Making Your Own Wedding Cake

Cake Sizes and Portion Sizes

When making your own wedding cake, it could be rich in fruit, arranged in tiers and lavishly iced and decorated. Or it could be of another flavor, which can also be arranged and decorated in the traditional way or in a more modern style.

When making tiered cakes in any flavor it is essential to get the proportions of the tiers correct, to give the desired pyramid effect. Don’t try to make the bigger sizes (before you measure your oven space) you should have at least 2.5cm (1 inch) space between the oven walls and the tin.

You can hire different shape tins, stands, and other needed ingredients from a cake decorating supplier. For three-tiered cakes, bake the two smaller cakes together and the largest one on its own.

Traditional recipes require that the cakes be made two to three months before the wedding so that it can mature in wine and brandy. The icing acts as an airtight seal that can be decorated. These types of cakes can be stored for years if packed carefully.

Making smaller cup cakes can be easier than baking a tiered cake; these can be place on a cup cake stands which can be hired from a cake decorating supplier. If iced and decorated nicely this can look stunning.

If you decide to make cakes other than fruit cake, these can be baked well in advance and frozen un-iced, then thaw closer to the date and decorate.


When making your own cake(s) will need to work out the size and number of cakes that will be needed to serve all your wedding guests. Use the easy to follow chart below as a guide.