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Featured Cookbook
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About Fondant
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Basic Fondant
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Gingerbread House
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Gingerbread House Template
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Kouglof
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Three-Tier White Wedding Cake
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Making a Three-Tier White Wedding Cake (assembling and decorating)
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Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Book Description
Irma Rombauer collected recipes from friends for the first Joy of Cooking, and published it herself. For this sixth edition, the All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking, Ethan Becker, grandson of Irma and son of Marion Rombauer Becker, worked with Maria Guarnaschelli, senior editor and vice president at Scribner's. Together, they called on top food professionals to produce a Joy that reflects the way we eat today.
... (more)
The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking
Authors: Marion Rombauer Becker, Irma S. Rombauer, Ethan Becker
Date: November 1997
ISBN: 0684818701
Publisher: Scribner
Hardcover
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Making a wedding cake at home is a glorious undertaking.
We have chosen a very traditional white cake, with three 2-layer tiers, to serve 75 or more. For up to 40 additional servings, you can make a 2-layer “back-up” sheet cake. Our suggestions for filling and frosting do not require refrigeration, although it helps to chill the cakes during the icing and decorating stage if possible. Regardless, you will need a cool place to store the cake up to overnight before the wedding. You can choose any other filling or frosting if you wish, taking perishability and the need for refrigeration into account.
Our wedding cake was designed to be made in a single home oven, with an ordinary stand mixer and/or a good sturdy hand-held electric mixer with two beaters (not one) and one set of pans. The recipe must be baked twice to complete all the layers for each tier. (Additional baking is required for the back-up sheet cake.)
If you have never made a large special-occasion cake, allow yourself plenty of time and choose the simplest decoration options (which are often the prettiest anyway). If you like, frost the cake with a swirly or deliberately “homemade” texture rather than attempting smooth perfection, and decorate with unsprayed nontoxic fresh flowers and blossoms rather than buttercream roses and fancy frills. Practice piping simple borders on the backs of cake pans or on wax or parchment paper, with a pastry bag and star tip, until you have the knack—these borders are simple to master and provide the perfect finishing touch for the bottoms of cake tiers.
An Overview of Wedding Cake Engineering
To prevent the cake from becoming the Leaning Tower of Pisa, each tier is supported by several pieces of 1/4-inch-thick wooden dowel or plastic drinking straws sunk into the tier below. Each tier is also supported by a stiff lightweight cardboard base to prevent the frosting from buckling or cracking when the cake is moved and to enable the tiers to be removed as the cake is served. A plywood or Masonite “presentation board” 4 inches larger than the bottom cake tier, wrapped in florists’ foil or foil wrapping paper, also serves as a sturdy carrying board.
Transporting the Cake
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Sliding is the biggest danger in transporting wedding cakes.
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Many wedding cake experts “stake” their cakes by driving a long sharpened dowel through the center of the entire cake before travel, 972, to prevent shifting en route. For short distances, the cake can travel on a tray. Place 2 or 3 large loops (sticky side out) of thick or double-sided adhesive tape on the tray to anchor it to the presentation board, or line the tray with a sheet of foam rubber about 3/8 inch thick. Keep the tray from sliding in the car by wedging it between heavier items or setting it on a thick foam rubber mat.
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For longer-distance transport, especially on warm days, transport the cake in a box. Ideally it should be the exact size of the diameter of the presentation board, so that the cake sides will not come in contact with the sides of the box. If the box opens from the top, cut it with a utility knife so that the cake can be loaded from the side instead, then tape the box shut. Travel with a utility knife to open the box.
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Always travel with extra frosting, a spatula, and a pastry bag and tip for repairs. With luck, you will never need them.
Frosting Quantities Needed for a Three-Tier Wedding Cake Plus a Back-Up Sheet Cake
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To fill, frost, and decorate a three-tier wedding cake, you will need a total of 16 cups frosting (4 to 5 cups to fill the layers and 10 to 11 cups to frost the top and sides and to pipe the borders). To fill and frost a 2-layer 13 x 9-inch back-up cake, you will need an additional 4 to 5 cups (1 to 1 1/2 cups to fill the layers and 3 to 3 1/2 cups to frost the top and sides). Consult the individual filling or frosting recipes and increase the quantities to yield these amounts.
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If you wish, fill the layers with one type of filling or frosting and frost the cake with another, using the breakdowns given above to plan the quantities of each filling or frosting you will need.
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Keep in mind that buttercreams made with egg yolks, custard-based fillings, and whipped cream require refrigeration, and so will the wedding cake if you decide to use them.
To Fill the Layers and Assemble the Tiers
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 Each tier consists of 2 cake layers with filling or frosting between them. The layers must be completely cool before assembling the cake. Slide a rimless cookie sheet under large cake layers to move them without cracking. If layers are not flat, or if the top crust is tough or dry, trim with a serrated knife.
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To assemble the 14-inch tier, put a couple dabs of frosting on the 14-inch cardboard cake round to keep the cake from sliding. Center 1 of the 14-inch layers right side up on the cardboard. Spread the layer with 2 to 2 1/2 cups frosting. Top with the second cake layer, upside down. Spread a very thin crumb coat, 990, of frosting over the top and sides of the cake to cover cracks and secure crumbs. Refrigerate or set aside in a cool place so the frosting will set.
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Assemble the 10-inch tier on the 10-inch cardboard round, filling the layers with about 1/4 cups frosting. Assemble the 6-inch tier on the 6-inch cardboard round, filling with about 1/3 cup frosting. Refrigerate each tier in a cool place or set aside.
To Frost the Tiers
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Place 3 or 4 pieces of double-sided adhesive tape on the presentation board, about 4 inches in from the edges. Frost the top and sides of the 14-inch tier, as smoothly as possible or with a swirly texture. If you have a long, extra-wide pancake turner with a stiff rather than flexible blade, use it to lift and transfer the tier to the wrapped board. Otherwise, slide a sturdy metal icing spatula under the tier and tilt it up so that you can slide your hand under for support. With one hand and the spatula supporting the tier, lift it over the center of the presentation board. Set the front edge (farthest from you) down first, 2 inches from the edge of the board. Pivot the cake to the left or right to center it before lowering the back edge. Slide the spatula out. Refrigerate if possible to set the frosting.
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Frost the top and sides of the other 2 tiers. Refrigerate if possible to set the frosting before continuing.
To Stack the Tiers
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 Cut a circle of wax or parchment paper 8 inches in diameter. Center it on top of the 14-inch tier. Insert a plastic drinking straw or a piece of wooden dowel straight down into the cake at one edge of the paper circle. Mark the straw or dowel at the surface of the frosting, remove it, and cut at the mark to make a support. (Use pruning shears to cut a wooden dowel.) Cut 5 more supports identical in length. Insert the supports into the cake, evenly spaced around the perimeter of the paper circle. Put a generous teaspoon of frosting in the center of the paper circle.
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Cut a circle of wax or parchment paper 4 inches in diameter. Center it on top of the 10-inch tier. Mark and cut 4 or 5 supports and insert them evenly around the perimeter of the paper circle. Put a small dollop of frosting in the center of the paper circle.
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Do not install supports in the 6-inch tier.
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 Lift the 10-inch tier with the long pancake turner or your hand and hold it centered over the paper circle on the 14-inch tier. Lower the front edge (opposite you) first, with a friend guiding you if possible. In place of your hand and the spatula put a small paring knife or the small offset spatula, which will be easier to remove without damaging the frosting, on the lower tier; lower the tier into place. Carefully remove the paring knife blade.
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Transfer the 6-inch tier to the center of the 10-inch tier, using the procedure described above. If you are planning to “stake” the cake, do so now.
To “Stake” the Cake for Travel
 Cut a length of 1/4-inch wooden dowel slightly shorter than the height of the cake. Whittle a long sharp point in one end, or use a pencil sharpener. Drive the stake straight down into the center of the cake, tapping with a hammer. (You will cover the hole in the top of the cake with decoration.)
To Decorate the Cake
If you have a lazy Susan or a turntable, set the cake on it. Adjust the consistency of the frosting or buttercream as necessary (see page 989) so that it holds a good stiff shape when piped. Fit the star tip into the pastry bag and fill the bag no more than half full with frosting or buttercream. If you need practice, set an empty cake pan on a plate and pipe a border that covers the seam where the edge of the pan meets the plate. When satisfied, pipe a border around the base of the top tier where it meets the tier below. Pipe a similar border to cover the seam between the 10-inch tier and the bottom tier. Refrigerate the cake to set the frosting before decorating. The cake is now ready to decorate with buttercream roses and leaves or fresh flowers.
To Make Buttercream Roses
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 You can make the roses in advance, piping them onto squares of wax or parchment paper, and refrigerate or freeze until needed. Use the pastry bag and coupling, round tip #12, rose tip #103 or #104, and flower nail #7. The buttercream (or other frosting) must be as stiff as possible. Some cake decorators use Quick White Icing, adding 1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening to the butter in the recipe for more stability. Color the frosting judiciously with food coloring if desired; colors deepen with time, so it is better to tint subtly.
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Attach a 2-inch square of wax paper to the top of the flower nail with a dot of frosting. Make a cone-shaped base for the rose, shown: Hold the pastry bag fitted with the round tip #12 perpendicular to and touching the center of the paper square. Squeeze without lifting the bag until the tip is partially buried in a shallow mound of icing, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Continue to squeeze as you gradually raise the tip to form a cone of icing 1 1/2 times as high as the opening of the rose tip (#104) used to make the petals.
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Start the rose: Hold the bag at a 45-degree angle to the nail top, with the back of the bag pointing over your shoulder. The wide end of the tip should be just below the top of the cone, with the narrow end tilted over the point. Turn the nail counterclockwise one full turn as you squeeze and raise the tip up and away from the dome and then down around the base, overlapping your starting point and diminishing pressure toward the end. A ribbon of frosting should be wrapped around the cone like a rosebud.
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Pipe the first row of 3 petals: Hold the bag at a 45-degree angle to the nail top, with the wide opening touching the bud at midheight and the narrow end pointing straight up. Turn the nail about one-third of a turn while moving the tip up and back down to touch the base; form a half-circle-shaped petal. Stop squeezing and lift the tip away. Make the second and third petals the same way, beginning the second petal at the end of the first. Begin the third petal overlapping the end of the second and end it overlapping the beginning of the first. Repeat the procedure to pipe a second outer layer of petals and then a third, shown. Remove the rose on the square of wax paper and refrigerate or freeze until needed. After refrigerating, the roses can be transferred to the cake with a small pair of scissors: Open and then partly close the blades under the rose to lift it off the wax paper. Position the rose on the cake and close the scissors to release the rose. All of this takes practice!
To Pipe Buttercream Leaves
Use leaf tip #67 or #352. Pipe leaves directly onto the cake or onto wax or parchment paper, to be refrigerated or frozen until needed. The buttercream or frosting should not be as stiff as for the roses: stir buttercream over a pan of warm water to soften; thin powdered sugar icings with a few drops of milk. Tint with green food coloring. Hold the bag at a 45-degree angle to the surface. Start squeezing without moving the tip at first, to let the icing fan out. Diminish pressure gradually as you pull the tip away and draw the leaf to a point. The faster you move the tip, the longer the leaf. If the leaf tip is broken instead of pointed, thin the icing a little more. Transfer chilled leaves to the cake with the tip of a paring knife.
To Decorate a Cake with Fresh Flowers
Decorate the cake only with unsprayed nonpoisonous flowers, such as roses, stephanotis, baby’s breath, pear and apple blossoms, citrus leaves and blossoms, jasmine, acacia, lilac, miniature carnations, scented geraniums, borage flowers, daylilies, English daisies, hollyhocks, honeysuckle, lilac, pansies, petunias, nasturtiums, and violets and hibiscus. Avoid lilies of the valley, which are poisonous. Flowers should be as fresh-looking as possible. Keep the flowers in water until just before using and snip them, and any leaves you plan to use, just before putting them on the cake. Flowers may be simply laid on the surface of the cake, or short stems can be sunk into florists’ vials filled with water and the pointed ends of the vials inserted in the cake. Roses that are at least partly closed are a good choice when flowers must remain on the cake for several hours without water. Pinch off outer petals if they are bruised or too open. Fresh or crystallized flowers and leaves—even those that are unsprayed and nonpoisonous—should never be eaten by guests unless they were specifically cultivated as food. Remove and set them aside when the cake is served.
More From This Book:
-
About Fondant
-
Basic Fondant
-
Gingerbread House
-
Gingerbread House Template
-
Kouglof
-
Three-Tier White Wedding Cake
-
Making a Three-Tier White Wedding Cake (assembling and decorating)
-
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
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