M and S wedding cakes

[Shazafied]

Hello all!

A bit of advice please for a cake novice!

My brother is getting married in just over a week and when he came to visit me today said that they aren't having a cake as they can't afford one. :(

They haven't asked for any gifts so was just going to give them vouchers but have now agreed I'll sort a cake.

It's basically too late notice to get a proper cake made so I am going order simple white pre made cakes from marks and Spencer's.

Like this modern cake

https://www.marksandspencer.com/deep-filled-modern-cake-large-tier-pre-order-available-from-13th-february-2018-/p/pb17128424?carousel=FUNHATT_REFER

Or this traditional cake

www.marksandspencer.com/traditional-wedding-cake-extra-large-tier/p/pb940058?prevPage=plp


I was going to get an extra large and large tier. Stack them (in the easiest way possible) and place some premade decorations on (seen some lovely simple ones online).

I know nothing about stacking cakes though !!

The "modern" cakes don't seem to come on the silver boards so I'd need to dowel these wouldn't I ?

However, if you look at the "traditional" cakes - in one of the pictures they've stacked it without pillars and literally just plonked the cakes on top of one another, boards and all!! I'll try to attach this specific pic.

My question is, could I get the traditional cakes, turn up at the venue with them in the boxes, put them on top of each other on the cake table (boards and all) and place some silk flower decorations round (to obscure the boards?)

Or do I really need to dowel them?

Thanks all xx

[butlerswharf]

I don't know but it's nice of you to get the cake.

[Beach11]

I can’t answer the question re dowels but we had a 3 tort M&S wedding cake and it came pre stacked in the box. Just had to unpackaged, place on table & decorate. The cake was delicious & much nice than more expensive cakes.
Could you order a cake that was already stacked up?
Lovely present 💝

[Shazafied]

@Beach11 they all need 21 days . It's only the individual layers that I could get in time ...

[HoleyCoMoley]

How many people will it be for. I like the stacked ones, on top of individual boards, you can buy edible cake decorations from any supermarket, I'd put those around the edges and you'll need something on the top.

[Shazafied]

About 100 people!!

[Shazafied]

Looks like I need dowels through bottom cake layer then place the next cake (including board) on top....

Then find an easy decoration to place on it.

I think I can do it all in situ as I can pre -dowel the bottom cake at home, I'm not driving there with a stacked cake. Don't think anything is worth that stress !!!

[Finlaggan]

Can you buy a 3 tier wedding cake stand so that each cake sits on its own then you don't have the hassle of trying to stack them and it not looking great. You can get them on eBay and they look pretty nice.

[Yogagirl123]

You could hire a cake stand, and have the individual tiers displayed.

If you want to stack the cakes, it will need dowling for support.

Good luck, I hope the wedding goes well.

[FoxesSitOnBoxes]

We had M&S cake at our wedding, popped dowels in ourselves at the venue, stacked it up and used fresh flowers to decorate. Looked lovely

[Yogagirl123]

X post, great minds think alike!

[madmother1]

You could properly hire a cake stand?

[tipuptruck]

I had those M&S cakes for my wedding. Needed dowls (can't remember if I bought them separately or if they came with the cake). My venue actually offered to assemble it, but the instructions made it seem quite easy.

They were delicious

[Cloudyapples]

Something like this so they don’t have to be stacked? www.amazon.co.uk/Wilton-307-350-3-Tier-Pillar-Stand/dp/B002HFKMOU?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_8&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[stressbucket1]

The venue might have a wedding cake stand you could use. We had a plain m&s wedding cake on a wedding cake stand decorated with flowers and ribbon around in the colours of the bridesmaid dresses

[7toGo]

You must, must dowel them. It’s a very simple process - look on youtube videos.

[Shazafied]

Oh great yes I think I'll get a cake stand. Can literally unbox the cakes and plonk decoration on top of each cake.

[7toGo]

You can pre dowel all the layers at home.

Make sure the dowels for each layer are the same height as each other as the cake may be uneven.

Put the dowels ‘in’ a bit from the edge of the cake board on top.

I would put 7 dowels in a 10 inch cake, 5 in an 8.

Keep the flowers in a cold place (fridge/cool box with ice packs) until the very last minute.

[7toGo]

Another thing you can do is buy a thin round cake board one in smaller than the diameter of the cake. So, for example, a 7 inch board underneath the 8 inch layer. This will hide the board from sight and you can cover the join with the flowers.

You can get the thin boards from amazon in all diameters, only a couple of pounds each.

[7toGo]

www.amazon.co.uk/PME-Round-Cake-Card-7-Inch/dp/B00794F0NW/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Cake%20board%207%20inch&ie=UTF8&qid=1536609971&sr=8-2&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

These are the ones I use.

[7toGo]

Sorry just realised your flowers are silk! You may not need to keep them cool in that case

[Waterlemon]

I’m sure that I’ve seen the dowels sold next to the individual cakes in m&s.

[whymewhyme]

Aww how lovely that your getting the Cake! Hope he has a lovely day!

[Slobbymummy]

I make wedding cakes for a local venue, you are welcome to pm me for any advice or if you are local I might be able to help out

[Shazafied]

Thanks guys

I need a bit more help!

In light of the fact that I'll have a baby with me I'm going to go for the easiest possible option!

How about this cake stand (modern) - see pic

Then .....Would it be a big shit to just scatter sugar petals (artistically) on the top of each cake ?

If the stand is modern I think I need something modern and simple on the cakes , or it might look naff.

Her flowers are simple white (lilies / roses) and dress white with a naive ribbon .