Three Tier Chocolate Wedding Cake
5 Reviews
About the bake
Give your wedding a personal touch and bake your own cake (or get a friend to bake one for you!). This simple chocolate cake recipe will create a beautiful three tiered masterpiece that can be decorated to suit your preference and wedding theme. The un-iced sponges can be made in advance and frozen for up to 3 months. Once the buttercream and icing have been added, best eaten within 24 hours.
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4) Grease and line three 6 inch sandwich cake tins or one deep 6 inch cake tin.
Step 2
For the 6 inch cake, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 3
Add the eggs one by one, beating between each addition.
Step 4
Mix together in a separate bowl the baking powder, flour and cocoa powder then gradually fold into the wet mix.
Step 5
Pour the mixture into the tin or split between the three tins and bake until cooked throughout for approximately 30-35 minutes. Follow the same method for the 9" and 12" cakes, baking the 9” for 45-50 minutes and the 12” for 70-75 minutes. (Bake times may vary between ovens).
Step 6
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Step 7
To make the buttercream, beat together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract then gradually add the milk to loosen.
Step 8
Once the cakes are fully cooled, carefully slice them into 3 layers (if you baked in a deep cake tin) and sandwich them together with the vanilla buttercream. Place a small amount of buttercream on to a thin cardboard cake board (appropriate size for your cake) and secure the cake on top.
Step 9
To assemble the cake, insert four or more dowels (you may want to use more on the bottom tier as it will be holding more weight) in to the centre of each cake, spaced evenly apart to distribute the weight of the cakes. Mark the dowel where it reaches the top of the cake and remove.
Step 10
Carefully, cut the dowels so that they become the depth of the cake. Reinsert the dowels in the holes that you made in the cake.
Step 11
When you are ready to assemble, place the 8” cake in the centre on top of the 12” cake, ensuring that the dowels are holding the weight.
Step 12
When the cake is secured, stack the 6” cake on top of 8” cake.
Step 13
Dust the sponges with icing sugar for the finishing touch and decorate as you wish with fresh flowers, berries and fruit or your own wedding cake topper.
Ingredients
For the 6 inch cake
- 3Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 225gUnrefined dark muscovado sugar
- 225gButter (unsalted) (softened)
- 175gAllinson's Self Raising Flour
- 50gCocoa powder
- 1/2 tspBaking powder
For the 6 inch cake filling
- 100gButter (unsalted)
- 300gSilver Spoon Icing sugar
- 40mlMilk (whole)
- 1/2 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the 9 inch tier cake
- 8Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 450gBillington's Unrefined Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 450gButter (unsalted) (softened)
- 400gAllinson's Self Raising Flour
- 50gCocoa powder
- 1 tspBaking powder
For the 9 inch cake filling
- 200gButter (unsalted)
- 600gSilver Spoon Icing sugar
- 80mlMilk (whole)
- 1 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the 12 inch tier cake
- 10Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 680gBillington's Unrefined Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 680gButter (unsalted) (softened)
- 600gAllinson's Self Raising Flour
- 80gCocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tspBaking powder
For the 12 inch cake filling
- 400gButter (unsalted)
- 1360gSilver Spoon Icing sugar
- 160mlMilk (whole)
- 1 1/2 tspNielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the finishing touch
- 1 bunchFlowers
- To dustSilver Spoon Icing sugar
- 6in / 8in / 12inCake boards
- 10 (minimum)Cake dowels