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
- 3 Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 225g Unrefined dark muscovado sugar
- 225g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 175g Self-raising white flour
- 50g Cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
For the 6 inch cake filling
- 100g Butter (unsalted)
- 300g Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 40ml Milk (whole)
- 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the 9 inch tier cake
- 8 Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 450g Billington's Unrefined Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 450g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 400g Self-raising white flour
- 50g Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Baking powder
For the 9 inch cake filling
- 200g Butter (unsalted)
- 600g Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 80ml Milk (whole)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the 12 inch tier cake
- 10 Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 680g Billington's Unrefined Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 680g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 600g Self-raising white flour
- 80g Cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
For the 12 inch cake filling
- 400g Butter (unsalted)
- 1360g Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 160ml Milk (whole)
- 1 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the finishing touch
- 1 bunch Flowers
- To dust Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 6in / 8in / 12in Cake boards
- 10 (minimum) Cake dowels
Recipe Reviews
It was perfect the wedding went so great!
I devenetly recomend this cake
Love this
This is a lovely light textured cake. As the two previous reviewers said the cake was crumbly I added a tablespoon of oil. And this in my opinion kept the light texture and cut down on the crumbling tendency.
I will be making this cake again,the recipe is easy to follow.
Very rich and juicy cake. I iced it completely for a different look and the crumb coat of buttercream was a bit difficult because it was a touch crumbly - but it held it’s shape nicely when cut and went down a storm.
This recipes tastes nice, but the cake is far too crumbly too work with or cut nice clean shapes. It's possible that something went wrong, but I followed the recipe exactly.
Ingredients
For the 6 inch cake
- 3 Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 225g Unrefined dark muscovado sugar
- 225g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 175g Self-raising white flour
- 50g Cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
For the 6 inch cake filling
- 100g Butter (unsalted)
- 300g Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 40ml Milk (whole)
- 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the 9 inch tier cake
- 8 Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 450g Billington's Unrefined Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 450g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 400g Self-raising white flour
- 50g Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Baking powder
For the 9 inch cake filling
- 200g Butter (unsalted)
- 600g Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 80ml Milk (whole)
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the 12 inch tier cake
- 10 Egg(s) (free range) (large)
- 680g Billington's Unrefined Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 680g Butter (unsalted) (softened)
- 600g Self-raising white flour
- 80g Cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
For the 12 inch cake filling
- 400g Butter (unsalted)
- 1360g Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 160ml Milk (whole)
- 1 1/2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
For the finishing touch
- 1 bunch Flowers
- To dust Silver Spoon Icing sugar
- 6in / 8in / 12in Cake boards
- 10 (minimum) Cake dowels