How To: Stacked Naked Wedding Cake

A couple of weeks ago I was given the task of creating a 4 tier naked wedding cake for a family wedding. Most commonly they are just Victoria sponge but for this one I made a different flavour of cake for each tier. I made banana for the 12”, Victoria for the 10”, carrot for the 8” and coffee & walnut for the 6”. This cake is easy enough to make even if you aren’t an experienced baker, it was my first ever time making a cake like this. You can make it far easier if you have the same flavour for each tier as you can just make a massive batch of the batter.

To figure out how much of each ingredient you need for the different sized tins this is how i did it;
For example, I have a recipe for an 8” tin but I need it for a 12”, I divide 300g of flour by 8, then times it by 12 = 450g of flour. Then just do this for all the ingredients. Sometimes you’ll just have to round it up or down for things like eggs.

What you will need;
Ingredients for your cakes and buttercream
4 cake tins (12”, 10”, 8” & 6”)
4 cake boards (12”, 10”, 8” & 6”)
Cake leveller or cerated edged knife
Piping bag with a large and small round nozzle
Palette Knife
Cake supports (you can purchase supports from your local cake decorating store or on amazon, you can also use bamboo skewers)
A selection of flowers (peonies, gerberas and gypsophila are popular ones)Presentation board/stand
Flower picks (you can purchase from your local cake decorating store or on amazon)
Cake topper
Icing sugar for decoration (Optional)

How to create the cake;

Step 1 | Bake 2 cakes per tier, making sure you line the tins well with baking paper to make it easier to remove them from the tins once baked.
Step 2 | Level the cakes with either a cake leveller or a cerated edged knife, so they’re all the same height. 

Step 3 | Place the bottom cake on each cake board, pipe a layer of icing onto the top and smooth out with a palette knife, then place the other cake on top.
Step 4 | Add 4 cake supports into each cake in a square at least 2 inches in from the edges.
Step 5 | Place each tier on top of each other.

Step 6 | Place the cake onto your presentation board/stand.
Step 7 | With a small piping nozzle, pipe along around the edges of each tier to hide the cake boards. To smooth these edges I just ran my finger along the buttercream to look that little bit more rustic.
Step 8 | Arrange your flowers onto the cake using flower picks.
Step 9 | Around the flowers add the berries using the buttercream like a glue. Arranging the berries in clusters tends to look most effective.
Step 10 | Add your topper.
Step 11 | Sprinkle icing sugar over the cake for the final touch (Optional)
Step 12 | Serve and enjoy the cake!

Le Keux Vintage Photoshoot Experience

Whilst I was working in Birmingham over the summer last year I came across this adorable vintage salon at The Custard Factory called Le Keux Vintage Salon, you can get your hair cut, coloured and styled and they also hold hen parties and photo-shoot packages.
My sister was turning 21 in September and really wanted to treat her to something extra special. She's always had a love for pin up girls, especially Marilyn Monroe, so I thought taking her to have a vintage styling experience there would be perfect.
It's normally £99 for a pin up shoot but at the time they were offering 2 for 1 so we went along together. We had such a lovely experience, we had our hair and makeup done and then we got to pick out our outfits from an amazing range of vintage clothes. Then we had our photos taken in all sorts of different sets, from a little cafe, hairdressers, dressing table and a sofa that looks like a cadillac! We really felt like we had stepped back in time!
To top it all off they even have their own range of makeup products and brushes that they use and you can also purchase.
If you have a friend or family member that loves all things vintage, this is the perfect present for them!