Hello,

I am making my first wedding cake, yeah scary. lol. I have made about 10 themed cakes before and I am very nervous about my first wedding cake. You know that's the one thing at a wedding people love to see and eat. Anyway I have a couple of questions and would love some help!!

I usually use the WASC recipe. It is a heavy cake. I want to do some kind of strawberry filling. I am scared my filling will get absorbed into the cake, how to I prevent this? Do I actually cut the cake in half and fill the middle? or just between the cakes?

Can some one please pass along a really good strawberry filling....please.

Is the WASC recipe the best one to use for a wedding cake? I thought about a white cake, but I have no idea what recipe is the best.

OH, let me tell you what I want to do. A three tier cake, 10,8,6. I am BUYING my fondant this time. MMF is so unpredicatble. I am using satin ice. I know about support, I have did one, yeah just one 3 tier cake before. Her wedding will be on a Sat. I plan on baking on Thurs, and decorating on Fri. Should I place the completed pieces in the fridge after I am done? It's quite humid here in Va.

My buttercream recipe is using all butter, not shortening. So it will melt quicker. It's the classic vanilla buttercream recipe on this site.

Sorry for so many questions!! I just want to make the best cake I can for my daughter! 

Her colors are red, white and black. I thought the strawberry filling would be great. If you think the best cake would be WASC, please let me know. OR if you have a very good white cake recipe, please share. I am going to search this site now for recipes.

Thanks for all of your expert advice!!! I appreaciate it!

Karen

Smucker's seedless jam is great with WASC. WASC is great for wedding cakes.

1)  Please try A Better White Cake byFromScratchSF.  I will post links below.  It is wonderful, and the only white cake recipe I use.  I have doubled it many times to make larger cakes with no problems.  It tastes great, is not dry, and not dense.  It is also very easy to make.  It is perfect with SMBC and strawberry filling.

2} Below is my favorite  strawberry filling.  It is fresh tasting, thick, and does not soak in and make the adjacent cake soggy. I have had it in an assembled cake for 24 hours before serving.  I recommend cutting the strawberries into fairly small pieces so it is easier to cut and eat.  If you are really worried about it soaking into the cake, put a thin layer of buttercream on the cake surfaces above and below the strawberry filling.  It may be a little more prone to slide though.  Either way, it is wise to put a buttercream dam around the outside edge. 

3}  As far as layering/stacking your cakes, it depends on how many layers you want for each tier.  (4 layers of cake, 3 layers of filling or 2 layers of cake, one layer of filling, for example) and how tall do you want each level to be?  I think 4 to 5 inches for the final height (cake layers plus fillings/frosting)  is often 4 to 5 inches tall for each tier, but varies greatly depending on the look you want. If after baking and leveling you have 2 " tall cakes and need 4 1" tall cakes, torte them (cut horizontally with a leveler, Agbay or long serrated knife).  Then 2 cakes makes 4 layers.  If you want fewer layers, then each one may need to be taller, and you may just use a full cake, leveled for each layer.  I like 3 to 4 cake layers for each tier.  For 3, I  bake 3  separate cakes, and for 4, I bake 2 taller cakes and torte, although sometimes I will make 4 separate cakes to get the height, especially for bigger cakes. (Bigger, really deep cakes can take a long time to bake, and are more prone to bake unevely - whole separtae topic!)  Hope that makes sense.  Bottom line, it doesn't matter, just whatever you need to do to get the height you need.

4)  Consider buying Massa Grischuna Neutral fondant from Albert Ulster Imports. They ship it in 2 days, and the company is great.   It is the best there is, and this is a very special occasion!    It tastes great, and is a dream to work with.  The 13.5 pound tub will do your whole cake.   The cost is close to Satin Ice, but it is wonderful.  You will never go back.       

5)  I have never tried refrigerating a fondant covered cake, but many do.  You can look up those discussions.  I bake and make frostings ahead of time and freeze.  Defrost and assemble, the day before, Fondant the evening before, or morning of depending on the time of the event.  After applying fondant I don't refrigerate any more, but keep in a cool place of course. Hopefully the wedding is indoors. If not, try to put it out at the last minute.  The massa Grischuna fondant is less affected by heat and humidity than most others.  If you are really worried, consider using white chocolate ganache under the fondant (3:1 ratio white chocolate to cream by weight).  Try some practice cakes first of course.  

http://www.auiswisscatalogue.com/505023/1-ENRO.html

http://fromscratchsf.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/white-cake-part-3-with-recipe/

http://www.food.com/recipe/strawberry-filling-10045

Thanks for the help!

Yortma,

I am probably doing 2" layers, and putting 2 together for each tier...so about 4 inches or so.  I have never made a scratch cake, but if this is a no fail recipe lol, I'm all for it.

Would you say that the white cake mix would fill a 10" pan well? or do I need to make a double batch?

I think the white and red (strawberries)  would be great considering that's her colors.

I have heard something about simple syrup for keeping a cake's moisture. Should I use this?

Thanks sooo much for both of your help. I am so excited but nervous about a wedding cake. Kinda glad it's my daughter and just the family..lol for my first one.

AThis recipe is the Scratch version of the wasc cake If it's as moistest the Wasque you should Not need simple syrup. I would make a test case before I made the actual wedding cake that way you can test it and see what works for you and how long to bake.

Thanks,

I definately will try a practice cake. Esp a knew recipe. I know for sure my wasc cakes turn out good.

And I have never had jam make my cake soggy...I stick with what works for me especially for a big occasion when you are already stressed out. If something is goingto go wrong with a new recipe, that is when it usually happens...lol

I always use a wash (simple syrup) even on incredibly moist cakes.  It's what I was taught by my chefs in culinary school.  ::shrugs::  Also, please use SPS for support to take all the worries out of this very special cake.  Ordering info in my signature line.  You can bake the cakes a couple of weeks ahead, wrap and freeze.  Allow time for settling.  There's a whole thread about that.

I would love to bake my cakes way before time! So freezing may be the way to go. I do suffer from chronic pain and doing all this work in 3 days would take a toll on me, BUT it's for my daughter!

AI froze MY daughters wedding cake. And many layers that went into $1000+ wedding cakes for customers.

I freeze almost all of the time.  I think the cakes are moister, and I prefer doing so, even if it is only a few days ahead.  I do not use simple syrup on this cake as it is great without it, unless I want extra flavor.  The recipe makes 5 cups of batter which is more than enough for a single 10" round.  In fact, it should make a 10" and a 6" with one recipe.  Definitely test ahead, for peace of mind.  

Yortma,

How fast do you put your cakes in the freezer? Do you set the pan aside and let it cool completely? Take it out of the pan and cool? and I am guessing a few good layers of saran wrap.

Ideally, take the cakes out of the pans about 10 to 15 minutes after they come out of the oven.  I run a knife around the outside edge to release, and then put on a cooling rack until cool.  (I always use parchment on the bottoms of the pans, and the homemade cake release on the sides).  If it cools in the pans (and I've done that many times)  the cake sticks a little more around the edges, but run the knife around, and it is no problem.  I have read on CC that some people wrap and put the cakes in the freezer still warm to keep in the moisture better, but I haven't experimented with that. If I know the plan in advance, I level and torte, to get as much done ahead of time as possible.  And then, yes, wrap well with several layers of plastic wrap.  Freeze until a few hours before assembling.  Then take out and unwrap.  I loosely lay the plastic wrap over the cakes while defrosting so they don't dry out, but if left tightly wrapped, condensation can make the tops a little wet and sticky.  They don't even need to be completely defrosted before assembling, unless you still need to torte them.  If you have frozen your buttercream too, it may take longer to defrost completely, so  remember to take it out even earlier.  HTH

PS:  I took a peek at your photos and your cakes are great!  I think you don't need to worry, your wedding cake will be wonderful.  The more you plan, the easier it will be!

Yortma

Thanks alot for your help! Now that I have started viewing wedding cakes, I REALLY like the rose swirl look, maybe for one tier. The funny thing is my daughter said she doesn't care what the cake looks like! lol. My choice. She's so easy to work with..haha.

Thanks again!