*Trigger warning, The video tutorial is from my NON Vegan days, but all the same rules apply here just by inserting my NEW AMAZINGLY BETTER VEGAN RECIPES!!
This is probably my 3rd time showing you all how to build a wedding cake in my 10+ years on youtube!
Practice makes perfect don’t you know!
I am happy to do it though, since each time I do I feel that I am providing more valuable information based on the questions I get regularly on this topic.
Of course you do not have to stick to vanilla & chocolate layers
You can really make any cake recipes you love the most!
As well as interchange the pan sizes if you need a bigger or smaller cake to suit your needs.
The exact cake I show you in the video and the recipes below will serve 60 -70 people
Vanilla Strawberry Ruffle Cake
Not including the top tier which is typically the anniversary tier for the bride & groom to take home.
You will just have to re calculate your math to accommodate the pan sizes you are using.
The hardest part is figuring out the math to determine the batter you will need, and since I never make my recipes in cups or weights (sorry!)
The rule of thumb for baking any and all cake recipes for layers is to fill the pan, no matter the size to just slightly more than half full.
Today we are going to make a simple yet elegant and classically decorated wedding cake just to cover the basics of building the cake so it is sturdy and will hold up for hours during your reception event!
Once you have a sturdy base foundation you are free to decorate to your wildest imagination
All the rules are the same no matter what cake recipe you use and whether you decorate with fondant or buttercream!
For the buttercream recipe you will want to mix it three times if you are filling the cake layers as well as icing with buttercream also.
A Cake Turn Stand is helpful and if you get the Ateco brand that I use, it will last you a lifetime!
I have had mine since I was in high school and believe me that was a lifetime ago!
You will need wooden dowels, cardboard circles to the same diameter of your cake pans and an offset spatula and/*optional bench scraper for icing your cake.
I got the fondant flowers from Fondant Flowers.Com at the time of making this tutorial.
This was before my Vegan Days so just be careful from where you are buying the decor, since these would not be vegan.
You can of course make stunning buttercream flowers as an alternative and I have a step by step tutorial for how to make those CLICK HERE
Of course you have to plan out your cake recipes and icing and fillings as I explained in the video
Be sure to watch the full video tutorial for the How to Cut Wedding Cake too!
The recipes below will make a wedding cake that has 2 layers of chocolate cake and 2 layers of vanilla cake in each tier.
In the video you can see I only made a 3 layer cake for each tier.
It is entirely up to you if you want to do 3 or 4 layers per cake, or torte them and trim them to your liking.
It’s always better to have slightly more cake than less when taking on such a task as building a wedding cake.
You just never know when you are going to need that emergency layer!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS WEDDING CAKE
For the 2-10" layers mix the recipe 1½ more times. Be careful of your math on a recipe for 1½X - this is usually where the recipes fails, POOR MATH or measuring skills!
No matter what pan size you are using though, fill pans half full!
- White Vinegar 1 Tablespoon (15ml)
- Soy Milk 1 cup (237ml) *or any milk alternative of your choice
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoon (10ml)
- Cake Flour 2½ cup (300g) *all purpose is ok if you cannot get cake flour CLICKHERE
- Golden Flax meal 4 Tablespoons (36g) 3 Teaspoons egg replacer of your choice
- Warm Water (*approx 100°F)10 Tablespoons (150ml)
- Granulated Sugar 1½ cup (300g)
- Baking Powder 4 teaspoons (20g)
- Salt 1 teaspoon (6g)
- Vegan Butter 12 Tablespoons (170g)
- Combine the flax meal with the hot water and let stand to thicken, OR if using egg replacer, follow the instructions on your particular brand
- Add the vinegar to the soy milk to sour then add the vanilla extract
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt
- Cream the vegan butter with the sugar until light and fluffy and this may take about 4-5 minutes on medium to high speed
- Add the flax paste or egg replacer of your choice to the creaming mixture while mixing on medium speed, then whip for 10 seconds on high speed to emulsify
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate evenly, whip on high for 30 seconds
- Add about ⅓ of the flour to the creamed mixture while mixing on low speed just until combined, then add half of the remaining soured milk
- Add another ⅓ of the flour and then the remaining sour milk
- Add the last amount of flour and mix just to combine evenly.
- Portion the batter between your greased and parchment lined cake pans and bake immediately in a preheated 350°F oven for approximately 25-30 minutes or until they are springy to the touch when you gently press the centers, or a toothpick comes out clean!
- Cool cakes in the pan until you can touch them with your hands and then flip them out onto a cooling rack.
Be careful of your math on a recipe for 1½X - this is usually where the recipes fails, POOR MATH or measuring skills!
No matter what pan size you are using though, fill pans half full!
- All Purpose Flour 2 cups (250g)
- Cake Flour 1 cup (120g)
- Natural Cocoa Powder 8 Tablespoons (40g)
- Granulated Sugar 2 cups (400g)
- Salt 1 teaspoon (6g)
- Baking Soda 2 teaspoons
- Apple Cider Vinegar 2 teaspoons
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons
- Vegetable Oil ¾ cup (177ml)
- Strong Brewed Coffee 2 cups *Or add 3 teaspoons instant coffee to the water (approx 18g)
- Sift both flours, baking soda, salt, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine the natural cocoa powder with the hot coffee and then add the vinegar, oil and the vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the sifted dry ingredients and whisk vigorously with a hand whisk until smooth (about 15 strokes)
- Pour batter into greased and parchment lined 8" x 2" cake pans
- Bake immediately in a preheated 350°f oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs
- Cool the cakes in the pan until they are safe to touch, then flip out onto a cooling rack
- Build the cake as per the video tutorial
The buttercream for your cake is up to you, which ever one you like best, I have 5 to choose from here
Gretchen Nooooooooooooooooooo…lol Thank you so much for all your recipes!! I love your best chocolate butter milk cake?? Chocolate cake recipe & wanted to make it today but all the videos are deleted from YouTube:( is there anyway you could email me the recipe? I know its a lot but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Thank you for all your help with baking!
Hi Salina, I had always said I would continue to share my recipes for free & give free tutorials on YouTube for as long as I could afford to do so, and well.. I just can’t anymore
The cost is severely outweighing any small profits I had been making though running ads on the videos & blogsite.
For some time now, I had been asking for people to help support the channel/blog through PayPal & Patreon to keep it going longer and to help offset the costs to run it all, and many people have been so great & supportive, but at this point it is just not enough
I have not kept any of the non vegan recipes since for over 4 years now I have been strictly vegan, so for me they are of no use.
Not to mention I am not comfortable sharing non vegan recipes as it promotes animal abuse and torture not to mention animal agriculture is a disease on the earth as well as human health.
Thanks for your support and encouragement though the years!
~Gretchen
I desperately want to make my own wedding cake later this year. Of course I would use a Gretchen recipe ☺️ Everyone tells me I’m crazy to want to DIY it. How hard is it, really, to make a simply decorated three tier cake? I’m most concerned about transporting it.
Don’t do it. I made a cake for a wedding I was bridesmaid for and that was stressful enough! It’s a lot of work and cost and stress.
Thankyou for keeping this up. I was wondering if there is a formula for making the right amount of batter? Your 7″ recipes are ideal for most of the time, do I halve it for a 4″, and double it for a 10″ round, what if I need a 10″ sq? I just ask as I’m fed up of guessing, and ending up with more batter than I need or baking a cake that ends up being too thin for my needs.
I’m confused about your Best Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe. You say to add 4 T of golden flax meal or 3 t of egg replacer. You also list 10 T of warm water. I’m assuming the warm water is used to hydrate the flax meal, but that seems like it would equate to more than 1 egg. How many “eggs” does the recipe use if you’re using a replacer like Just Egg? It can’t be only 1 egg, can it?
Also, does your Vegan Chocolate Cake not use any egg replacer at all? Does that recipe amount work for the 7″ and 5″ pans as well or w 8′ pans as listed.
Thanks so much for clearing this up for me.
Hi Jane, because most of my vegan recipes are not created simply by substituting the eggs from a non vegan recipe to then just using an egg replacer~ I formulate the recipes specifically.
The original recipe is made by using 4Tb flax + 10Tbs water
Some people however do not like to use flax, so I noted that a dry blend store bought egg replacer (like Bobs Red Mill) can be used in the amount of 3 tsp instead but the liquid amount needs to stay the same since that is part of the formulation.
I have not tried Just Egg, but if you do I would probably use about 6Tbs. Forget about the flax & the dry blend egg replacer and then use only 4Tbs water.
I have not tested this, this is just “off the top of my head” where I would start if I was to use a liquid egg replacer like the “Just”
Correct the Vegan Chocolate Cake needs no egg replcaer, nor does my Bakery Yellow Cake recipe
All of the recipes work in any size cake pan you like. Rule of thumb: Fill the batter half full bake at 350F check at 15-18 minutes until springy to the touch when you gently press the centers. (Or a toothpick test)