Asking for help/advice from experienced wedding cakemakers! I usually do birthday/special occ cakes but have been asked to do a wedding cake.

Size is 14/11/9. I usually use the WASC recipe or cake extender w/modifications and have always had success. I thought w/larger tiers I would need something w/more stability so I baked a 14x2 pound cake last night just to see how it would come out.

I was not happy w/the results. It looked puny to me. It pulled away from the sides and did not rise like my other cakes do. It also tasted kind of bland but then again there was not filling or icing yet.

So my question for you is this the way it's supposed to look? Should I be using 3-in high pans instead? I just thought the 3-in pans once filled would be too high and look to big on the plate when served.

Or do you suggest I go w/the WASC recipe? Those cakes seem "fuller" to me but I want to make sure they will be durable for stacking. Thanks for any help you can give me!!

whatever you use for your other cakes will be fine for stacking a wedding cake. you don't need a more sturdy cake for stacking. It's your support system (dowels, straws, SPS) that supports the upper tiers, not the cake itself.

I'm a straight out of the box mix baker and no problems with stacked wedding cakes.

WASC works fine for stacked cakes. If that's what you're used to and what your customer has tried, then that's what will probably work best for the wedding cake.

The only thing you really need for the larger tiers is a cooling grid that's large enough, or a cookie sheet with no edges to use to flip the layers over. Also, I've found that the baker's joy spray with the flour really helps with getting big tiers out of the pan.

I too am a straight out of the box kinda girl. Maybe add a tweak here or there but I love the taste and they hold up great for me. I know that a couple of of cake stores in town also use box mix for their products. I will do from scratch if someone asks for a specific recipe but any other time its box. I do however make my own BC. I dont do can unless a specific kind is requested and even then I really dont like too. Each to his own method I say

When I make cupcakes I bake straight from the box because that is what my kids like. They're light and fluffy and soooo good I'm gettin' hungry just thinking about them.