DIY Wedding Cake?

kristin183 · January 2012

Is anyone making their own wedding cake? This scares me to death and I would never think of it normally but some things have happened over the past few months that I am thinking twice about it.

As some of you know I went through some allergy testing a few months ago and found out I am allergic to wheat and egg yolk. So that means a gluten free and egg white or Vegan Wedding cake.. which equals hard to find and EXPENSIVE! Our caterer is including their famous mud pie in their package. So the small cake is basically to put the cake topper on, cut, smash in each other's face and so I can have dessert. I love to bake so I started thinking about maybe making a small one... but I am terrified.. so is anyone making their own? and do they have any tips? pros/cons?

doeie04 · January 2012

I think if you want to do it you should! It doesn't sound like you are wanting an elaborate tiered cake or anything. Just practice and see if you can do what you have envisioned and if you can't, just buy one if you want.

melntaitt · January 2012

Practice, practice, practice!

If you have that sort of confidence then go for it; but remember to think about what goes into the frosting as well.

Good luck!

Megbo2012 · January 2012

Go for it! Definitely test it out a couple times (especially in the heat) just to see how it goes and alter it. I would still get a cheap cake for people if I could and then do a small fancier one (homemade) then its less pressure. That sounds like your plan so go for it!

laurabub · January 2012

You could always order regular cake that isn't so expensive for the rest of your guests and have a special cake (that you bake yourself) that adheres to your allergy requirements. Maybe that wouldn't be as daunting?

Have you ever looked at Wilton's website? They might have some gluten free recipes. I took one of their cake decorating classes (at Hobby Lobby, 4 classes/once per week and it was really fun and not as hard as I thought it would be). Actually now that I am thinking about it you should sign up for one of their classes if you are thinking about making your own cake. It was really fun and now I am not scared to try and make special cakes/cupcakes!! Maybe your BMs could go with you too!

laurabub · January 2012

http://www.thedailydietribe.com/2010/06/gluten-free-vegan-birthday-cake.html

This cake looks yummy

doeie04 · January 2012

DO IT!

peachykeen26 · January 2012

As a pastry chef, I wouldn't make my own wedding cake. I think you should do a cupcake tower. Also, go to your local Michaels or Hobby Lobby and take Wilton cake decorating classes. They are amazing and your will get so good at decorating so quickly its nuts.

laurabub · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_diy-wedding-cake-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:36bd1c6e-bc26-4b15-83b8-741eb876c875Post:2cdb03a1-e91c-4094-8b2a-dd865319c502">Re: DIY Wedding Cake?</a>:
[QUOTE]As a pastry chef, I wouldn't make my own wedding cake. I think you should do a cupcake tower. Also, go to your local Michaels or Hobby Lobby and take Wilton cake decorating classes. They are amazing and your will get so good at decorating so quickly its nuts.
Posted by peachykeen26[/QUOTE]

Actually cupcakes sounds like a good route and they are really cute. They probably are a much easier choice to make yourself.

kristin183 · January 2012

We have mudpie and smores for everyone else. This cake would really be for me.. and small. Real small. I was looking at the Wilton classes last year just for fun. I might check them out again... and of course practice.

I love cupcakes.. but another reason for the cake is that we bought an awesome custom made cake topper already. Not sure it would fit on the cupcakes

I have also thought about making a cheesecake. I make really good cheesecake and know it comes out well. (allergy free)

doeie04 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_diy-wedding-cake-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:36bd1c6e-bc26-4b15-83b8-741eb876c875Post:757bf4a4-08d7-400f-848d-f7fe8cf9641b">Re: DIY Wedding Cake?</a>:
[QUOTE]We have mudpie and smores for everyone else. This cake would really be for me.. and small. Real small. I was looking at the Wilton classes last year just for fun. I might check them out again... and of course practice. I love cupcakes.. but another reason for the cake is that we bought an awesome custom made cake topper already. Not sure it would fit on the cupcakes :) I have also thought about making a cheesecake. I make really good cheesecake and know it comes out well. (allergy free)
Posted by kristin183[/QUOTE]

I think you have a ton of options that will work with your cake topper. Why not make it and save yourself some money and you wouldn't have to worry about being allergic to it. :)

kelsey+brandon · January 2012

I'm not making our cake, but my aunt is baking it and making the icing. She's then getting a friend who makes wedding cakes to ice it for her.

DrPB2b13 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_diy-wedding-cake-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:36bd1c6e-bc26-4b15-83b8-741eb876c875Post:757bf4a4-08d7-400f-848d-f7fe8cf9641b">Re: DIY Wedding Cake?</a>:
[QUOTE]We have mudpie and smores for everyone else. This cake would really be for me.. and small. Real small. I was looking at the Wilton classes last year just for fun. I might check them out again... and of course practice. I love cupcakes.. but another reason for the cake is that we bought an awesome custom made cake topper already. Not sure it would fit on the cupcakes :) I have also thought about making a cheesecake. I make really good cheesecake and know it comes out well. (allergy free)
Posted by kristin183[/QUOTE]

A lot of people will also do cupcakes with a small cake on top for the cake topper and to cut!

I say if you're doing a small cake, go for it! The biggest "problem" I've heard about with making your own wedding cake is that the cake itself has to be very dense/sturdy to hold up to the weight of the various tiers, which is difficult to do while keeping a moist cake that's good to eat (hence the stereotype that wedding cake is gross). But if you're just making something for yourself, it doesn't seem like that will be a problem for you - and even better, you're definitely not restricted to what other people want or can make :) AND you get as many trials/tastings as you want until you come up with the perfect combination (or get sick of cake...hehe).

MMRoberts11 · January 2012

I say go for it with practice.
Wedding cakes need to be heavier in order to hold the weight of tiers (if you are going that route). There are also ways to "strengthen" the cake by adding sticks and things to help hold tiers in place to avoid it falling over or being lopsided.

I think if you are going with a simplier cake you should be fine. However, I do also agree that there are many options out there of what you could do.

kristin183 · January 2012

In Response to Re: DIY Wedding Cake?:
) AND you get as many trials/tastings as you want until you come up with the perfect combination (or get sick of cake...hehe).
Posted by DrPB2b13[/QUOTE]

FI like this idea

I think I will practice.. if I fail there are other options for a back up.

Zimsgirl · January 2012

There's no way I'd do mine. I don't think I'd let family do it even if someone was in the business.

chelseakopperud · January 2012

I totally think you can do it!!!

Another idea is to buy some round styrofoam and decorate that with fondant and then only have the top tier be real cake. A friend of mine did this and it looked AMAZING in pics and they just eat the top tier.

kristin183 · January 2012

So going through cake ideas and alternatives... and FI found this.
Rice Krispie treat wedding cake... and he is fixated on the idea. It makes me laugh and this can easily be made gluten free. My mom thinks I am crazy

I am waiting for a quote back from one other lady on how much the 2 tier cake will cost and take it from there.. I have a feeling it will be just as expensive as the others.. So I may be practicing making my own cake or a Rice Krispies cake

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