Wedding Cake - When should I make and how big?

I heard myself telling a friend I would make her wedding cake - so now I need a bit of info please. THe wedding isn't until this time next year how far in advance should I make the cake? Also there are 120 guests to the wedding what would be the ideal size I should make - i.e. how many tiers. As you can see I am a bit lost with this and all your help would be most helpful.

Wedding Cake - When should I make and how big?
Wedding cakes – lots of fun – but also a pain in the _____(fill in the blank)!





Square cakes are nice because they yield more servings then a round cake of similar size – so you don’t have to make as many tiers. Unless you already have the pans, I would not suggest a sheet cake. A tier cake using 3 or 4 pans would work well for 120 pieces. A new twist on the decoration for square stacked cakes is to decorate it to look like a stack of wrapped gifts. It is a very original look and easier to do than elaborate frosting designs. If you aren't interested in a cake topper as a keepsake, choosing a square wedding cake with the gift wrap appearance eliminates the need for a cake topper as the cake is decorated with ribbons and bows. You can make the frosting look like bows and ribbons or use real ones. You can also use silk flowers as part of the decorations. There are lots of photos of this type of cake on-line and in magazines – or just use your imagination!





The decorating is the fun part. Knowing how much cake to make is more difficult. This site has a great chart to help tell you how much batter is needed for the various size pans you will be using.





http://cooksdream.com/merchant2/merchant...





A normal cake recipe yields 4 to 6 cups of batter. (A packaged cake mix yields about the same – check the box.)





To serve 120 people, I would use three tiers. Three tiers can stand on its own and would not need platforms to support it. You could probably add a fourth tier, if you thought you needed it. For example a 14" bottom tier a 12" middle one and an 10" top should result in 110 servings at 2” by 2” and more if the servings are 1 1/12” by 2”.





When baking your cake, be sure to generously grease the inside of the cake pans with solid vegetable shortening. Use pastry brush to spread the shortening evenly. Make sure all sides are evenly covered. Sprinkle flour inside of pan and shake the pan back and forth so the flour covers all the greased surface. Tap out excess flour and if any shiny spots remain, touch up with more shortening and flour. This important step will prevent cake from sticking to the pan. (Pan bottoms may be lined with waxed paper after greasing. There is no need to flour pans with this method. They will unmold easily.)





Bake cake according to temperature and time specifications in recipe instructions. Remove cake from oven and let cool 10 minutes in pan on cake rack. Larger cakes need to cool about 15 minutes. To remove cake from pan, place cake rack against top of cake and turn both cake and rack over. Lift pan carefully. If cake will not release from pan, return to warm oven 250 degrees for a few minutes. Cool cake completely, at least 1 hour. Then brush loose crumbs off cake and it is ready to decorate.





You may bake your cake up to 1-3 months ahead of time, and freeze wrapped in heavy duty aluminum foil. Always thaw cake completely before icing. Your cake will still be fresh and easy to ice because it will still be firm.





Good luck!
Reply:If you don't know any of the answers then I suggest you get a professional to do it for you as it seems you have taken on a mammoth task without realising it! Good luck!
Reply:Maybe you should cheat and go out and by one.
Reply:if it is going to be made from dried fruit- like a xmas pud- this can be made now as it needs time to mature and can be stored up until 6months after wedding. longer if kept in freezer.





not many people like the dried fruit one so id just go for 2 tiers. this will be pleanty as most people dont bother with cake anyway.





sponge id leave until few month till wedding. id still use two tiers. you'll have to look up wedding ckes in recipe book