It goes without saying that your Wedding Cake will be the most expensive cake you will ever purchase, and the chances are you may well have no idea where to begin! With this in mind I thought it would be useful to put together my Top 5 most frequently asked questions at Wedding Fayres and Cake Tasting Consultations, along with the answers to those questions.
What size Cake will I need?
The size of your Wedding Cake is based on the number of guests you have invited and when you plan to serve it. For example, if you are serving the cake for dessert then the slices will generally be cut slightly larger (2” x 1"). If however you are serving the cake during your evening reception, servings are cut smaller (1” x 1”) so the cake will go much further. I always recommend catering for approx. 85% of guests invited if you are serving during the evening as not everyone will necessarily eat cake during an evening reception. Also remember to include yourselves within this figure so that you don't miss out on eating your own Wedding Cake! Perhaps you could ask the caterers at the venue to keep some cake back for you to enjoy together at the end of the night!
Can we have each tier a different flavour?
Absolutely! In fact I encourage this as there are so many flavour choices available to choose from nowadays, why wouldn’t you take advantage? My advice is to decide on what you feel would be the most popular flavour with the majority of your guests and have that as your largest tier, then work your way up to the smallest. It’s also a good idea to consider the time of year of your wedding when choosing your flavours. Fresh flavours such as Zesty Lemon or Pink Gin and Lemonade are perfect for Spring and Summer Weddings, but you may prefer to opt for richer flavours such as Chocolate & Salted Caramel or Spiced Carrot for Autumn and Winter Weddings. I also recommend to incorporate at least 1 tier that you think will be a real crowd pleaser that the majority of your guests will enjoy.
How long does it take to make a Wedding Cake?
This depends on the size and complexity of the design. Most wedding cakes are a 3-4 day process from baking to completion. The first day will be spent baking the cakes and making all of the fillings and chocolate ganache. Day 2 will be spent cutting, filling, levelling, ganaching and covering the cakes ready for decoration. Day 3 is the exciting day when the cakes are dowelled ready for stacking and all of the detailing and any sugar flowers and final decoration is added. Depending on the size and complexity of the design, some cakes will be stacked and decorated in my kitchen, while others may need to be stacked and the finer details added at the venue.
Do you deliver the cake to the venue and is there an additional charge for this?
Yes, always! Wedding Cakes are incredibly heavy and delicate and depending on how many tiers you have chosen, can quite often require assembly on site at the venue. I will personally liaise with your Wedding Coordinator to arrange timings for this and your cake will be set up and ready for to you see for the very first time when you arrive for your Wedding Reception. There will be a charge for this based on mileage and time, but this cost will be included within the overall cost of your wedding cake.
How much notice do you need?
My advice is as soon as you have booked the Venue, one of the next steps should be to book your Wedding Cake. Cake Makers can get booked up well in advance, so if you have found the Cake Maker that you would love to have make your Wedding Cake, book in as soon as you can to avoid disappointment, especially if your wedding date is in peak season between April and September.
So there we have it, my Top 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions answered! I hope you have found this blog post helpful but remember, the most important thing when starting out in your Wedding Cake journey is to have fun and enjoy it! If you would like to discuss your Wedding Cake with me please get in touch, I would love to hear from you!