This is the cake I made for my brother's wedding. For context, cakes arent really my focus when it comes to baking. I'll made cakes for the fun of it, but I've never made a tiered cake, let alone a wedding cake.
This was definitely a frustrating process as I'd tried to explain to my family for MONTHS that I did not feel comfortable making a wedding cake. They didnt listen, they didnt make any backup plan, I probably should have outright said no earlier on, but I was trying to explain that there's a reason wedding cakes are expensive and its not simply a matter of making a "bigger cake." Bottom line, my concerns were ignored and I was guilted into making this work because they would've otherwise ended up with my dad making a box cake. GAHHH!!! After telling my brother I would do my best to make something nice, I tried to convince him that a cutting cake would be a lot easier and still look great and they could get a sheet cake for guests. The response – thats stupid, cutting cakes are lame. My thought – well maybe you should cough up the money and pay for your damn cake instead of begging your sister for a free cake!
This took me 4 days to complete, including two days I took off work. The fondant looks a lot better in photos. Irl the fondant on the gold layer was meeessy, but for never having worked with fondant before I cant complain. The middle layer was also improvised. I'd intended for it to be white, but some of the red food coloring from a rose fell onto the layer and I had to do something which appeared intentional to cover up the smudge. Although it didnt turn out exactly as I'd envisioned, I was expecting it to look a lot worse and I was actually pretty pleased overall. I think im too traumatized to do something like this ever again, but I did give me a deep appreciation for all the souls out there who make cakes professionally. People really dont seem to understand how much effort and time goes into something like this.
by natarata23
27 Comments
I’m sorry you were coerced into baking something so complicated that takes hours and lots of effort to make. like, wedding cakes are expensive FOR A REASON 🙁 also that the process ended up being so frustrating (i have never made a layered cake before, and it seems wayyy above my baking skill level- i can’t imagine what it would be like if i had to make it for a WEDDING)
anyway it looks great and i love the flowers, you did a great job.
I’m so so so sorry. My sister did something similar, basically just volunteered me to make her cake for her wedding (of 150 people)… so we’re in the trenches together friend. For what it’s worth, I think it looks great for someone that isn’t super comfortable with/normally making cakes! 💛
I’ve made 5 wedding cakes for 5 family weddings, and they’ve been a disaster every time.
That’s just how they roll
OOF. Why is family so weird about this stuff?! I’ve made a tiered cake exactly once. I’m fine with layered cakes, but multiple tiers is asking too much. Especially when you’ve made it clear that you’re not comfortable and you are offering reasonable alternatives.
If it’s any consolation, you did a great job, and I love how you masked the goof with the flower!
Hi OP, I’m sorry you were pressured to bake the cake, and even having to take time off work to do it 😐
Glad you’re pleased with the cake because it looks
absolutely beautiful and very professional too! Love the golden tier and roses, and the colour effect on the middle tier looks so pretty too! 😍
I bet that after seeing this cake other friends and family will be asking you for more wedding cakes! Hope you can gracefully decline!
This came out lovely and rustic looking, beautiful! Nobody dare complain about anything!
It doesn’t look all that bad, and your brother should be delighted you even tried…
Out of curiosity, what is a “cutting cake”?
My family does stuff like this too!! I’ve thankfully never had to make a wedding cake, but I could definitely see that happening in the future.
My family’s kind of lazy and had me start cooking for them when I was probably 9. I’m decently creative/artistic and they started pushing me into baking. I hated it at first, but it eventually became a hobby. Still not really something I like being forced to do for others.
No matter what I say or do, they guilt trip me and tell everyone in advance how I’m “going to bake this and cook this and it’s going to be better than anything you’ve ever tasted!” Like… they “compliment” me by raising standards and people’s expectations of me.
And then I get questioned by multiple people (some I don’t even know) when I’m going to bake/cook for them since my skills are so good. And they literally expect me to make it and push for me to do it.
Extremely stressful.
That’s chef door mat at your service.
Considering that you were basically forced to make it.. it looks pretty good. 4 days tho…. That’s a long time
To spend on a cake.
People truly don’t understand how difficult wedding cakes are… I spent only one day on my wedding cake. But lol I’ve been told it’s awful and doesn’t look professional even though.. I am a pastry chef.
Well..it’s a cake it looks good and most importantly it’s for your brother. Hope you put some Dow rods in there for stability and next time jusy say no..or do classic 8”,6”,4”.
4 days including two days off work? They made you pay for their cake, in materials, time, and income lost.
My daughter wants me to make her wedding cake. I tried to tell her no way. In fact, I did. But she is insisting. Thankfully the wedding is years away, but I’ll be stressed anyway just thinking about it! You did great and I’m sure your family truly appreciates it!
That’s really annoying that they forced you to do this basically FOR FREE (and possibly at cost to you because of ingredients and taking time off work). You did get to test your skills and learn some new things though which is never a bad thing! I hope you’ll let us know what their reaction is to the cake.
I never made a cake without having some level of panic attack and I consider myself a pretty chill baker.
This looks lovely, especially given the circumstances! Cakes are HARD
You did the damn thing! Well done
Seriously, it was never a free cake cause you spend 4 days. It’s no joke. I do appreciate all the cake makers’ and pastry chefs’ work. The amount of work is literally insane. A wedding cake? That’s a whole another story for sure. The cake looks good and your brother got a “free” cake. Good for him… I guess.
I would have just bought a Market Basket sheet cake in your shoes lol
Your fondant looks great, did you make it yourself?
If it makes you feel better, I made a 3 tier cake before and it’s no easy task. I did it in one day with homemade fondant in a small NYC apartment with no central AC, so the colors and marble pattern all ran together. This was 5 years ago and I STILL cringe when I think about the cake. I was disappointed because it was a birthday party with 200 people there (not all eating the cake, but they saw it) and although it wasn’t terrible, I just felt like it wasn’t showcasing my talents at all. Anyway, I think homemade fondant is much easier to work with so I’m curious if you’ve done that here. Sorry for the stress this caused you but you did amazing under the circumstances!
God your family suck. If anyone tried to pull this on me I’d tell them to kick rocks.
They had better not expect a gift on top of this cake gift for their wedding. You are one dedicated sister! So sorry you got voluntold to do something so difficult. For what it’s worth, it turned out quite pretty and very Fall.
How about doing less baking and doing more learning to say no
I enjoy baking but get so stressed when I make cake so I am very impressed!
I made cakes at my wedding, but did a bunch of single layer.. A few chocolate depression cakes, a few other flavors some pies..
How do you eat this? Start with the small cake and go down? Get a slice that’s like 2 different levels?
Given you never wanted to make this, I’d say you did a solid job! I volunteered to make my friend’s wedding cake and while it wasn’t perfect by any means, she was so happy and grateful. And at any time in the year I felt too uncomfortable to make it she would have done something else.
Many hugs to you 🫂
My dad asked me to make a wedding cake for him for his 2nd wedding. I said no. Told him grocery stores will do it. Their managers are trained to decorate them.
I went to culinary school so he automatically thought I could do something like that.