorgeous Cheap Wedding Cakes

Have a look at this post for more affordable wedding cake ideas .