Cake.

If there is one thing that I am passionate about, its food. I was inspired to write this post after catching up on my weekly fix of the Great British Bake Off, as it got me thinking about wedding cakes, and in particular, baking your own wedding cake.

I wanted to make my own wedding cake, but I was told by my husband to be that NO bride should ever make her own cake (it also would have been a logistical nightmare considering I live in a different part of the country to where I will be getting married), so instead my beloved Nan will be making my cake, which really does mean a lot to me. I think there is something really special about a friend or family member making the cake; its a way of incorporating people into your day, taking some of the pressure off yourself, and also saves money in the budget if you count the cake as a present.

I will be going for a small 2 tier cake, simple and elegant, decorated with fresh antique dusty-pink roses to match my bouquet

So I thought I would provide some hints if you are thinking of making your own lovely cake:

• Think about the size cake you will need, you can get online calculators to work out how much cake you will need for your number of guests. Try http://www.cakesbyracheledwards.com/portion-guide.php
• You catch match your cake to your theme in more ways than one. Think about the flavours as well as the decoration, for example if you are having a rustic outdoor wedding, a carrot cake would suit perfectly
• Fresh flowers are a simple and fuss-free way to decorate a plain iced cake elegantly
• Don’t forget dowling rods to ensure structure and stability when assembling the tiers of the cake
• If you are making a traditional fruit cake, it can be made quite far in advance ahead of time and ‘fed’ to keep it lovely and moist.
• Finally…use well known cake designers for inspiration in making your own cake, you can get some great ideas for flavours and methods of decoration.

Happy Baking!!

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