Make Your Own Cake: A Guide for the Brave

It is considered an act of bravery for a bride and groom to make their wedding cake. Most people don’t have the equipment it takes to make a multi-tiered cake to feed 100, and they don’t have the skill required to pipe the expected frosting frills. This is why most couples turn to professional bakers (see “Do You . . . Take This Cake?” on H9 for a guide to picking a baker).

But building a wedding cake--it is more an act of construction than simple baking--doesn’t have to be traumatic. Yes, it takes time . . . and large cake pans. There are, however, ways to make the process manageable for even inexperienced bakers.

Times Test Kitchen Director Donna Deane and Mayi Brady, a cook and stylist in the Test Kitchen, examined numerous cake recipes before designing our cover cake. The challenge was to create a cake that not only looked great while requiring few baking skills, but one that tasted good too.

To our great surprise, the cake we liked best after tasting Deane and Brady’s initial test batches was the one that happened to be low-fat. We don’t believe that a wedding reception is the time to worry about fat, but the basic cake recipe, adapted from Susan Purdy’s “Let Them Eat Cake” (Morrow, 1997), was moist, easy to slice, not too sweet and tasted good even without frosting.

The frosting we chose is a traditional buttercream (definitely not low-fat) from Marion Cunningham’s “The Fannie Farmer Baking Book” (Knopf, 1990). It’s easy to work with and gives the cake the right amount of richness for such a special occasion.

Fresh flowers decorate the top of the cake and satin ribbons wrap each tier, which means the piped frosting swirls can be kept to a minimum. Inside each layer, Brady spread blood orange marmalade to accent the subtle citrus flavor of the basic cake. The resulting cake tasted good enough that many tasters with no foreseeable wedding plans decided to make smaller versions for themselves (the recipe is easily halved).

If you do follow the directions to create a cake for 100, don’t be alarmed if the cake doesn’t look perfect after frosting; the ribbons and flowers will cover a multitude of imperfections. If only the nagging imperfections of married life were as simple to fix.

ORANGE LAYER WEDDING CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

This cake recipe was adapted from Susan Purdy’s “Let Them Eat Cake” (Morrow, 1997). The buttercream frosting recipe is from “The Fannie Farmer Baking Book” by Marion Cunningham (Knopf, 1990). You can buy separator plates, cake dowels and the pastry bag at a cake supply shop. The wax paper strips protect the ribbons from the frosting. You will need to make multiple batches of both recipes to keep from overwhelming your mixer, so note that in all you’ll need 12 1/2 cups cake flour, 29 eggs, 7 1/2 cups sugar, 6 cups powdered sugar, 2 jars of preserves, 3 pounds butter, etc. It’s a lot, but you are baking cake for 100.

CAKE BATTER

(Complete cake requires 2 1/2 recipes)

Nonstick cooking spray

5 cups cake flour plus extra for dusting

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 egg whites

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups low-fat milk

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/2 cup canola oil

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 teaspoons orange extract

1/4 cup grated orange peel

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (Complete cake requires 4 recipes)

6 egg yolks

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

INITIAL ASSEMBLY

1 (15-inch) cardboard round

2 (16-ounce) jars blood orange marmalade or other jam or preserves

1 (12-inch) cardboard round

1 (10-inch) cardboard round

1 (6-inch) cardboard round or 6-inch separator plate

18 (1/4-inch round) cake dowels, 2 1/2 inches long

FINAL ASSEMBLY

15x1 1/2-inch strip wax paper

13x1 1/2-inch strip wax paper

11x1 1/2-inch strip wax paper

7x1 1/2-inch strip wax paper

15x1 1/2-inch strip ribbon

13x1 1/2 -inch strip ribbon

11x1 1/2-inch strip ribbon

7x1 1/2-inch strip ribbon

Pastry bag and 2D star tip

Flowers and ivy

Toothpicks

CAKE BATTER

Coat 14-inch round pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with 14-inch circle of wax paper and coat paper with cooking spray. Dust with flour and tap out excess.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat egg whites in large mixing bowl until foamy, then gradually add 1 cup sugar while beating at medium-high speed until almost stiff. Whites should be satiny, glossy and perfectly smooth. Shake beaters into bowl and set bowl aside.

Heat milk until just lukewarm, 95 to 100 degrees, and set aside.

In another large mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, yogurt, canola oil, vanilla and orange extracts and grated peel. Beat to blend, then add remaining 2 cups sugar. Beat 2 minutes. On low speed, slowly pour in lukewarm milk and beat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick and light in color, about 5 minutes. Scrape sides of mixer bowl.

Gradually blend flour mixture into yolk batter. Beat until smooth. Mix one-third of beaten egg whites into batter to lighten, then gently fold in remaining batter until smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Tap pan on counter once or twice to remove any air bubbles.

Bake at 350 degrees until top is golden and springy to the touch and cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For subsequent layers: Repeat batter recipe, this time using batter to fill 1 (12-inch) and 1 (6-inch) round pan; 12-inch cake will bake in about 45 minutes and 6-inch cake in 35 to 40 minutes. When done, set aside to cool.

Now make half-batch of batter and fill 1 (10-inch) round pan. Bake about 40 minutes.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Combine egg yolks, sugar and salt in large mixing bowl and beat until mixture is thick and very pale, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter and beat until smooth. Beat in vanilla and add remaining butter 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Empty into very large mixing bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate. Makes about 3 cups frosting.

Repeat recipe 3 more times to make 4 batches in all. As each batch is finished, add to very large mixing bowl and stir together to ensure consistent color and texture.

INITIAL ASSEMBLY

When all cakes are baked and thoroughly cooled and all buttercream is made, begin assembly. (If buttercream has been refrigerated for more than 2 or 3 hours and has hardened, beat again until soft enough to spread easily.)

Spread 1 tablespoon frosting in center of 15-inch cardboard round to hold cake in position. Place 14-inch cake layer in center of 15-inch cardboard round.

Measure halfway up cake layer and mark this level all around cake with several toothpicks, then split in half with long serrated knife. Remove top half; discard toothpicks. Spoon about 1 cup marmalade onto top of bottom half, spreading evenly over entire surface. Replace top half. Brush excess crumbs from top and sides of cake layer.

Spread generous 1 cup buttercream frosting over top and sides. Insert 6 dowels vertically in circle about 2 inches from edge of cake, pressing them right down to cardboard round. Refrigerate layer.

Repeat process, including insertion of dowels, for 12-inch cake layer, putting cake on 12-inch cardboard round and using about 3/4 cup marmalade for filling and about 1 cup buttercream frosting.

Repeat process, including insertion of dowels, for 10-inch cake layer, putting cake on 10-inch cardboard round and using about 1/2 cup marmalade for filling and about 3/4 cup buttercream frosting.

Put top cake layer on 6-inch cardboard round or decorative plastic cake plate. Omit filling and dowels and frost with about 1/2 cup buttercream.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Remove bottom (14-inch) cake layer from refrigerator and place on serving tray. Top with 12-inch cake layer. Add more frosting to cover completely. For satiny surface, use spatula dipped in cold water for smoothing sides and top.

Wrap 15-inch strip wax paper around base of bottom cake layer. Secure ends with dab of frosting or hatpin. Repeat, wrapping 13-inch strip wax paper around 12-inch cake layer. Refrigerate.

Remove 10-inch cake layer from refrigerator and top with 6-inch layer. Repeat frosting process. Wrap 11-inch strip wax paper around 10-inch cake layer, and wrap 7-inch strip wax paper around 6-inch layer. Refrigerate.

Remove bottom 2 cake layers from refrigerator. Set 15-inch ribbon on wax paper strip around bottom layer, using dab of frosting or hatpins to secure ends. Repeat, attaching 13-inch ribbon to 12-inch layer. Using pastry bag fitted with 2D star decorative tip, pipe buttercream around edges of cake to decorate. Refrigerate.

Repeat process with 10-inch and 6-inch layers. Refrigerate.

Just before serving cake, remove from refrigerator and place top 2 layers on bottom layers. Arrange flowers and ivy on and around cake layers. As you cut cake, remove ribbon, hatpin and wax paper from each layer and discard ivy and flowers.

100 servings. Each serving:

325 calories; 282 mg sodium; 123 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.06 gram fiber.

Assembling the Cake

1. Smear dollop of frosting on prepared cardboard circle and place cake layer on cardboard. Mark the halfway point on cake layer with toothpicks, then split in half with a long sharp or serrated knife.

2. Spread marmalade or jam over entire cut surface of cake.

3. Replace top of cake layer and roughly frost top and sides of cake.

4. Insert 6 dowels vertically into cake, forming circle about 2 inches from the edge. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for second layer. Place second layer, cardboard side down, on dowels.

5. Wrap wax paper strip around top cake layer. Repeat with bottom layer.

6. Place ribbon over wax paper on both layers and secure with little bit of frosting or hatpin.

7. Using pastry bag fitted with 2D star decorative tip, pipe buttercream frosting around edge of cake. Refrigerate 2 layers until ready for final assembly. Repeat process for top 2 cake layers. Top layer does not need to be filled. When close to serving time, place top 2 cake layers on bottom 2 layers. Decorate with fresh flowers and ivy, using small flowers to cover pins, if desired.