Deluxe Wedding Cake for a Special Bride

I told you earlier this week that I would send you the cake recipe that we used for Mike and Barb’s wedding. If I were a amateur baker, I would not attempt this production, but for anyone with better than average baking and decorating skills, this really is not all that big a deal.

The advantage to this cake is taste. How many times have we all been subjected to the dry wedding cake with the awful frosting that looks good, but tastes like you are eating pure vegetable shortening? Which, of course, you are as it decorates and holds up well.

Some of these cakes taste like they were made and decorated a week in advance, and they often are. This one has airy, fluffy frosting and a minimum of cake decorations. Our only decorations were an antique bride and groom topper (okay, so it wasn’t exactly an antique, but it was the one from our wedding, and that makes it nearly an antique), a pair of classic Greek column cake pedestals, and a ring of pink roses, ivy, and fresh rosemary around the bottom layer of the cake. Equipment List: 1 12-inch round cake pan, 3 8-inch round cake pans, 1 5 inch-round cake pan, 4 cooling racks, pastry bag and fittings, 2 cake pedestals.

Basic Cake Recipe (Make this 3 times):

3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup soft butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
food coloring, optional to match the bride’s colors

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the 12-inch pan. Wet a strip of toweling and wrap it around the outside of the pan. Secure with a safety pin.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a heavy-duty mixer, such as the Pink KitchenAid 5-Qt. Artisan Stand Mixer, beat the butter and shortening until creamy. Gradually add the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beating well after each one. Alternately add the milk and the flour mixture and finally add the vanilla.

Pour the batter into the pan and make sure the batter top is smooth. Bake for 40 minutes and test for doneness. Cake may take up to 50 minutes. The wet towel keeps the outer edges from over baking. Let cake cook several minutes in pan and then turn out on a waxed paper rack to cool.

Clean the pans and prepare the same recipe for a second 12-inch layer.

For the third making, prepare the 3 8-inch pans and the 5-inch pan, also with wet toweling. The 5-inch pan will take about 20 minutes, and the others 20 to 25 minutes.

The cakes can be frozen at this point for up to a week. Cake should be at least one day old to frost.

If desired, the layers can be tinted to match the bride’s colors.

The cake must be assembled the day of wedding to be nice and fresh.

Trim off any dark edges from the layers. With a long, serrated bread knife, slice each layer in half, except the smallest which is the Bride’s Cake.

On one of the cut sides sprinkle 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier and on the mate sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of orange-flower water (or 1/4 cup Grand Marnier).

Place the top half of one of the 12-inch layers on the cake plate, cut side up. Spread about 3/4 of a cup for the Butter Cream (below) on the layer. Place the matching half of the layer on top, cut side down, and spread with another 3/4 cup of the butter cream. Continue with the second 12-inch cake so that you end up with four layers each with butter cream.

For the second layer, you can simply start it on top of the 12-inch layers, or you can use a smaller plate and plan on having pedestals between the layers. Treat the 8-inch layers the same as the 12-inch layers.

Cover the 5 inch cake with a thin coat of butter cream. Spread butter cream all over the layered cakes and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours so butter cream becomes firm.

Orange Butter Cream:

6 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 1/2 cups milk
7 sticks of soft butter
1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Beat yolks and sugar until mixture is creamy, but not foamy. Heat the milk and orange rind in a heavy saucepan until very hot. Remove from heat and slowly add to the egg yolks. Stir until well blended. Return to saucepan and cook custard, stirring constantly, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Custard will be thin.

Pour custard back into the mixing bowl and beat at highest speed until the custard is cool to the touch. Turn mixer speed to medium and being adding the butter in small pieces. When all butter has been added, beat at high speed until soft and fluffy. Blend in the Grand Marnier.

After Butter Cream on the cake has become firm, frost the cakes with Seven Minute Frosting (below). Be generous with the frosting so the cake looks soft and fluffy. Top the Cake with an Old Fashioned or Antique Bride and Groom Topper or some fresh flowers. Surround the bottom layer of the cake with fresh flowers to match the bride’s bouquet and colors.

Seven Minute Frosting:

2 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 egg whites
3/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons vanilla

Mix everything but the vanilla in a large mixing bowl of at least a 5 quart capacity. Place over a large pan of simmering water. With an electric hand mixer, like the Pink KitchenAid 7-Speed Pink Mixer, beat at high speed for 5 to 7 minutes and the frosting stands up in peaks. Remove from the heat and continue beating until the frosting is cooled; this will be several minutes. Finally beat in the vanilla. Frosting must be cool so it will not melt the butter cream covering.

This cake will serve about 60 guests.

We had Kathy also make 4 or 5 sheet cakes that one of the waitresses began cutting and sitting out during the wedding. That way, the waitress wasn’t trying to figure out how to cut the main cake and keep up the guests