Hi There,
I am doing my first wedding cake and was just wondering for suggestions because I can't seem to find 3" square cake pans where I live and I need to do the wedding cake this weekend. Can I use the 2" pans or will the tiers be too thin?
Any other suggestions for my first wedding cake would be greatly appreciated!!
Tracey
I assume you mean the depth of the pans you have is 2" but you want 3" deep layers, right? Then you would only use one layer, perhaps split it and torte (fill) it, ice, decorate and you're good to go?
I only use 3" pans on super-big tiers (18" and up). I have always used 2" deep pans, two baked layers, with icing or filling between them to hold them together. Then ice, decorate, and deliver.
Best of luck!
So my even my 14" which is the biggest I would just torte and fill each layer? Will the cake still be stable with all those layers?
What is the best filling to use...I normally don't use fillings in my cakes.
The cakes are Vanilla, Chocolate and marble...so I am not sure what flavour of filling would be best? Any good recipes for fillings?
Tracey
Whimsical Bakehouse's whipped Ganache is quite stable, and everybody seems to like it.
I would use TWO layers of each size cake, just don't split them. Your cake should be plenty stable if your cake recipe isn's one that just crumbles willy-nilly. As for fillings, you don't necessarily need them. Just use your best buttercream to fill between the layers and frost the outside and tops of the cakes.
Make sure you use plenty of supports to bear the weight of the tiers above each cake. Nothing worse than cakes sinking into the tiers below ... could "implode" like the World Trade Center.
After stacking, make sure you use a sharpened dowel or bamboo skewer (or two) to hold each tier in place so there is less liklihood of shifting left-to-right.
Check out this site; I'm sure there are plenty of good directions on the forums. Or Wilton has a website, I'm sure, where they might give you more explicit directions for how to do this.
Best of all, enjoy it! I always consider it an honor to make someone's wedding cake, and I've done hundreds.
so each layer would be around 5" high (2 layers plus filling)?
I normally use cake mixes for my cakes I am guessing that this probably is not a good idea? Is there a really great stable cake recipe for vanilla and chocolate that anyone has?
You guys are soooo helpful you rock!!!
Tracey
For wedding cakes, I always use the 2" pans, and bake 2 layers of each. I fill inbetween with either BC or filling.
I use 2" cake pans. I just bake two layers of each size pan and assemble with buttercream in between the layers. The tiers turn out to be just about 4" by the time you level the cakes and frost them.
I also use cake mixes, I like the dependable results. My scratch ones never turn out as good, I need more practice. There are lots of ways to doctor a cake mix, but I add 1 box of powdered instant pudding and an exta egg per cake mix. I think this adds some stability because the cake is denser. Just pick a complimentary flavor of pudding. For white I use white chocolate pudding because I think it keeps the cake whiter. I add the normal three egg whites and one extra whole egg.
Good luck with your cake!
so each layer would be around 5" high (2 layers plus filling)?
I normally use cake mixes for my cakes I am guessing that this probably is not a good idea? Is there a really great stable cake recipe for vanilla and chocolate that anyone has?
I don't generally put 1" of filling between my layers, but, yes, each cake tier would stand about 4" (more or less) high.
I found many years ago that boxed cake mix is a great way to make money on my cakes. I started young (age 9), and made my first "wedding" cake (actually a 25th anniversary cake for 350) at age 14. So I've been doing this for a long time. Back then, I just used box mixes, and I prefer the Duncan Hines. They're moist and they hold up to a lot of handling without falling apart.
There are a lot of good "doctored" recipes (i.e., box mixes that you change what you put in to them so they come out a little different than if they were made just by the recipe on the box) that are quite tasty ... I would suggest getting your hands on copies of "The Cake Mix Doctor" and "Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor". These two books have been helpful to me in the past.
Also check the recipe section here at CC. There's a lot that is available to you; you just have to look and be open to suggestion.
Also, remember that if you are serving a 4" tall cake, you won't want to cut it into wedges! Check out the "serving charts" section of any Wilton book to see how to cut that cake to get the most pieces out of it. Lots of people have decided the Wilton books aren't accurate, but you've got to start somewhere.
Best of Luck to you!
Cake mixes can be very stable for stacked cakes. Try adding a box of instant pudding mix (in a complimentary flavor) and an extra egg for a cake that is moist with increased denisty. If you are not a scratch baking pro when doing something as important as a wedding cake is not the time to experiment! Go with what you know and the client has tasted. 
I:
bake one day
torte, fill and crumb coat, let set for a few hours then ice
then decorate that day or the next
deliver the next day.
Dowel after you have ice.
HOw far ahead should I bake and put together the individual tiers so that they can set enough for me to dowel rod and ice?
I generally bake on day 1, ice and dowel on day 2, decorate on day 3. Sometimes I am decorating and delivering on day 3 and/or 4, but it's up to you. I like my cakes to be completely cool before icing, and if they sit for 12+ hours after they've been iced, any "settling" is generally done.
A lot will depend on how big your cake is.
I also freeze any top layer (only) that is 12" or larger so I can position it without any breakage. Learned that one the hard way with my first 16" cake ... we ate cake with fruit, cake with ice cream, cake with candy, cake with ....... well, you get the idea.
My best suggestion is to take plenty of time and pay attention to what you are doing. Many of us (myself included) are self-taught, and we didn't have great online forums like this one to teach us anything. We had to learn how to do it by trial and error. Use whatever info you can get your hands on to read, and just remember that it's not necessarily a perfect science. Besides, it's going to take you hours to make it "just right", and literally a fraction of that to dismantle it and eat it ... "permanent art it ain't!!!"
I found this online and I have been using it for sometime now and its great great great and I use the same recipe for chocolate i just dont put in the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract when I am mixing chocolate its fluffy and its good and it holds up to weight I would sugest the butter cream in the middle I use sams whole sale club when I make wedding cakes cause I can by 28 pounds premixed from there bakery for 26.54 its a great way to save some time and money when doing such a large cake I also use the 2 inch pans and I just make 2 of every size I need so I can stack them.
I also freeze the 16x16 top layer so its alot easier to flip to make double layers.
I just let it defrost before adding icing cause if not your icing will freeze also been there done that lol.
I hope this helps.
Dana Illinois
White Wedding Cake
Ingredients
1 box white cake mix
1 whole large egg and 2 large egg whites
1 cup milk 1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease pan(s) using Pan Release.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, milk, sour cream, oil, and extract. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape bowl. Mix on medium speed for two minutes until well blended.
Pour the batter immediately into the greased pans. Tap pan on the countertop to release large air bubbles. Bake until done (cake is completely away from the sides of the pan or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean). Within 5 - 10 minutes, remove the cake from the pan and place on a cooling grid until cake is room temperature. See Guidelines for baking times.
Additional Information
You can substitute--1 whole large egg and 2 large egg whites with 2 whole eggs; 1 cup milk with 1 cup water; and 1/4 cup vegetable oil with 1/2 stick of butter.
ok ... I tried a chocolate cake mix and added one extra egg and one pkg of chocolate instant pudding. It didn't rise up as nice as mine normally do, the taste was good and I liked how it did not fall apart when I sliced it and when we ate it, it stayed together. So that part was great I am just a little worried about it not rising up. Should I maybe only add half of the pudding mix?
Any suggestions???
Here's a couple of things you can try:
-Let your eggs come to room temp before you use them. I see to get a better rise when I do this
-Try collaring your pans
-Measure out your batter according to the wilton guides and if you have collared the pan add a touch more
I use 2" pans I use to use 3" but much nicer cakes with the 2" I fill one pan and make only half the batter for the second, torte the larger one and you have 3 layers and then fill. Makes about the same size as the 3" that way and your not having to bake as long since they bake quicker than 3" pans. I don't have all the sizes in the 2" so I just treat my 3" as a 2" . Hope I expalined that right.
Remember, the pudding mix is helping you to make a denser cake, which is not going to rise up as much as what you are used to. Try putting a bit more batter in your pans so you get a higher cake in the end. If you need to put parchment paper "collars" on your pans to insure the height you want, that's okay, too.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%