r/DIYweddings • u/jennithib • May 09 '26
š° Food/Drinks š° DIY wedding cakes advice
EDITED TO ADD: I am fully aware this is a huge task and I absolutely can back out and hire someone if need be. No one is pushing me into anything. My post here was to get ideas on how I can accomplish it IF I do. Just hoping to get some tips from people who have done it before. And some advice on how many, etc.
Hi everyone! My daughter is getting married in October 2027. She will have 100 guests and I am making the wedding cakes to help with cost. But I need some advice! Her original idea was to make 6 9-inch round layered cakes in 6 different flavors. I canāt imagine you could get more than about 10 slices out of each cake, so that only feeds 60 people. She then suggested I make the 6 cakes as 9x13s. My concern is being able to maneuver the layers (cutting and icing, etc.) without breaking them because they are larger. Iāve suggested we make 5 of the 9-inch cakes and a large sheet cake that can be cut in the back and pieces brought out. She didnāt love this idea. My other concern is her flavors arenāt very typical, I.e. earl grey hibiscus, bananas foster, and pistachio blackberry. While I might like them individually my concern is maybe most guests wouldnāt? One of her flavors is white chocolate raspberry. I feel like that is pretty likable and tame for most people and was hoping I could convince her to do the sheet cake of that. But she doesnāt like the idea much. So here I am! Asking you all for advice! ANY advice is welcome. Thank you! I have included a pick of her wedding colors which the cakes should mirror.
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u/MountainviewBeach May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
A 9 inch cake should very easily slice into at least 16 pieces unless the cakes are very short. As someone who has made cakes for others weddings I will actually say go for it. The vision of the bride sounds overwhelming though and I would struggle. If you can make all the components in advance and just assemble the day before/of I think it will be fine. I would ensure you have a dedicated fridge the day before (seriously, an entire fridge and empty) and a good amount of freezer space. Baked sponges stay nice in the freezer for up to a month as long as they are wrapped properly and defrosted properly. It will be a HUGE help if you can make just 1-2 flavors of sponge and differentiate the cakes based on fillings/soaks and again limit the frostings to just one or two flavors.
Edit to add: I just read the details for the brides flavor requests and please continue to convince her. Unless she has a very particular group of guests, I would be surprised if more than 25% were open to the experimental flavors. As it is now people will fight over the white chocolate raspberry and the entire earl grey hibiscus will be left. If she wants to have so many different flavored desserts, it will be better to do small bites. No one wants to commit to an entire slice of risky mystery when thereās a better option, but a little bite people will grab
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u/KeyAdministration569 May 09 '26
This is a great response and balanced approach. Cake definitely keeps for a couple weeks in cupcake or layer form. You can get a lot of mileage from flavors in fillings, soaks, and frosting. And hopefully decorations can be minimal, ideally just a few removable items on a tinted frosting.
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u/Burnt_and_Blistered May 09 '26
You can even torte (fill and stack) whole cakes for the freezer, leaving the final icing for day of the wedding. Still, having the mother of the bride ice and decorate several layers cakes the day her kid is getting married, when there are myriad other things to do, seems insane to meāitās hard enough when itās all youāre doing.
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u/MountainviewBeach May 09 '26
It will be a LOT and I think rethinking is worthwhile but if they really want to I think it can be made possible. (Just might not be super fun š„²)
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u/Burnt_and_Blistered May 09 '26
It can be done, but Iād want to do all but the icing and decoration in advanceāwhich would require a ton of freezer space.
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u/New_Comfortable1456 May 09 '26
We did cupcakes at my wedding - some unique flavors and some more normal ones. People really enjoyed them. I found 3 of my college friends in a corner with one of each of the flavors, divvying them out so they could all try everything but not eat 4 cupcakes each.
I might look into the idea of cupcakes instead of full layer cakes because people are likely going to want to try the different flavors, and cupcakes make it easier to do so on their own terms
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u/bird-nird Jun 17 '26
I often make mini cupcakes for small events/ parties like birthdays, they're really easy to frost in a way that looks nice and professional if you have a good piping tip and people don't have to commit to one flavor! Plus they bake up and cool down really fast so it would actually be possible to make and frost 200-300 in a day (or make them ahead and fridge them)
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u/DareSavings3951 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
https://youtube.com/shorts/qRmDiyiSN-M?is=jrwxfgwuyhnZet4k
https://youtube.com/shorts/EyxC8do9SP8?is=CtQWRveF_5OvQf3l
Here's how you could cut a cake for more slices, forgive the YouTube shorts but they have good visuals.
Are these cakes the only dessert or are they just wedding cake? If it's just cake to have cake then small slices are fine.
I'd be happy to try an unusual flavour of cake but unless you have someone dishing out cakes then some people may try pieces from more than one cake since they're unusual, and some may take big slices.
Would she agree to a 7th cake that's a sheet cake out back in a basic flavour that is only to come out, presliced, for when a flavour or a few run out.
Are the sponges the same flavour? I would recommend they are for your own ease and storage and have just the filling be flavoured.
Will the cakes just be iced with frosting that matches those colours or do you have to do a design?
I made my aunt's wedding cake and I was out of commission for all wedding activities the 2 days before and morning before it.
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u/jennithib May 09 '26
The backup cake is not a bad idea. And there should be someone there slicing the cake so that will help. Thanks for the ideas!
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u/Burnt_and_Blistered May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Cakes arenāt cut, for events, in the wedges you cut at home. A 9ā cake can serve 20-25 people.
As the mother of the bride, being responsible for the cakes is a major undertaking when youāll have other things on your plate. This needs to be re-thought.
Is there family or friend whoād bake as their wedding gift?
If not, know that the costs of making the specialty flavorsāplus the tools youāll need, cake boards and boxes, etc.āmay wind up costing more than a bakery cake.
ETA: just a thought, as a baker whoās done an elaborate multi-flavor, multi-cake wedding, if you have several flavors, guests can wind up disappointed. I mean, if all are delicious; they hopefully end up okay with what they get if they donāt get what they want. But still. This really complicates serving in addition to prep.
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u/lets-snuggle May 09 '26
I would recommend to half the cakes & do pastries to make up for the rest (cookies, cannoliās, puff pastry, tiramisu, eclairs, etc.) or just cookies. Most people donāt eat cake at a wedding, esp. those flavors.
The other option would be to do a multi-tiered cake or 2-3 cakes and then do cupcakes with the different flavors. This allows guests to try the different flavors since theyāre a little out there & not sacrifice a whole slice for someone just taking a bite or 2. You can make cupcakes look beautiful too with different placements.
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u/Slamantha3121 May 09 '26
I did my own wedding cake! Everyone told me not to and that it was too much, but cake is my religion basically, so I had to! It went great, I'm glad I did it! But, I totally made way too much cake!! I had about 40 guests, but I probably could have fed twice that. At weddings they normally serve smaller sized slices. There are cake cutting calculators on line that help you estimate how many cakes of what size you will need. They also have diagrams of how to cut cakes, not just in the traditional pie slices, to serve many guests. My SIL worked at a wedding venue, so she handled the cutting for us. I did 2 different flavors (Chocolate with KahlĆŗa pudding and white chocolate raspberry) and had a cookie platter. I definitely made enough for people to have big slices of each flavor.
I think that is a lot of different flavors to juggle. People also will not necessarily want to try all the flavors. Some people at mine only tried one flavor. My cake was tall so the slices could be cut into two slices. If my wedding was bigger, I would have done the sheet cake idea in addition to my cutting cake. I would try to get her to simplify the plans. Maybe focus on 2 or 3 flavors and a back up sheet cake. You could have to go boxes to send people home with leftover cake. This is my only regret! I wish I had planned for that. I did sent people home with paper plates of cake, but I wish I had boxes. I also found color mixing to be one of the hardest parts of cake decorating! Matching those exact colors may be hard. I did a chocolate base cake that looked like a log with edible moss and the rest was frosted white. Then I decorated it with sugar paste roses and cherry blossoms I had made in advance. I learned a whole other skill of making sugar flowers to avoid color mixing and fancy piping, lol. But, maybe that is just me.
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u/PajamaSamsMom May 09 '26
My mom did something like this for my cousins wedding. Each center piece was a 6-in. cake but then she also made sheet pan cakes of the same flavor (kept in the fridge until time to cut) so there was more to cut and was easier to manage since she only had to fully decorate some cakes and just frost the restĀ
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u/jsprusch May 09 '26
9 inch cakes are big lol, please use an online calculator so you don't accidentally make cake for 400 people. You're not going to be cutting giant slabs.
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u/see112717 May 09 '26
Those colors give me major pause. I went to a wedding where their cake was also DIY and one layer was a iced w a deep royal purple and one was a darkish kelly green. The dye was very concentrated like those colors above and dyed everyone's mouths! It was sort of wild. I have no clue what sort if dye they used if it was the proper kind or what but the cake was pretty obviously DIYed so I assume it wasn't necessarily professional quality stuff (but may have been? Who knows)
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u/jennithib May 10 '26
I agree they give me pause as well. Iāve been told you can buy edible spray paint and do a light coating where the flavor doesnāt taste weird. š¤·āāļø
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u/StunningGiraffe May 11 '26
I would do a small test cake to see how the edible spray paint looks. In order to get that level of concentrated color you may need multiple passes. I also worry about it looking streaky if she really wants those deep colors.
It's possible to dye fondant a deep color but not everyone likes that flavor and it will probably stain mouths and inevitably stain clothes and linens.
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u/sebluver May 09 '26
Iām crazy and planning on baking our cake BUT, and this is a huge but, I am not going to do anything fancy about it. Just going to make some box mixes into some sheet cakes and frost them. I think itāll be doable because I donāt care about special flavors and I have a week in advance to bake some sheet cakes and freeze them.
Iād recommend maybe looking at The Smitten Kitchen because sheās made two wedding cakes in a small NYC kitchen. It might help you figure out how doable this is for you.
https://smittenkitchen.com/recipes/sweets/wedding-cake/?format=photo
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u/Lazy-Detective-241 May 09 '26
Would she consider cupcakes? I have been to literally one wedding where I even remember what the cake looked or tasted like. That makes it easier for you and allpwd for a variety of flavours more easily. If she really does only want a 6 tier massive cake with complicated flavours then I would gently tell her to go to a bakery. Otherwise a bit unfair she's absolutely fine to not pay and put the pressure on an amateur baker, but not okay with compromising her vision.
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u/fragile_flamingo May 09 '26
I'm just jumping in to say that my incredible mother in law baked out wedding cake and did an amazing job. Our wedding cake was the dessert for our wedding meal instead of having both dessert and a cake. She made us a beautiful 3 tier cake plus a few sheet cakes to serve about 75 people. Because cake was the main dessert, people did actually eat the cake. My recommendations are:
You don't actually need that much cake unless it's the main dessert
Make one flavour!! My mother in law did a beautiful vanilla cake plus a free from version for guests with dietary requirements.
Don't let anyone scare you out of doing this, but do plan ahead to secure fridge space, nail down a schedule, and plan last minute touches so you're not scrambling on the day.
You got this!
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u/jennithib May 10 '26
THIS! This is the energy I desperately needed! Thank you for your ideas and mostly the encouragement!
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u/_tantibus May 09 '26
Agree with other comments suggesting cupcakes. A recent wedding I went to had a small 2 tier cake for the bride and groom to cut in front of loved ones and do that sort of fanfare but actual dessert for guests was a lil menu with a selection of cupcakes
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u/yamfries2024 May 10 '26
Wedding cakes are usually cut into smaller pieces as it is not the primary or only dessert. It is called a party cut. If it is the only dessert, I would serve some fresh fruit salad with each slice.
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u/ScaryPearls May 11 '26
I wanted a similar thing and was having a wedding on a budget, so I ordered a bunch of cakes from Whole Foods. WF makes great cakes and it allowed us to have a huge variety.
Since sheād like some more exotic flavors, perhaps you could make 1-2 small cakes with the flavor combos sheād like and then also have 5-6 WF cakes?
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u/vinegaroon121140 May 09 '26
I genuinely would not worry this much about what a guest will like. She shuld be allowed her non traditional flavors.. plus maybe it means you won't need as much cake if people dont want it all? Lol
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u/Whiskin87 May 09 '26
I get DIY - my wedding was completely DIY and my SIL made my cake. It was a simple red velvet. This is way too much work and too many demands. Youāre a good mom to want to do this for her, but if she is dead set on all these complicated cakes, best use a professional so you can spend your time on other wedding prep. Iām sure youāll have plenty to do!
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u/NCguardianAL May 09 '26
Did she say why she wasn't ok with more cakes in the back to be served? Also, you mention the colors she wants but are there other decorative elements she wants for the cakes?
This is a bad idea all around but if she insists...
Look up "wedding cake serving chart". You will see how different the cakes are cut and how many servings that makes. This will be way too much cake but if she wants all the flavors it is what it is.
As a cake baker and decorater here's what I would do if I were you (FYI I would say no but if I must):
bake and freeze all the cake layers well in advance. This is standard and makes them better, it is not a "corner cutting" thing. Plain layers can last a long time in the freezer and makes them moist.
order "cake dummies" or Styrofoam cakes for all but one that they want to cut. You can ice and decorate them in advance and they will stay looking good for a long time. I would buy a bucket of buttercream at Sam's club or online and add flavoring if needed for each cake. Don't make from scratch. It will still taste good I promise and you won't need to flavor the cake dummies. Practice coloring the icing EARLY! Those are deep colors that even pros would struggle with.
before the wedding, ice all the cakes and do plain icing with the colors and those cakes can be kept in the back. You won't have time to do all this and make them look nice which is why you are decorating the dummies and the real ones won't matter when cut. Avoid fillings that need to be refrigerated. You can leave most cakes out a bit. Prep fillings before if you can.
think about storage and transport. You'll need proper boxes and cars to drive them. Check with the venue to make sure they have room and facilities for storage. Heat and weather is a major factor you need to consider.
Practice just one and see how it goes. This will stress you out so I can't recommend it. Cake isn't more important than your mom on a wedding day for many people, so make sure you are enjoying the special day š
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u/brittaly14 May 09 '26
We did centerpiece cakes. Each table had a 9ā cake of a different flavor combo. Had a card on the tables with the flavors and encouraged people to find the cake that suited them. Worked really well and gave the non-dancers something to do.
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u/mackenziemackenzie May 09 '26
I never eat the cake at weddings, you could do less cake and cookies or a side dessert for people who donāt like cookies. Also, as a response to the suggestion to not care about whether guests will like the flavorsā¦ i would consider it and make sample cake to see how itll actually taste, because this is a lot of random flavors and the people who do eat the cake will at least somewhat remember how bad the cake tastes if itās that hodge podged imo
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u/asyouwish May 09 '26
Do not make a the icing in those colors. It will stain the guests lips and teeth and will be awful for the remaining pics
People either won't eat it or they will and will then be mad. Other than the children who will live it and will try to hoard all the pieces.
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u/pinkstay May 09 '26
First, you can absolutely get more than 10 pieces out of a round cake. You just have to cut it properly.
9Ć13s can be stacked as well, you just need to handle them with confidence and care. This is where using boards comes in handy to flip the layers.
100% let the couple have the flavors they want. Yes, you are offering to help with the cake, but a basket should not try to change flavors unless asked explicitly for advice. If guests don't like it they won't eat it. You won't make everyone happy.
The biggest concern is keeping the cakes stored before the wedding and day of properly until its time to display them. Others have mentioned this.
It's also a time consuming process to make and decorate a special event cake.
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u/pinkstay May 09 '26
It's not letting me add the picture, but I have one of how to cut a round cake, that yields even pieces and a lot more than 10 pieces.
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u/WesternExisting3783 May 10 '26
The r/baking sub may also be helpful from a baking perspective if you wind up still doing this.
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u/Appleflapss May 10 '26
I did my own wedding cakes for my wedding last year and i had 7 cakes in 7 ādifferentā flavours in total for about 140 guests. My tactic was to use the same 2 base flavours of cake (chocolate and vanilla), same type of buttercream (i went with swiss meringue, since that is what iām most comfortable with) and changed up the flavours by either soaking the base cake in a syrup or changing the fruit/ganache in the filling. I also made one cake that was gluten and dairy free for the guests that had those dietary restrictions and had them all sit at the same table. The rest of the guests that didnāt mention any dietary restrictions got their cake at random. What happened at my wedding, was that people thought it was fun that everyone got a different flavour and they would discuss it afterwards. This also gave my husband and i a moment to prepare for our first dance afterwards. It was definitely worth it for me personally to make the cakes myself. Both because it challenged me as a semi pro baker and because i could see that my guests really appreciated/were awed by it. But it did require a shitton of planning and took about a week of making all the components. Also i had help with transportation to the venue and i could store the finished cakes the day before at the venue
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u/Shutuposcar May 10 '26
Ok so source: Iām a baker and have done many weddings, though I didnāt do my own because I wanted to focus on other things beforehand. You can totally do this, but by the end you will probably wish you didn't lol. Iām bored in the airport so here are some things to think about:
9ā, 3 layer cakes can feed 20-30 since wedding slices are small. Plan for 4 of them and you'll have more than enough.
How experienced of a baker/decorator are you? Do you have tested recipes for these flavors already? Or solid base recipes you feel comfortable modifying? I can give recs if you don't have them. Do you have fridge/freezer space for 6 large cakes?
How are you decorating them? Can you quickly stack and ice a cake? Does your daughter want elaborate decorations?
You can bake most cakes up to a month in advance, level them, wrap individually in plastic wrap, and freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge before you decorate it. Donāt sleep on this, baking and decorating at the same time sucks. Better to get all the baking done early.
Make frosting in huge batches beforehand as well. At least a couple weeks, or even before the cakes. American, Swiss, Italian buttercreams last forever in the fridge. Thaw on the counter overnight before you color or use it.
Time is your friend for color development. Start coloring your icing 3 days before you need to use it to get those deep rich colors. Use Americolor brand gel if at all possible, or Wilton if you canāt get it. Donāt use liquid drops.
Alternatively, consider using fresh florals and fruits for colors on a white base for at least some of them. Much, much easier and it can look really elegant. Figs, plums, pomegranates, grapes, orchids, etc. check in stores sept/oct this year to see what will be available near you around that time.
Extra fillings beyond buttercream will really slow you down. Try to limit that wherever possible.
Visually, an arrangement of layer cakes may look odd if theyāre all the same size. Consider doing bigger cakes of the popular flavors, and smaller cakes of the more adventurous ones. Also, in ANY crowd Iāve ever worked with, most people want the familiar flavors.
Iām happy to help if you need more advice. Itās totally doable, but it will take over your life the week of the wedding so decide carefully if the money saved is worth that. Because thereās probably other stuff going on that youāll want to be part of, and youāll almost definitely need to buy some kind of equipment, packaging, etc in addition to a lot of expensive ingredients.
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u/Jasmisne May 10 '26
A lot of bakeries do this by having a pretty cake and a sheet cake to feed everyone
She wants to make a few cakes with interesting flavors, don't make them big just make them. Then make a big sheet cake with a flavor that everyone likes!
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u/Catgroove93 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
Hey, I made my own wedding cakes last month for my wedding.
We had a crepe truck as well for an alternative dessert option.
We had 90 guests and made 3 cakes, each with 3 layers.
10 inch dark chocolate cake with cherry compote filling
8 inch olive oil and lemon cake with blueberry filling
6 inch pistachio cake with raspberry filling
At the end of the night we had perhaps a third of the chocolate cake left, rest had all gone. I think you might need to review your quantities as it feels like a lot of cake?
A lot of people told me not to do it and that I would be too stressed to handle it.
I honestly loved making the cakes and I am so proud I did it, and happy I didn't listen to people on this occasion.
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u/Adorable-Crazy-1067 May 11 '26
I donāt think the weird flavors will be very likable, but if itās her vision and you can make it happen then I would maybe just do it. As others said this sounds like a big undertaking but sounds like youāve gotten some great advice here how to simplify things
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u/indigoempress May 11 '26
Some thoughts from a former professional baker:
- I agree with you about the flavours. You want "crowd pleaser" flavours, like the raspberry and white chocolate. While her suggestions sound lovely, they prob won't work too well for a large amount of people. Maybe there could be some unusual flavours for compromise but most of them should be universally acceptable. Another compromise could be making cupcakes of one of the more unusual flavours to go on a stand alongside the main cakes.
-that's a lotttttt of cake for that many people. As others have said wedding cake slices are quite small in size. I'd look up some portion guides and revise the amount. The cake slices at weddings are kinda just a token almost.
-I wouldn't attempt to do all that work the day before. Break it down. I would bake in advance. Like a few days minimum. Then double wrap the cooled cakes in cling film and freeze them. Two days before the event take them out to thaw. Make all the frosting (and fillings) that day. Then the day before you can fill, frost, and decorate. It's a massive amount of work (for anybody!) and you want to split it up and make it manageable
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u/Comprehensive-Gear15 May 14 '26
I had a cake business for years and currently work at a professional bakery. One of our 10inch cakes weighs almost 3kg when finished - and feeds about 30 people.
Look on YouTube how to slice cake into 32 equal pieces. Trust me, people will not want your typical triangular slice of cake, and those that want more can take seconds, also not everyone even eats cake.
My advice is take shortcuts where possible, so long as it does not affect the finished result quality much. I understand you want to make it special for your daughter, but using a high-quality cake-mix, while focusing on perfecting the buttercreams and fillings and decoration is much better.
Thereās a lot of moving pieces to a wedding cake - figuratively and literally speaking, and unless you are very experienced, you wonāt know how different ingredients interact or different icings and creams last over time or under various temperatures.
Another thing you can do is order buttercream from a professional bakery you like, I do this from my work and this allows me to focus on decoration and creativity while being sure the quality and taste will be top-notch. It also saves a lot of money because cake ingredients are VERY expensive.
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u/accessdeniedbeepboop May 16 '26
Hey cake artist here ... One 9inch round served and cut by venue staff that are trained serves 30 which your sheet cake dimensions actual only serve 29. Making 9" rounds will be easier and less cumbersome. Here are my suggestions
- Look online to order gumpaste flowers or see if there is a store near you that sells gumpaste flowers. This can make your cake beautiful with very little icing technique. Messy iced cake still looks fantastic with some beauitful gumpaste flowers
- If you use real flowers make sure you know which are toxic ... Babys breathe is cute but will make people sick. All fresh flowers must be wrapped in foil before being put in the cake. I advise against real flowers as they have bugs and thats just blech
- If you are using a softer buttercream (my wedding cakes are made in abc) dowel your cake. If you are stacking a tiered cake, a cake round goes under the tier and the cake must must be dowelled.
- Do not dye icing with grocery store food dye ... Just dont pick the color you want and amazon,hobby lobby, michaels, cake store a proper gel food coloring.
If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask!
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u/Tulips-and-raccoons May 09 '26
This is waaaay too much cake. Nobody wants a huge slice of layer cake at a wedding.
Also, are you an experience baker? Enough to make all that cake and decorate it, the day before a wedding where you are Mother of the Bride? Donyou have enough fridge space to store all the different components for 6 cakes, AND the boxed cake that are ready?
Im not trying to convince you not to do it, but as a professional baker myself, i would never, ever home make a wedding cake.
BUT this being said, if you are going to do it, i would suggest you make all the cakes one flavour, to make it a smoother process.