Hi there, this is my first blog to this site and I am finding very helpful information.  I do, however, need advise on doing my first wedding cake.  It is next weekend!  I am baking a 4-tiered cake with an additional back-up cake.  the base of the tiered cake and the back up cake is a 16”.  I have a 16” x 3” deep pan.  I tried to do the calculation for the Rose Factor etc and I just don’t know if I am doing it right.  I am doing one cake in Chocolate Butter cake and the other is a White cake.  My biggest question is the baking powder amounts and also is using hershey’s or nestle unsweeteded cocoa powder okay for this recipe.  Please help (and any other wedding tips would be greatly appreciated!!  Thanks - S

srb - 17 July 2008 11:22 PM

Hi there, this is my first blog to this site and I am finding very helpful information.  I do, however, need advise on doing my first wedding cake.  It is next weekend!  I am baking a 4-tiered cake with an additional back-up cake.  the base of the tiered cake and the back up cake is a 16”.  I have a 16” x 3” deep pan.  I tried to do the calculation for the Rose Factor etc and I just don’t know if I am doing it right.  I am doing one cake in Chocolate Butter cake and the other is a White cake.  My biggest question is the baking powder amounts and also is using hershey’s or nestle unsweeteded cocoa powder okay for this recipe.  Please help (and any other wedding tips would be greatly appreciated!!  Thanks - S

srb - first of all, congratulation on your upcoming wedding.  Secondly, congratulations for choosing Rose’s recipes to make your wedding cake.  Are you new to cake decorating?  Are you new to the cake bible?  The recipes you plan to use are designed for a 2” tall pans (also check to be sure the pan will fit in your oven).  There’s been a lot of talk on the blog about using 3” pans - to get there click on “Rose’s Blog”, then do a search.

Taking on your own wedding cake is going to be quite a challenge, especially if you are new to cake making/decorating.  Here’s a link to the wedding cake section on the blog - it should help to answer a lot of questions for you:
http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/questions_and_answers/cake_questions/wedding/

To answer your Rose Factor/baking powder question:

For two 16"x2” chocolate butter cake layers you will need to multiply the chocolate base recipe by 14.  You will also need to multiply the level 4 baking powder amount for chocolate cakes (1 1/8 tsp) by 14, so the total amount of baking powder you’ll need to make two 16"x2” layers of chocolate butter cake is 15 3/4 tsp (or 5 tablespoons plus 3/4 teaspoon; or 77.14 grams).

For two 16"x2” white butter cake layers you will need to multiply the white base recipe by 14.  You will also need to multiply the level 4 baking powder amount for white cakes (1 tsp) by 14, so the total amount of baking powder you’ll need to make two 16"x2” layers of white butter cake is 14 tsp (or 4 tablespoons plus w teaspoons; or 68.6 grams).

Don’t hesitate to ask more questions, and good luck!

Thank you for your advice.  I will check out the section you highlighted.  I find these blogs very helpful.  I have done some cake decorating for showers, birthdays etc but this is my first wedding cake.  My friend is very understanding and told me that I should use this to take the plunge and know that I can do it.  I think my main concern is that it is going to collapse before they cut it!!

With the information above, it confirms that I did understand the equation but I have been focusing on it so much lately that I thought I was doing it wrong.  Now, I only have a 5qt mixer and this batter will most likely not fit in the machine, if I split it in half (using the formula above) and then combine all together, will that make a difference?  Also, I think I understand now why I was confused that is was totalling about 12#, but that is because it makes 2 cakes that are 16” x 2”. 

Thanks again for your help!! I really do appreciate it!

srb - 18 July 2008 12:47 PM

Thank you for your advice.  I will check out the section you highlighted.  I find these blogs very helpful.  I have done some cake decorating for showers, birthdays etc but this is my first wedding cake.  My friend is very understanding and told me that I should use this to take the plunge and know that I can do it.  I think my main concern is that it is going to collapse before they cut it!!

With the information above, it confirms that I did understand the equation but I have been focusing on it so much lately that I thought I was doing it wrong.  Now, I only have a 5qt mixer and this batter will most likely not fit in the machine, if I split it in half (using the formula above) and then combine all together, will that make a difference?  Also, I think I understand now why I was confused that is was totalling about 12#, but that is because it makes 2 cakes that are 16” x 2”. 

Thanks again for your help!! I really do appreciate it!

Oops, I thought this was a wedding cake for your own wedding

Yes, you can definitely split the recipe in half and make only one layer at a time.

How large will the cake be?  There is a lot of very helpful advice about internal supports on the blog (in the wedding section especially).  Once you stack your first cake, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to try it .