Hi guys,

So i'm making my first wedding cake soon and I have been asked to make the bottom tier a fruit cake... I really dont like the look of the overcomplicated (and expensive) recipes iv found so far, has anyone ever made one using box mix? and if so, how do I do that?! Any help will be much appreciated! :)

AThey don't make box mixes for fruit cakes, you either have to make it or buy it.

AOr tell them you can't do it .

They are some of the easiest cakes to make. 

However, I don't understand the cost issue.  Just price it into the cake.  Also, fruitcake slices are often a wee bit smaller than even wedding slices.  Make the couple aware and price accordingly.

Hi, thanks for your reply, what i meant was, i've heard people saying hey have used a box mix and doctored it into a fruit cake, so was hoping to get some advice on how i might go about doing that. 

Hello, thank you for your reply, thing is, I'm a student who makes cakes out of my little flat, and when i went to the supermarket just the fruit alone cost loads! (I find in the UK dried fruit is so expensive - im used to the cheaper prices of South Africa) and its a replica of a wedding cake for my boyfriends grandparents who are celebrating their 50th anniversary! So unfortunately im not charging them for it as it will be a present. 

Can you do just the top tier as fruit cake, and the rest sponge cake? The thing is, that even if you start with a box mix, that will be the cheapest part of the cake. You will still have to add in lots of fruit anyway. I would just do a scratch fruit cake so it turns out nice. I'm convinced that trying to doctor a box mix will be more hassle, and not cheaper. 

Is there someone who can share the cost with you?  Dayti is right.  There's no getting around fruit and nuts in a fruit cake.  The mix will be the cheapest part of the cake and will likely not improve it at all.

From the OP, complication was first and cost was hidden in parentheses. 

So, in short:

See if someone can share the cost with you and make it a group project.

Fruitcakes are easy.  The list of ingredients is often long.

Decide now, so there are no hard feelings later.  Non-cake people will have no idea how much money and time will be spent on this cake.  The only people  to whom I have given wedding cake have shopped for them first.  They know what it costs retail and know the gift that they are receiving.

This small decision now will save you lots of grief later.

Good luck!

Can you maybe find a cheap pre-made Christmas cake? There must be lots of them on sale there right now. 

There are recipes to shortcut the cake using a spice cake mix but you still have to add all the fruits and nuts. 

Also, if it's for the grandparents make the top tier fruit instead, it won't matter once it's cut. Hardly anyone will want to eat the fruit cake if there are other flavors available. 

Box mixes, I presume, produce a light and airy cake?

Fruit cake is exactly the opposite!  You don't use self-raising flour in a fruit cake... you use plain flour with no rising agents added!!

If rich fruit cake is what's being expected, I simply can't see a box mix producing anything similar, I'm afraid!!!