Article by Alison,
Kitchener, Ontario
Myths:
It is NOT impossible to make your own wedding cake. If you have some experience working with cakes and you have patience and are willing to take several tries at it, then it is not only possible but likely that you will succeed in making your own cake. If, however, you have never or rarely made a fancy cake and have no intention of taking any courses or if you think you will succeed on the first try, be warned: you are possibly headed for disaster.
You do not have to have years of experience to make a wedding cake. Some experience is advisable however. Making your own cake without any experience is like saying you are going to make your own wedding dress when you have never sat at a sewing machine. If you have a year until your wedding, consider taking a couple of cake courses to determine if you can make cakes, if you even like making cakes and how much trouble it is likely to be for you. You may find you love it and it can come in really handy for friends and family events or when you have children!
 If you only have a month until your wedding and no experience under your belt then making your own cake is not likely to go well. If you have left it this late, however, finding someone to make it for you could also be a very big problem. Most professional decorators will be booked several months ahead so it's imperative that you decide well ahead of time who'll make your cake. Getting an "emergency last minute cake" will likely also cost you a fair bit more as they'll need to squeeze you into their already full schedule (if they even agree to do so).
You do not have to make your cake anywhere near the wedding day. You can make the cake months in advance and freeze it. You can even cover it with ‘fondant’ and still freeze it as long as you take appropriate precautions to avoid ‘sweating’ when it is thawing.
Let’s face it, many people freeze the top tier of their cake and eat it at their first anniversary. If it was properly wrapped, it’s fine, right? So why do you have to have all of the pressure the day before the wedding. Take your time. Make your wedding cake 5 times if you need to and when you get a layer that works perfectly, freeze it!
Although you can freeze your cake, freezer space becomes another consideration. Do you have the freezer space to store your cake until the wedding? It is important that you have space that is safe.
There would be nothing worse that making the perfect tier, counting on it being available the day or so before the wedding (when you defrost it) and finding that your fiance shoved a box of frozen chicken wings into the side of it! You may decide at that point you don't really need a wedding cake after all because you have killed the groom. :-)
You should also freeze some of the frosting you use to ensure you can match the colours exactly if you need to do any minor repairs later.
You can buy the sugar flowers to decorate it and put them on the day of the wedding. You do have to keep in mind however that if you have never arranged flowers on a cake before you will likely need some practice. Also many fresh flowers (should you choose fresh) cannot go on cakes because they are toxic so check with your professional wedding florist if you plan to use fresh flowers on your cake.
 If you look at the cost of the ingredients to make a cake, it may seem logical that making your own cake will save you a small fortune. You can buy a boxed cake mix at the local grocer's for about $2.00, perhaps just a bit more if you use a scratch recipe with all fresh ingredients. This is not the bulk of the cost however. When you factor in good cake pans (do you have 3 or 4 sizes of square or round pans in your cupboard?), tiering supplies (posts, plates, cake boards, cake topper), decorating supplies (piping bags, at least a few tips) and the fact that you may need to take courses before hand to be able to produce the cake you want, making your own cake can cost almost as much as hiring someone to do it for you (sometimes more).
If you are a hobby baker and you do have the supplies mentioned above (or can borrow or rent them) and some experience then making your own cake can save you money.
Most people pick a cake out of a magazine. This is not necessarily the cake they want but it is a cake they like. When you hire a professional cake decorator to make your cake they should take the time to understand your needs. They should bring out of you a unique cake, one that is entirely your own and truly expresses what you are looking for from your wedding cake. Copying what is in a magazine is not only less likely to give you exactly what you want but it is also (depending on the design) very difficult. If you are not an experienced cake decorator it is hard to tell which cakes are easy to make and which are very difficult. What looks ‘simple and elegant’ can be very difficult to reproduce.
Facts
You need to think long and hard before you make the decision to make your own cake. You need to consider if you have the patience, the skill or are willing to take classes and have the time to make your wedding cake dream a reality. If you have answered no to any of the above then you may want to consider hiring a cake decorator or just having a dessert table stocked with desserts provided by your local grocery store or patissery.
Cake decorators do this for a living.
Do you do your own plumbing? Your own legal work? Your own car repairs?
Some people do. They save money and do a great job. Those people generally have some experience however or get some training first and if it doesn’t work out they get someone in to fix the problem. Remember, if you leave making your cake to the last minute and it doesn’t work out you will be hard pressed to find a professional to make you a cake for your wedding ‘next week’. Start early! Practice! If you want to do this…DO IT. But do it right.
 Weddings are stressful. There are a lot of details to work out, choices to make, people to hire and let's not forget... you're also getting married, a rather big life change! Making your own cake adds a lot of stress to an already stressful time. If you can live with the cake being a complete disaster or not having a cake at all because it didn’t work out correctly, if you are the kind of person who can say ‘oh well’, shrug it off and calmly fall back to Plan B (desert table only) then you may be able to do this. If your cake is critical to your ‘perfect day’ however you may want to contact a professional.
I am not a professional cake decorator by trade and have no vested interest in your decision regarding who you ultimately decide will make your wedding cake. I did not write this article to get your business or to dissuade you from making your own cake. I wrote it to create a reality check for you and to help you determine if you really want to do this.
I make cakes because I enjoy it. I have made them for friends, family and coworkers. I have made one wedding cake. I had several years of experience making other cakes (birthdays and showers, etc.) when I made it. The one wedding cake I made turned out well and it cost the bride about half of what it would have cost her to get her cake made by a professional.
Having said this it did not saver her thousands of dollars. It saved about $200 off what a pro might have charged. I also had some experience and I still made three attempts before I got it right. I have taken classes and it wasn’t my wedding so I didn’t have all the other wedding stresses. I was still freaked the whole time I was making it because I might ruin someone else’s wedding day.
Cake decorating can be a blast, I love it! It is a skill however and not everyone has the disposition for it.
| Alison lives in Kitchener Ontario and has been making cakes for family and friends for 7 years. She has taken numerous classes and enjoys all confectionary art. |
|
