Friday 24 August 2012

Wedding Cake: attempt two

I am determined to make my own cake for my wedding next June. Wedding cakes can cost from £300 up and, since baking is one of the few things I am actually quite good at, I might as well make use of it. Besides, I have plenty of time to practice. 

Today, I had a second go at making a lemon sponge cake (recipe from Mary Berry's Baking Bible - the most amazing cookery book in the world). The first time I baked this cake was for a tea party. It tasted superb, but I ended up short of time and had to put the butter cream on while it was still hot. This resulted in a melted, sludgy mess (but a tasty one none the less). 

This time I made myself wait until the cake had cooled completely before icing it - which was difficult when it smelt so good! It looks a little better, but still very 'home made'. Great for a tea party, not so great for a wedding. I'm not sure if the problem is me or the icing. Perhaps butter cream just isn't wedding cake friendly. I think the next step is to experiment with different types of icing, to see what looks the most professional, even if it doesn't taste quite as good as lemon butter cream... 

After that, I need to buy some new tins to work on the recipe for the second, chocolate, tier of the cake. 

I just have to hope I can still fit into my dress in June...