Want to Make Your Own Wedding Cake? Here's How to DIY
You just got engaged and you’re starting to explore different ideas for your wedding: maybe you’ve already picked a date and a venue, maybe you’re found the perfect outfit or know exactly what kind of food you want served. When it comes to desserts, you have so many different options. Do you want a formal wedding cake? Are you looking for something a little different, like bite-sized treats? Do you want a cake and other desserts that’ll complement it? Once you’ve decided which direction might be right for your overall vision, it’s time to drill down to some of the details. Do you know which bakery you may want to work with? Which flavors are right for you? Do you want the cake to look a certain way? Maybe, even, do you want to consider making it yourself?
Although it probably comes as no big surprise, we don’t necessarily recommend trying to make your own wedding cake. But it’s not because we sell wedding cakes ourselves. It’s because we’re wedding cake pros and we know how much work goes into making such a major cake for such a big group of people.
If you are tied to a DIY wedding cake—and we get it! It's a personal decision—we have some tips that will hopefully make the process go a little more smoothly. From the steps it’ll take to the best flavor combinations and more, here’s what you need to know about making your own wedding cake.
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Pros of a DIY Wedding Cake
It can save some money: Custom wedding cakes can really add up (but you’re paying for all that expertise and artistry!).
You get creative control: No matter your vision, when you’re making your own cake, if you have the skills, you can make it look however you’d like.
It gives you bragging rights: Making your own cake is pretty impressive.
Now Let’s Talk Cons
We love the initiative, but making your own wedding cake can be, well, less than glamorous. Here are a few reasons why we wouldn’t recommend it:
It takes a long time: Between making the batter, baking the layers, cooling everything, making the filling, making the frosting, assembling your cake, frosting, and decorating, you’re looking at a pretty time-intensive project. Shortly before your wedding, when stress can already be high, may not be the best time to take that on.
You’re already stressed: Wedding planning can be stressful, especially as you’re trying to pull together all the final details. Making your own wedding cake adds a ton of extra pressure and stress that you just don’t need.
It’s a pain to transport: While you can often pay to have your wedding cake delivered, when you make it yourself, that’s not an option. So now you’ll have to navigate how you’ll get your cake to the venue all on your own, on a very busy day.
It takes real skill: Even seasoned home bakers can struggle with the skills required to make a wedding cake. If you haven’t made fillings and frostings before, or if your piping skills aren’t up to snuff, you might be better off leaving your wedding cake to the pros.
How to Make a DIY Wedding Cake
If you’re still tied to making your own wedding cake, we do have some tips for you! From the steps you’ll want to follow to our favorite flavor combinations to use and even how to avoid cake catastrophe, here’s our DIY wedding cake advice:
Step 1: Make a Plan
So you’ve decided to make your own wedding cake. The first thing you’ll need to do is to make a thorough and thoughtful plan. Think about how you want the cake to look and taste before you get started. Find a solid and reliable recipe. Think about how much storage space you have in your freezer, the schedule before your big day, and when exactly everything will happen. Jumping right in without a plan will only lead to stress and chaos—and there’s already enough of that going around.
Step 2: Gather Your Tools
Even if you’re a pretty good home baker, chances are good that you don’t have everything you’ll need to make a wedding cake already in your kitchen. Do a little research to determine what size pans you’ll need, if you’ll need Cambros or bins for frosting, etc. Then, you can do some online ordering or head to a well-stocked (preferably restaurant supply) store to get everything you’ll need.
Step 3: Bake Your Cake Layers
Once you’re ready to start baking, assemble your ingredients and tools and get to work. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature for best results, bake the layers evenly, make sure they’re completely cooled, then level them off to ensure your cake doesn’t tilt.
Step 4: Make the Filling
If you’re going to sandwich a separate filling between the cake layers, you’ll want to make that now. Consider a rich, indulgent fudge, an elegant pastry cream, a fruit jam, a creamy caramel, or a tart curd.
Step 5: Make the Buttercream
At ECBG, we love Italian meringue buttercream. It’s subtly sweet, so velvety, and pipes like a dream. Fluffy and delicious, this buttercream is the perfect finishing touch for your cake.
Step 6: Build Your Cake
Level your cakes: If you haven’t leveled the cake layers yet, now’s the time.
Apply a crumb coat: A thin layer of buttercream seals in crumbs and makes the final coat flawless.
Chill before stacking: Cold cakes are easier to work with and less likely to slide around.
Use dowels for support: If you’re going for a multi-tier cake, dowels can make your towering cake a bit sturdier.
Step 7: Time to Decorate
Now that you’ve created all of the components you’ll need for the cake, it’s time to decorate. You can go as intricate or as simple as your skills (and vision) allow. Want to add lots of flowers, gold leaf, or edible pearls? No problem! Prefer something that’s more understated? Go for it! Just make sure that whatever you’re putting on the cake is food-safe.
How to Store Your Cake Components Before Assembly
You’re almost definitely going to want to break this whole process up into smaller chunks to make it more manageable. Because you’re making cake layers, fillings, frostings, and more all on different days, you’ll want to make sure you’re storing everything correctly in the meantime. Here’s our guide:
Cake Layers
Short-Term (1-2 days): Wrap each layer in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. This helps keep them moist and firm for stacking.
Long-Term (Up to 1 month): Wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge before assembling.
Buttercream Frosting
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Before using, let it come to room temperature and re-whip it to get the texture right.
Ganache or Fillings
Ganache can be refrigerated for up to a week and should be gently reheated before spreading.
Fruit fillings should be stored in an airtight container and used within a few days to prevent spoilage.
Decorations (Buttercream Flowers, Fresh Flowers, Fondant, Etc.)
Fresh flowers should be prepped and kept in the fridge in a water-filled container until it’s time to decorate.
Fondant decorations can be made ahead and stored at room temperature in an airtight container to keep them from drying out.
Buttercream flowers are best when made fresh.
A Few of The Easiest Wedding Cakes to DIY
As you think about what kind of wedding cake you might want to make, it's helpful to think about some of the kinds of cakes that might be a bit easier to pull off, even if you don't have a ton of advanced pastry skills. Here are a few cake options that are a bit easier to DIY, but still feel appropriate for a wedding or other formal celebration:
Single-Tier Cakes or Sheet Cakes: If you're making your own cake and don't feel super confident in your baking or cake decorating abilities, consider making one (or a few) single-tier cake or even a sheet cake. The fewer tiers you need to juggle, the less stressful you may find the process. Make the whole thing feel more elegant by decorating with fresh flowers, fruit, edible gold leaf, or edible pearls.
Naked Cakes or Semi-Naked Cakes: A naked cake only requires a little bit of frosting and generally doesn't need as much decorating as a traditional layer cake. The look is meant to be a little more rustic or less polished, but you can still make it show-stopping.
Cupcake Towers: Opt out of intricate cake design altogether and make a cupcake tower for your big day. Sure, cupcakes aren't having the *moment* they used to be having, but they're so much less stressful than making a tiered wedding cake.
Textured Buttercream Cakes: Forget trying to get that perfectly smooth finish—intentionally rustic textures (like swoops, ridges, or spatula strokes) are trendy and beginner-friendly.
If you're set on a traditional stacked cake, go for two tiers max—anything taller and you’re entering high-risk territory.
A Few of Our Favorite Wedding Cake Flavor Combinations
You’re putting in a lot of work to make this wedding cake, so you want to make sure it tastes as good as it looks. Here are a few of our favorite flavor combinations to make your cake memorable (and delicious):
Classic Vanilla & Raspberry: This classic combination is light and fresh, and goes so well with a layer of vanilla buttercream or white chocolate ganache.
Chocolate & Salted Caramel: What’s better than chocolate and caramel? This decadent, rich pairing would go so well with a simple buttercream.
Lemon & Elderflower: If you’re more of a fruit dessert person, consider the elegant combo of lemon and elderflower. It’s floral, citrusy, and perfect for a wedding.
Espresso & Hazelnut: This might not be as typical a combination, but it sure is delicious.
Coconut & Passionfruit: A tropical dream that’s fruity, creamy, and unexpected in the best way.
Almond & Amaretto: Nutty, slightly boozy, and pairs beautifully with berry or chocolate fillings.
Strawberry & Champagne: A celebratory classic, this flavor combination would lend to the party atmosphere.
How to Avoid a Homemade Wedding Cake Catastrophe
Make sure your cake layers are chilled: Hot cake will melt the butter in the buttercream, wrecking the cake. Plus, if you pick the wrong buttercream and it’s too soft to hold up the cake layers, everything will slide around.
Keep everything cool: Just like a warm cake can melt buttercream, so can a warm day. Make sure you’re keeping everything cool between steps (and once you’re done).
Plan your design ahead of time: Whatever you do, don’t just wing your design when decorating. You need a plan to make it look its best!
FAQs
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You can make your cake layers up to a month in advance, let them cool completely, then tightly wrap them in plastic wrap (and, ideally, aluminum foil), and freeze them. You can make your buttercream about 3-5 days ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The furthest out you can assemble your cake (for the best finished product!) is 1-2 days and then you need to make sure it’s all kept chilled, so factor all of that into your timeline when making your plan.
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Dowels make everything more stable, so it’s best if you use them. If you forgo the dowels (or other internal supports), you run the risk of your cake collapsing before the night is over.
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At ECBG, we love Italian meringue buttercream, but Swiss meringue buttercream would also work well. They’re only subtly sweet (unlike American buttercream), plus they’re super silky smooth and pretty durable.
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Brush each layer of cake with a little bit of simple syrup before adding your frosting to lock in moisture and help combat staling.
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Make sure you keep it chilled as long as possible before leaving, then use a sturdy cake box to transport it to the venue. Drive carefully to keep everything safe and sound!
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Yes, but make sure they’re food-safe, non-toxic, and pesticide-free (edible flowers are best). Wrap stems in floral tape before inserting them into the cake.
Creating a DIY wedding cake is no joke. It takes a ton of work, effort, and skill. While we wouldn’t necessarily recommend going it alone, if you’re determined to make your own cake, we hope these tips help make the process go a little more smoothly. And if you’ve decided it might not be for you and you want Team ECBG to take it off your plate, you know where to find us.
