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Where to buy a blank cake and easy ways to decorate it.

In previous posts I have talked about using a dummy cake for your wedding reception then serving cutting bars for your guests. But there are plenty of shops and companies that offer blank cakes in variety of sizes, shapes and flavours for you to assemble and decorate. So, here are some options for you to purchase your perfect wedding cake on a budget. Later on I will give yo some great examples (and shamelessly plugging my cake toppers) for your enjoyment.

              The first thing to remember when choosing and pricing up your store bought cake is that, unlike the polystyrene version, if your cake is teared, you will need supports. These supports (usually pillars and dowels) help distribute the weight to the base, basically stopping the cake from turning into the leaning tower of wedding cake or worse, a cakey smush. This is especially important if you are having a fruit cake because they weigh a tone.

               M&S offer a good range of supports - https://www.marksandspencer.com/l/food-to-order/wedding-cakes/wedding-cakes/accessories-n-df6al?intid=FW_WDCakes_Tile5_Accessories


M&S
Picture from the M&S website
Speaking of M&S, along with their many wedding cake options they offer a build your own cake service which means you can get a 3 tiered cake from just £62 - visit https://www.marksandspencer.com/traditional-wedding-cake/p/ds458689?prevPage=plp


Waitrose

Picture taken from Waitress website

Waitress offer lots of options and supports with a couple of more flavour options, they're a bit on the pricey side though, the above cake costing £199. Visit - https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/fiona-cairns-undecorated-3-tier-wedding-cake-fruit/407367-57308-57309


Betty's

photo from the Betty's website

This legendary Yorkshire institution offers beautiful cake options, with this little beauty costing £260. List - https://www.bettys.co.uk/plain-soft-iced-cake


Windsor Cake Craft

Picture taken from Windsor cake craft website.

This company offers many sizes and flavours but please be advised the icing and filling is not included. So it is a little bit more work but you have the advantage of having the filling of your choice and you can have a little more fun with the icing. For example, instead of plain white icing, why not add a colour or create a marbled effect with gel colouring roughly kneaded into the fondant before before rolled out and put on the cake. 3 tiered cake costs from £33.70. Visit - https://www.windsorcakecraft.co.uk/6_inch_round_vanilla_cakep.html


I had planned on taste testing all of these cakes however I have to admit when I looked into it, it would cost my little business too many pennies. Ofcourse if I had a sponsor HINT HINT, I could afford to try them, so I hope to revisit these in the future to tell you who wins the taste test.



Now here are some great and easy ideas for decorating your beautiful cake with some little treasures from me. Enjoy. 

Ribbons
Simple Satin ribbon is always elegant and budget friendly, top with a simple flower matching your bouquet for a classic cake that will dazzle your guests. You can either fix your ribbon with a couple of dabs of royal icing or for a bit of interest, use pearl topped pins to fasten the ribbon together and to the cake.

Think Green
Why not try using a little bit of greenery on alternate sides of the cake going upwards, it's so simple but really effective and so so easy.

 Pretty Pearls
Now this is a super easy option, albeit fiddly and time consuming but definitely worth it. I bought 2 bags of assorted pearls from the Range cost a grand total of £2 and using a dab of store bought royal icing stuck them around the bottom of each tier in a random pattern. The took some satin ribbon and, using the royal icing again stuck it on the top. So this cost me under £3 but look and million dollars.


If you would like some tutorials on creating these looks or anything else, please comment and let me know what you want to see.

PLEASE SHARE

Here are the paper flower cake toppers available from Approved Crafting (me), visit my easy sight for these and more - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ApprovedCrafting?ref=seller-platform-mcnav



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