A Wedding Cake Story (Part 1)

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This is the step by step adventure of Nissa’s wedding cake which will be served at her wedding tomorrow. It’s not my first attempt at making a wedding cake but this one is more complex decoration wise than the others I made. It really represents a challenge for me though I'm optimistic enough about the outcome.

First I need a firm but moist base cake. I plan (if I don’t change my mind down the road) to cover everything with rolled fondant, not to mention it’ll be a tiered cake. These conditions call for a sturdy type of cake, something similar to pound cake.

I chose to flavor it with vanilla, lemon and almond. These three complement each other beautifully and in my experience, this is a mix that pleases the larger common denominator of taste.

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1/2 a tablespoon lemon extract
1/2 a tablespoon almond extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lemon, finely grated (or use 1 and ½ lemon if small)3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325°F (160º C).

Butter pans and line the bottoms with silicon paper.
In mixer bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Mix in extracts and lemon zest.

Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, starting with the flour. Add 1/3 flour, then ½ the milk, add the second 1/3 flour, then the rest of the milk, finishing by the remaining flour. Take care to incorporate well after each addition.

Pour into prepared pans. Cook until a toothpick or a knife comes out clean from the cakes (time depends on size of the molds).

Allow to rest 15 to 20 minutes before unmolding (the more the cakes are hot the more they are fragile). Unmold and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, level the tops with a serrated knife.

I needed to make this recipe 4 times in order to obtain the necessary number of tiers. One recipe fills a 9 to 10 inches diameter spring pan. It’s best to fill molds at a minimum of ½ and up to 2/3 full.

I also needed a base tiers of 13 inches diameter (32 cm) and I didn’t have such a large cake mold. I used my big canning pot. The most important things to consider when contemplating the use of an alternative mold are the sides. They should be straight, obviously and not concave like it’s often the case with pots and pans. This to allow for a clean un-molding without breakage of the cake.

The cakes can be made up to 3 days in advance if kept room temperature. They can be refrigerated (2 weeks) or frozen too (1 month). Of course they have to be tightly wrapped in food-grade plastic after they cooled completely. Bring to room temperature before proceeding to the cake assembly.

Next step: The Lemon Cream Filling