Homemade wedding cake

• top tier1 x

  see 'Goes well with'

• middle tier1 x

  see 'Goes well with'

• bottom tier1 x

  see 'Goes well with'

• apricot jam↗half a 454g jar

  you'll use the rest later

• pack natural marzipan500g g
• unsalted butter↗500g g

  softened

• icing sugar↗1kg kg

  sifted

• good-quality lemon curdjar
• carton double cream↗142ml ml
• bar plain chocolate↗200g g

  (70% cocoa), broken into pieces

• - 500g/1lb2oz white ready-to-roll icingFRUIT CAKE

  cream food colouring paste

• - 1kg/2lb4oz white ready-to-roll icingLEMON CAKE

  dusty pink food-colouring paste

• - 1.7kg/3lb 10oz white ready-to-roll icingCHOCOLATE CAKE

  ivory food-colouring paste

• - 800g/1lb12oz white ready-to-roll icingFOR THE BOARD

  ivory food-colouring paste

• icing sugar↗200g g
• egg white1
• dowelling rods
• deep-round cake tin15cm, 23cm and 30cm
• greaseproof paperplenty
• silver cakethick 35cm diameter

  drum (base)

• diameter silver cake boardthin 15cm, 23cm and 30cm
• long serrated knife
• palette knife
• and pink food colouring↗cream, ivory

  pastes

• long roll↗

  ing pin

• standard plastic dowelling rods6
• strong kitchen scissors
• ribbon1m ivory

  15mm wide

• medium artist's paintbrush
• cooling rack
• string

  for measuring

• cake20cm, 25cm, 33cm

  boxes with lids (if transporting the cake)

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Cover the fruit cake with marzipan: boil the apricot jam with 2 tbsp water, sieve, brush the 15 cm cake board with a little jam, cut off the rounded top of the cake and turn it upside‑down onto the board, measure the top and sides with string, cut the string to length and brush the cake with a thin layer of apricot jam.

2. 2

   Dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll the marzipan into a circle large enough to cover the cake top and sides, using the string as a guide. Lift it over the cake, smooth with your hands, trim the marzipan to the base of the cake and leave to dry for a day (or ice immediately if short on time).

3. 3

   Fill and cover the chocolate and lemon cakes with buttercream, adding either good‑quality lemon curd or silky chocolate ganache to the buttercream for a flavored filling.

4. 4

   Make the buttercream: beat the softened butter until creamy, then gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar. Weigh 600 g of the mixture and stir in 5 tbsp of lemon curd.

5. 5

   Make chocolate ganache: bring the double cream to a boil, pour over the broken chocolate, stand for 2 minutes, stir until smooth, let cool to a liquid state and fold into the remaining basic buttercream.

6. 6

   Once each cake is completely cool, level the top with a long serrated knife, spread a little of the matching buttercream on the corresponding thin cake board, turn the cake upside‑down onto the board and brush all over with a thin layer of sieved apricot jam to prevent crumbs getting into the buttercream.

7. 7

   Cut each cake horizontally into three layers; refrigerate if the kitchen is warm, then lift each layer and set aside in the correct order for re‑stacking.

8. 8

   If the buttercream has hardened, microwave on defrost for 10 seconds and beat well. Spread about a quarter of the buttercream over the first layer; for the lemon cake swirl a tablespoon of lemon curd over the icing. Stack the remaining layers, spreading the rest of the buttercream over the top and sides, smooth, and set aside. The cakes are now ready for ready‑to‑roll icing and will keep up to three days.

9. 9

   Cover all the cakes with ready‑to‑roll icing, subtly colouring the different tiers with ivory, dusty‑pink and cream food‑colouring pastes.

10. 10

    For the marzipanned fruit cake only, lightly brush with cooled boiled water to help the icing stick. Dust the work surface with icing sugar, knead the icing until pliable, add a few specks of food‑colouring with a toothpick and work the colour in until evenly coloured and smooth; add more colour if a deeper shade is desired.

11. 11

    Dust the work surface again and roll the coloured icing into a circle large enough to cover the sides and top of the cake with a little excess, using the string to measure as before. Lift the icing over the cake, using a rolling pin to help.

12. 12

    Smooth the icing around the cake with your hands, trim off the excess with a sharp knife and leave overnight to dry. Once iced, keep the cakes for up to three days.

13. 13

    Once the cakes are iced, cover the 35 cm board: brush lightly with cooled boiled water, cover with ivory‑coloured icing, trim and leave overnight to dry.

14. 14

    Stack the cakes: insert dowelling rods to give stability, cut them to equal length so each tier sits on an even platform.

15. 15

    Make royal icing: in a large bowl beat egg white, gradually add icing sugar until the mixture is thick and smooth; cover with cling film until needed.

16. 16

    Starting with the chocolate cake, insert three dowelling rods in a triangle, slightly offset to one side and no wider than the base of the lemon cake that will sit on top. Mark the top of the icing on each dowel with a permanent pen.

17. 17

    Pull the dowels out, lay them on the work surface, re‑mark each rod to the highest point, score around the marks with scissors and snap the plastic cleanly.

18. 18

    Re‑insert the rods, rounded end down. Cut a thin ivory ribbon to fit around the thick base board and secure it with glue or double‑sided tape. Spoon a little royal icing into each dowel hole, lift the chocolate cake onto the board, then stack the cakes, positioning each and gently lowering it onto the one below; slide a palette knife under to guide the cake down.

19. 19

    Time plan – up to a month ahead: make the fruit cake and cover it with marzipan; make the chocolate and lemon cakes if you plan to freeze them (they keep up to one month).

20. 20

    Up to four days ahead: make the chocolate and lemon cakes fresh, wrap well in baking parchment and cling film and store in a cool place; make the chocolate and lemon buttercream and keep it in the fridge.

21. 21

    Up to three days ahead: fill and cover the chocolate and lemon cakes with buttercream, cover all cakes and the board with ready‑to‑roll icing, and insert the dowelling rods.

22. 22

    Up to two days ahead: frost the rose petals.

23. 23

    On the day: stack the cakes and decorate with the rose petals once the cakes are in place.