tiers of joy

There has never been more scope to have a unique cake designed reflecting your personalities.

Shopping around: Cake designers have different areas of expertise (eg sugarcraft, pastries or chocolate) so shop around until you find one who suits your tastes.

Symbolically yours: Cutting the cake is an ancient tradition and great photo opportunity. The cake will also be a centrepiece and talking point, so make sure it looks suitably stunning.

Darling, it’s so you: These days the cake is just one more way to wow your guests, to create a spectacle of style that will have even the snootiest aunty’s jaw hitting the ground. There are plenty of ultra-talented cake designers in Scotland, so if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary you’ll soon find a company that can bring your vision to life. Personalised cakes are increasingly common so they’re used to getting unusual requests. Be as specific as you can so that they understand exactly what you’re looking for.

Fill her up: There are loads of different fillings you could have (consider chocolate, lemon, coffee, carrot, vanilla sponge), and if you go for a combination of two or three, guests can have a choice.

It’s a set-up: Most cake-makers deliver to the reception venue and put everything together there. If the cake is arriving there the day before the wedding, make sure there is somewhere suitable to store it.

Stand and deliver: Check with the venue that there is a cake stand and knife available – if not ask your cake designer to lend/hire you the extras you need.

Budget busters: Wedding cakes can be pretty expensive, but there are ways of keeping costs to a minimum. Some cake designers agree to take ready-made cakes and simply be paid for decorating them. But cake designers will be happy to advise you on how to stick to your budget. Some will even ice fake plastic tiers to make a greater impact – nobody will know that only one has any cake underneath!

Ice ice baby: It used to be that royal icing was typically used for wedding cakes, but now sugar paste and fondant icing are more common, because they’re so much easier to work with and allow designers to squeeze more out of their creative juices.

Size matters: The general rule is that a ten-inch square (or 11-inch round) fruitcake will be adequate for 100 people. Remember that fruitcake is richer than most other types of cake, so if you’re serving anything else you should increase these rations a bit.

Size matters: The general rule is that a ten-inch square (or 11-inch round) fruitcake will be adequate for 100 people. Remember that fruitcake is richer than most other types of cake, so if you’re serving anything else you should increase these rations a bit.

Decoration... that’s what you need: The world’s your oyster when it comes to making the cake look pretty. Rose petals and other fresh flowers are always popular, as well as fruit or sugarcraft items. There are also some modern takes on the classic bride and groom characters who sit on top, some couples have caricatures of themselves designed!

Clueless: If you’re not really a cake person and don’t have an idea what you want, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask the designer to run you through their previous creations to see if anything catches your eye. Magazines, cake shops, wedding fairs and the web are also great sources of inspiration.

Fruitless endeavours: If you aren’t fond of fruitcake, and sponges don’t do much for you either, there are loads of alternatives. There’s the croquembouche for example, a pyramid of profiteroles covered in caramel and coated with spun brown sugar – very tasty! Or go for a stack of cup cakes instead. First cut is the weakest: Traditionally the cake cutting takes place after the speeches, but many couples wait until their evening guests arrive. Some couples also send cake on to any relatives or friends who couldn’t make the wedding. To save money you can always buy a smaller, less expensive cake for this purpose – no one will know the difference!

Season’s eatings: Remember to choose a cake that’s appropriate for the time of year you’re getting married. Chocolate cakes melt in the summer if on show for too long!

Balancing fact: Your cake should not only be scrumptious but also reflect the rest of your menu, so if you’re having quite a light starter and main course, why not go for a nice rich cake as a contrast?

Top Tips For Your Top Tier
– Cake designers House of Sugar offer a slice of their baking wizardry

• Don't be restricted by tradition or what your mum-in-law-to-be is suggesting! It's your day and your cake, have whatever flavour and filling your hearts desire. You can have a combination of flavours; bottom tier chocolate, middle carrot and orange, and top tier fruit for instance. Go for your favourite flavour and indulge your guests by ordering a cake in a sumptuous combination of flavours – everybody's happy!
• If you want to keep the top tier for a christening or special occasion, a really superb fruitcake should keep for years, but only if it has been properly sealed with scalding hot apricot jam and high quality almond paste. Make sure the staff at your venue know they are not to serve the top tier!
• To be traditional during the cutting of the cake, the knife should be taken in the bride’s right hand and the groom should place his hand over the top. Always play it safe and cut the bottom tier, many wedding cakes come to a prematurely sticky end because the couple try to cut the cake from above.
• Rather than have a traditional cake, you could have a 3D edible sculpture designed, either of yourselves, the wedding venue or of something that’s personal to you.
• A good rule to stick to when ordering sugar flowers is that an imaginary butterfly should have enough space to fly between each flower. This enables the design to stay simple and non-fussy.