FREQUENTLY ASKED
Below are some of the many questions I get asked from day to day.
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Please have a look through these before you send in your query... as I have probably answered it below!
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You can also find A LOT of questions answered over on my Instagram Q&A Highlights: click here
Honestly I feel like I am still learning something new every day. There is so much to learn.
I have been baking for a long time and I would say I have only just, in the last two years, felt like my recipes and skills have become what/wehere I want them to be!
I had NO IDEA at the start. Who does?
There was so many different styles out there and I decided to try a few different styles and techniques before I realised I loved the classic, simple, elegant designs.
Luckily I don't really have to "repair" but this is all because of the stability of my cakes.
This isn't just down to the stacking, there are MANY reasons:
- The structure of your sponge and if you have trimmed them straight.
- Your filling - making sure it isn't causing any sliding due to too much filling.
- If you have crumb coated (i.e. I use ganache to make my cakes even more stable)
- A stable buttercream recipe - have you seen Chemily's Buttercream Recipe?
- And lastly, yes, the stacking - a tutorial will be coming soon.
My three tier cakes are always the following sizes:
Top Tier: 5"
Middle Tier: 7"
Bottom Tier: 9"
My two tier cakes are always the following sizes:
Top Tier: 5"
Bottom Tier: 7"
This really depends on the cake design but roughly a three tier cake will take me 3 days from start to set up.
I bake the sponges two days before the wedding date. Baking three tiers takes about 5 hours (not including cooling time).
Then one day before the date I trim, fill, ganache, ice, stack and decorate (if any stencil is required or ombre effect etc). This takes the whole day - from 9am until 5/6pm.
On the day of the wedding, I decorate the cake with any fresh flowers required (either in the morning in my studio or at the venue) and then I have to deliver the cake. Normally on a cake delivery day I am in the car from 9am and I don't return until about 3pm.
There really isn't a set time on how lone a cake takes as each cake is individual.
So a bit of a funny one..
Carrot cake is my ALL TIME favourite cake flavour but I don't make it!
Why? It is very simple, I don't want to add any risk to my baking in regards to nuts. I haven't found a carrot recipe I love that doesn't contain nuts yet so I have taken it off the menu.
My favourite of which I do make is my White Chocolate & Raspberry Sponge - recipe available here.
Hopefully one day I will!
I LOVE teaching people so I would love to start 1:1 classes - I just need to find a bigger work space first.
My tiers are always 7-7.5" tall. So a three tier is about 22" tall.
The small change in height depends on how I apply my ganache and buttercream. As I do my ganache and buttercream free hand the height can vary.