Should You DIY Your Wedding Cake?
17 July 2025Wedding cakes can often seem overpriced, but there’s much more to making a cake than flour, eggs, butter and sugar. Sure, “everyone knows how to make a cake”. But do you know how to make the largest cake of your life? Can you decorate it beautifully? Will it stay perfectly upright until you slice into it for the first time? Hmmm …
Here are some of my thoughts on DIYing your wedding cake:
- Budget
If you’re on a tight budget, you need to look at ways to make savings. There’s nothing wrong with that. If your only reason for not wanting to pay a professional to make your cake is a financial one, consider how you want your cake to look. If you want a very professional-looking cake, you’ll need a professional to make it. Unless you’re happy with something a little more flawed or ‘rough and ready’, then by all means DIY but bear in mind the bigger picture (see below).
- Ingredients
So, I mentioned the four main ingredients for a traditional sponge from the Women’s Own Cookbook, but that’s just the start. A small homemade cake using a recipe book gives you the right quantities for a lovely small cake. Doubling up won’t necessarily give you the quantities you need for much bigger cakes, especially over multiple tiers. Working out flavours and quantities of ingredients takes time and experimentation, with costs involved. If you’ve got the time and want to get it right, then go for it (I’m available for taste testing 😉). Get to know your local bakery supplier shop, where they have all the bits and pieces you’ll need to make your cakes: tins, decorations, cake boards, etc.. They may even have some of the ingredients you’ll need, such as flavourings or colourings.
If you’re attempting gluten-free or vegan recipes for the first time, try it with plenty of time to go so that you can practice getting it just right. The last thing you want is a dodgy-tasting cake on your big day.
- Design / Decoration
Again, start thinking about this ahead of time. If you want sugar roses, do you know how to make them? Can you create them in the colour you want? Try making them on a small scale to figure out how much time you’ll need in total. Give yourself the space to do them so you’re not in a rush. Sugar decorations can be made ahead of time and will keep if they’re stored correctly.
If you’re attempting a new decorating style, again, start ahead of time. Build up some experience to avoid any panic near your big day (especially if it’s not entirely going to plan!). Piping is hard if you’ve never done it before. Think about ways that you can do this by cheating or taking a class to learn these new techniques. Lettering can be done by hand or with stencils/moulds. Maybe you want to sculpt part of your decoration? Again, think about getting some experience and knowledge before attempting it on your actual cake. These aspects are harder than they look!
- Foundations
So many amateur bakers fail at this part. If you’ve never had to make a multi-tiered cake, why would you know how to make it sturdy? If you’re like me, you might watch some of those cake shows on TV and pick up a few pointers. However, it’s not the same as having been through courses and studied the skill, trying a few options. I’ve seen people use paper straws to try to make a cake stronger, with some not-so-great consequences! Use your local bakery supplier shop and buy the right thing. Remember – a soggy cake on a flimsy base will not hold the weight of other tiers unless they are installed correctly and kept at the right temperature, for example.
- Final thoughts
If you haven’t got the time or patience to learn the new skills needed to make a 2/3/4 tiered cake then think about other ways to deliver that cakey loveliness. Do you make a delicious brownie? Are you known for creating some stunning desserts? Go with your strengths and leave the more complicated stuff to the professionals.
However, if you are sure that you’d like to learn the skills necessary for making your own fantastic wedding cake, let me know. I have a few amazing professionals up my sleeve who can give you the necessary training and advice to get the job done. Because who doesn’t want to hear ‘OMG you made this yourself? You’re so clever!’ X
