2017 promises to be my most exciting year as a baker yet and I'm so excited that its finally started. I'm delighted to have been asked to make wedding cakes for three different brides this year. Two of them new found friends and one a lovely lady who I studied A level English with in my sixth form years. She had seen pictures of my cakes on my Facebook and Instagram pages and got in touch to ask whether this was something I did and I literally jumped at the chance! I honestly can't thank these ladies enough for asking me to make cakes for their special days- what an honour! Now that I have come to terms with the excitement, I have realised that this project is probably going to be just as terrifying as it is fun. Weddings are a massive deal and, in my experience, the cake is always a talking point. At every wedding I've ever been to there has been an 'official' cake cutting moment where everyone basically stands in a circle and 'ooooh's at the cake and how wonderful it is. The photographer is usually there as well, snapping artistic shots of how beautiful it all looks so that the bride can remember it, even if she is too busy to eat it on the actual day. Whilst I am wholly confident that I can make something which both I and my brides will be really proud of, I've never made something which is going to be under such scrutiny before and I'm determined to get every aspect of it right.
Cue project wedding cake or, as it will be known on here, 'The Wedding Cake Diaries'. My plan is to document the process from start to finish as I will be doing a lot (a LOT) of research and practise bakes in the lead up to the big days.
Part One- getting a feel for the bride's vision
Many an email has already gone back and forth between me and my brides. My primary aim was to get a feel for what they wanted and to see whether they had any ideas in mind. Luckily all three of them did and were able to send me some pictures of styles that they liked. I genuinely love all three of the girls' visions and I would happily have any one of them as my own wedding cake- something which I think is important. I know that because I love and really believe in the aesthetic they are going for, I will make the best cakes I can. I also love the fact that each of them has asked for my opinion and trusted the suggestions I've made which reassures me that we're on the same page! This week I've been scheduling appointments with them to go over ideas and details in person. At these little meetings (over cake of course) I plan to go over more specific details like size, decorative details and how the cake will be presented.
They are also a chance for me to showcase to the brides some of the flavours I have up my sleeve. I spent some time over Christmas making a more definitive list of cakes that I felt confident would make a wedding cake (delicious but also sturdy!) and perfecting recipes that I could make for them to taste. This week I practised and refined a recipe for a cherry and almond cake which one of the brides had actually requested. It basically tastes like a giant Cherry Bakewell which is an absolute result in my opinion- I used to adore those when in my youth! Normally if I was making an almond cake I would use ground almonds instead of/ alongside regular flour, but because the resulting cake has a crumbly, delicate texture, I knew I would need to change tack if I were going to make it into a tiered cake (wedding cakes are insanely heavy and it would just collapse). The solution I found was to use a really high quality almond extract (not essence) to flavour the cake and it worked an absolute treat. I've included the recipe at the bottom of this post in case you fancy trying it for yourselves. The recipe makes 4lb of batter which is enough for a 10 " round cake.
Next on my 'project wedding cake' list is to do some serious research about the best methods for keeping such a large cake straight and upright- useful, I know! Any suggestions most welcome, leave them for me in the comments below!
Cherry Almond Cake
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups good quality unsalted butter
3 cups caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 3/4 cups plain flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
Good quality cherry jam- I use 'Bon Maman' black cherry conserve
fresh cherries to decorate
METHOD
Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) into a bowl and whisk together.
Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until white and fluffy (8-10 minutes).
Add eggs to sugar/ butter mixture one at a time, combining after each addition.
Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk (in about 4 parts)
Pour the batter into a parchment lined tin. Bake at 170C until a skewer comes out clean (the time will depend on your oven but I always set it for 20 minutes then check it every 5 after that).
Allow to cool in the pan completely then sandwich into layers.
Brush each layer with the cherry syrup and allow to soak in.
Layer the cakes with the cherry jam.
I used almond Italian meringue buttercream to ice my cake, but water icing works just as well. Simply combine icing sugar and water to make a thickish paste then drizzle or pipe on top. Top with flaked almonds for added crunch and fresh cherries.