LIVE With Sandra Monger: How To Make Your Own Wedding Cake

Dream of making your own wedding cake? Or would you like to brush up on your cake decorating skills? Here’s a simple and stylish summery wedding cake design by Sandra Monger, plus her step-by-step tips on making a successful wedding cake. Enjoy!

On Twitter? Talk to us via #RenshawCakeTalk if you have any questions.

Join us on Thursday 22nd August, 6.30-7.30pm for the live event & to see Sandra create this.

Make Your Own Wedding Cake By Sandra Monger

Materials

• 6,8 and 10 inch round cake boards
• 13 inch round cake drum
• Plastic cake dowels
• Ribbon of choice

Ingredients

• 6, 8 and 10 inch round fruit cakes
• Apricot glaze
• Pastry Brush
• Icing sugar for dusting
• Marzipan (600g for the 6inch cake, 800g for the 8 inch cake, 1.25Kg for the 10 inch cake)
• Cooled boiled water
• White sugarpaste (900g for the cake board, 750g for the 6inch cake, 1Kg for the 8 inch cake &1.5Kg for the 10 inch cake)
• Royal icing
• Coloured sugarpastes ( fuchsia pink, lilac, shell pink and pastel green)
• Flower modelling paste
• CMC powder (eg. Tylose)
• Silver edible sugar balls

Equipment

• Rolling pin
• Icing sugar shaker
• Flat bladed kitchen knife
• Food pen
• Serrated kitchen knife
• Palette knife
• Smoother
• Artists’ paintbrush
• Scissors
• Non toxic glue stick.
• Non-stick rolling board
• Non-stick rolling pin
• Vegetable shortening (eg. Trex)
• Assorted sized 5 petal cutters
• Assorted sized circle cutters

Instructions

STEP 1

Bake 3 fruit cakes each 3 inches deep. Lace with brandy or rum if desired. Allowing the cake to mature for several weeks will improve the texture and taste.

STEP 2

Turn cake upside down so that flat bottom becomes the top. Place the cake on a board of the same size. Stand cake and board on a square of greaseproof paper to prevent sticking to work surface – this will allow you to move the cake without touching or marking the icing. Use marzipan to fill any gaps where the cake meets the board and any holes on the cake surface.

TIP: Use a drum board instead of a hard board to give a deeper tier if desired. Use a spirit level to ensure each tier is level.

STEP 3

Brush with boiled apricot glaze. Dust work surface with icing sugar and roll out a circle of marzipan large enough to cover the cake. Pick up the marzipan by lifting back over a rolling pin and drape over cake.

STEP 4

Smooth marzipan in place using palm of hands, ensuring there are no air pockets. Trim excess marzipan away. Set aside for 2 or 3 days in a cardboard cake box to allow the marzipan surface to firm.

TIP: If an air pocket develops release the air by piercing with a fine skewer or scribing tool and smooth flat. Cover 13 inch drum board with white sugarpaste. Trim edges and smooth with palm of hand. Finish surface with smoother and buff with a small ball of white sugarpaste to achieve a flawless finish. Finish board edge with ribbon of choice, fixing around edge and at rear join with non-toxic glue stick.

STEP 5

Cover 13 inch drum board with white sugarpaste. Trim edges and smooth with palm of hand. Finish surface with smoother and buff with a small ball of white sugarpaste to achieve a flawless finish. Finish board edge with ribbon of choice, fixing around edge and at rear join with non-toxic glue stick.

STEP 6

Brush marzipan covered cake with cooled boiled water. Roll out a circle of white sugarpaste large enough to cover the cake and allowing for excess. Pick up icing by lifting back over rolling pin and drape over cake.

STEP 7

Smooth icing gently into position with hands avoiding air pockets.

Finish top and sides with a smoother and buff with a ball of sugarpaste. Place cakes inside cardboard cake boxes and allow sugarpaste to dry for several days – this will make the surface more resistant to unwanted marking.

STEP 8

Spread a little royal icing onto the centre of the baseboard and position the 10 inch tier – this will fix the tier in place.

TIP: If you don’t have royal icing you can use flower modelling paste diluted with a little water to form a stiff paste the consistency of cream cheese.

STEP 9

Measure and cut 8 plastic cake dowels so that they will match the depth of the iced 10 inch cake. Insert dowels into the cake placing them evenly inside the area to be covered by the 8 inch tier.

Repeat this for the 8 inch cake using dowels ensuring they are inserted in to the area to be covered by the 6 inch tier.

TIP: Measure dowels by first inserting a clean dowel into the cake until it touches the board. Mark dowel with a food pen level with top of cake, remove and cut with a serrated kitchen knife. Use this as a guide for the remaining dowels. Repeat this technique for each tier.

STEP 10

Spread a little royal icing or diluted flower modelling paste on the centre of the 10 inch cake and place the 8 inch cake in position. Repeat this for the 8 and 6 inch cakes.

STEP 11

Strengthen fuchsia pink, lilac, shell pink and pastel green sugarpaste with ¼ teaspoon of CMC powder per each 100g used. Wrap well to exclude air and set aside overnight.

STEP 12

Lightly smear rolling board with vegetable shortening. Roll out different coloured pastes and cut out assorted sized petal shapes and circles to form flower centres. Place flower shapes and circles with flexi-mat to prevent drying. Create the green tendrils by rolling a thin sausage of pastel green paste and curling the end.

TIP: Use any colours from the Renshaw ready to roll range to match the wedding theme. If you don’t have a fleximat you can use a plastic document wallet.

STEP 13

Build up flowers by fixing centres to petal shapes with a little water – the tendrils will be added in the next step.

STEP 14

Trim cake tiers with ribbon of your choice and fix joins at rear of cake with small dot of royal icing. Fix flowers and tendrils in place with a little royal icing to form floral cascade down the side of the cake. Compliment the floral design by fixing flourishes of small silver sugar balls in place with royal icing.

STEP 15

Stand back and admire your beautiful wedding cake!