Ribbon and Floral Wedding Cake

This wedding cake was a combination of tiers of fruit cake and chocolate cherry cake. I began by coating each tier in marzipan and white fondant icing. I used chocolate marzipan for the chocolate cherry cakes.

I then made around 80 small orchids to sit at the bottom and top of the cake. I did not want to put orchids on every tier because I felt this would detract from the ribbons which was a central part of the design.

I made the orchids by rolling out very thin (almost transparent) sections of flower paste and then using an orchid cutter to cut out the individual petals. Flower paste is used for making sugar flowers because it is pliable but firm and holds its shape well when soft and being handled. It then hardens as it dries out. The petals have to be attached using edible glue or water (small amount with a small brush) and placed in flower formers to set.

I use various methods for forming flowers. It is possible to buy specially made flower formers and I do have some for certain flowers. However they can be expensive and things like apple trays and foam corrugated packaging work really well (less for the supermarket to throw away). The dips in the foam are perfect for placing flowers in to get the cupped shape.

I placed plastic dowels into the bottom and 2nd tier for support. Dowels are plastic poles which are cut to the height of the cake and inserted into the cake. The tier above is then placed onto a stiff cake card. The cake card sits on top of the dowels underneath and prevents the higher tiers sinking into the lower ones.

I added the ribbons to each tier in a criss cross design. The colours were chosen to match the bridesmaids dresses and I included some fresh, brighter green ribbons to add some contrast. The ribbons were attached using very small strips of double side tape which was not too tacky and lifted off the cake for cutting.

I attached the flowers to the base of the cake and the top tier using little dots of white royal icing. I also added some white butterflies perched on the petals. The butterflies had very subtle colouring on their wings.

I did not assemble this cake prior to delivery to the venue as the combined weight of the cakes would have made it very heavy to carry and I knew that there were 2 flights of stairs to the reception venue and no lift.

This cake had a very fresh, crisp look and the wispy flowers added a romantic touch.

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Tags: Chocolate, Flowers, Fruit, Orchids, Ribbon