Looking for a bake at home wedding cake for various food intolerances

[Mummythatbakes]

I’ve four months to go. DS and fiancé are both gluten free as are a few guests, DS is also dairy free (but have agreed that’s possibly one step to far and I’ll do something that looks like the wedding cake out the back in a cupcake size to probably accommodate that).

His fiancé would like a minimum of two tiers. A sponge type recipe. Finances are ultra short (thus me offering to bake a cake). She’d like flowers on it but not sugar ones, so possibly dried (and edible, but they seem very expensive).

Any advice on what recipes stood up to being a wedding cake. I’ll need to make or probably two days in advance. It’s got to be driven for two hours.
advice on icings, flavours etc. I’m sure I’ve forgotten loads so anything you think that’s helpful would be much appreciated.

The one I use is this one:
https://caroldeaconcakes.com/recipes/madeira-cake/ It freezes brilliantly. Sugar syrup it before freezing. It's a bit firmer than a Victoria sponge.

You can use Stork baking block instead of butter to make it dairy free. You will need to test it with GF flour though.

GF flour makes a cake that is more crumbly than regularly flour. Xanthen gum helps make it more robust.

The stand is what governs the need of the cake to be tiered or not. If you make the top tier gluten free and the bottom tier of normal flour it should hold enough to do American style stacking or pillars. If you don't want to do that, get a staggered stand. Or a stand that has spaces between each tier. I saw a wonderful invention where they had white card collars around each cake and the topping was flowers so only the top was iced. It was big though so not too close up.

Buttercream or white chocolate are taking over from fondant covered buttercream. You would not believe how thick the outside coating has to be to get a good finish. But it is reasonably forgiving, you grab a knife and dip it in hot water and patch it up. That's for standard buttercream. You start messing with merengue buttercream, you're on your own!

Colour governs the icing choice. White buttercream is near impossible to do and make taste nice. I'd suggest lemon and yellow as the easiest combo.for buttercream. Maybe with rosemary sprigs, caramalized lemon slices and frosted blueberries? If you go for plain white fondant you need a good brand like Spires . A texture mat gives a good look and means you don't have to worry about smooth perfection. Plonk fresh flowers on top for serving.

Lots of hobby bakers are happy to lend their kit. I do all the time. It makes cake making so much easier.

The brands of things are sometimes important and sometimes not. I go generic for butter and eggs but like McDougall self raising flour, the special sponge one if I can get it. Save money on castor sugar by whizzing granulated in the food processor. I do like Silver Spoon sugars especially icing sugars. I don't think Tate and Lyle are suitable for GF people any more as they put a different starch in now as a stabiliser, so check that.

Let us know what decisions you make. I've stepped in to help make an emergency wedding cake, it was great fun!

To make a tiered cake you can construct an internal 'scaffold' that takes the weight off the sponge.

The bottom tier should be conventionally placed and iced on a board later than the cake. The next tiers should be done on boards exactly the same size as the cake on them.

I used to use Macdonalds straws for this, but if 0.5cm plastic straws aren't available, then use 0.5cm dowel instead.

Push a straw down into the cake, mark the where the top of the cake is on the straw and remove the straw. Cut 4 or more straws to that length and push them into the cake evenly spaced out under where you want the next tier to sit. They will take the weight of the tiers, rather than the tiers sitting directly on the sponge. If you want, you can disguise the join with icing or flowers etc once the tiers have been positioned. That's why I use boards the same size as the cake.

I have made 3-tier sponge wedding cakes like this, though not GF ones. It is a very stable construction. I have also used this when making cats where each tier was different, eg fruit cake above sponge.

For cakes with thinner tiers I delivered the cake fully constructed, but for taller tiers I delivered it all prepared with the states in situ, and positioned the tiers at the venue.

Sorry, typo.

The bottom tier should be conventionally placed and iced on a board larger than the cake.

Thank you both. Been busy baking DGC cake today for a birthday tomorrow but will read thoroughly and properly digest with my feet up and a cuppa later.

I've seen Becky Excell's GF recipes used to great success for wedding cakes, often DF too. It's worth joining her FB group.

Thanks. Love Becky’s recipes. That on its own will be great when my GF family come to visit.

Thank you all, (sorry can’t work out tagging). Lots of very useful advice.

https://minimalistbaker.com/7-ingredient-vegan-cheesecakes/

https://www.saltnpepperhere.com/blog/winter-pavlova-gluten-free-dairy-free

Gluten and dairy free is not easy even for experienced bakers so I would test whatever you do in advance.

If your son is dairy free.. it is his wedding so I would consider a gluten and dairy free cake for everyone.

You could make two seperate cakes, on different level stands, linked in theme using pansies or nasturtiums which should not be expensive and readily available from garden centres (panies at least.. nasturtiums are easy to grow but I don't know how long you have!)

I make the vegan cheesecake in one large cake with a few modifications.. brazil nuts for the base, flavoured with lavander and lemon, no honey or syrup and top with frozen blueberries which I heat up and drain some of the juice off and it makes a perfect topping. Largest I have made served 25. It is very rich and the ingredients are expensive. If you have more guest than a round one would serve, you could make a round one for display and a square one for easier serving.

I made Becky”s GF lemon birthday cake as a trial wedding cake for the hen party and it was great. Thanks for the advice.

The sponge in this is fab. Naturally dairy and gluten free with a nice texture. https://jjasonwhatsinseason.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/mary-berrys-divine-chocolate-birthday-cake/

Obviously you'd need a different icing. And it has nuts, in case anyone is allergic.

And have others have said, read up about how to stack tiers. Assemble in place at the wedding. Make sure it doesn't get too warm or the icing may melt.

For flower decoration, many flowers are edible. Do any local gardener friends have any that will be in bloom at the right time and would be prepared to help? Make sure the plants haven't been sprayed with anything nasty.

Can’t help with a recipe I’m afraid but fresh flowers look absolutely beautiful on cakes and can be very cost-effective. Check they are not toxic and wrap the stems in floral tape.