A Texas Wedding and My First Wedding Cake

Written by Becky


I had the pleasure of making a wedding cake for my brother-in-law and his new bride for their Texas wedding.  Their wedding took place at her grandmother’s farm house in West Texas, just miles from where I grew up.  The farm house had a dreamy wrap around porch with the essential porch swing, a winding old wood staircase, stained glass windows, and cotton fields for miles.

The bride and groom ordered a wedding cake but it was not going to be able to feed the whole crowd so they asked if I could also bake one that would feed about 30 cowboys.  I jumped at the chance to be a part of their special day and bake my first wedding cake.

A bit nervous about the idea of a wedding cake, I decided to contact my friend Nicole, who has make several wedding cakes for friends and for her own wedding.  I just knew she would have a classy tried-and-true recipe that I could follow.  You can check our her cakes and some of her other baking adventures at her blog, Gateau Fille.

Here are some shots of the wedding and the cake along with a great wedding cake recipe!

*Note:  I doubles the cake and icing recipes to make a 5 layer, 2 tier cake, that would feed over 30 people.

Classic Wedding Cake with Raspberry Filling and Buttercream Icing

from Gateau Fille
I used two batches of this


INGREDIENTS
1 box WHITE Betty Crocker cake mix (her note*I’ve tried others but none work quite as well as this one)
1 small box vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract

*notes from Nicole and I

DIRECTIONS
Just mix and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. (*The times vary by oven and pan type… just take it out when the middle bounces back when touched lightly).  After cake has cooled you can use a long bread knife to make the layers even on top so that the layers will lay flat on top of one another. (See bottom photo)

Raspberry Filling
from Gateau Fille
 
INGREDIENTS
1 10 oz bag of frozen raspberries
1 Tb water
1/2B Tb cornstarch
1/2 cup of granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS
The raspberry filling is really easy. Place frozen raspberries in a saucepan with 1 Tbs water, 1 Tbs cornstarch, and about 1/2 cup granulated sugar. I let it boil away for a little while (maybe 5 minutes or so), stirring occasionally, and then check the consistency. You might need to add just a little bit more cornstarch, and then let it cook for a minute more. If you want to remove the raspberry seeds for a more smooth filling you can just press the raspberry filling through a sieve or strainer with tiny holes to just get the raspberry liquid without seeds.

*One more tip. Make sure to pipe a border of frosting around the layer you will be filling. Otherwise, the raspberry filling will show through and turn your cake pink!

Buttercream Icing
adapted from epicurious
I used two batches of this 
 

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy.
*Note:  I did one thin layer of icing (like above photo) over the whole cake to help make the crumbs stick and the layers stick together.  Then I refrigerated the cake for about an hour, and after that, I put the final layer of icing on the cake.  This helps to make the cake have a very finished look.

Comments (19)

  1. First of all Beautiful cake, looks like it’s very easy to make. My daughter wants me to make her one for her wedding but she wants a chocolate cake. Will this work if I change the vanilla to choc?

    • Honestly, I have never made it that way before. The reason this cake is so good is the almond extract I think! And the raspberry filling so I would recommend going for a classic chocolate recipe. Congratulations to you and your daughter!!

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