Anyone who has ever been involved in wedding planning knows that costs add up very quickly. From the dress to the venue and everything in between, weddings can be very expensive affairs. Since most of us don’t have an unlimited budget, finding little ways to cut back can really help.
That’s why I love this grocery store cake transformation! One YouTuber, Laurie Shannon of The Icing Artist, decided to try and make a wedding cake out of two grocery store sheet cakes. It sounds like a recipe for disaster… or possibly the best idea ever. Let’s take a look and see how this huge endeavor worked out!
Laurie starts by removing most of the icing from each cake, saving all of the white icing for later use. Next, she cuts out a template from parchment paper and places it on the cake, carefully cutting around the edges. I think we can all agree the rounded cakes are heading in the right direction!
After making sure each cake round is even, Laurie proceeds to add filling between the bigger rounds and the smaller rounds. She starts by placing a thick ring of leftover icing around the edge, then spoons in the creamy filling. The bottom tier has a custard filling with strawberry slices, and the top tier has a lemon curd filling with fresh raspberries. Laurie tells us that fresh fruit is a great way to spruce up a bland cake.
Now that the filling is done, it’s time to ice this cake. Beginning with a crumb coating, Laurie quickly moves on to the colored frosting. She uses a beautiful pink with purple undertones for the top tier and a bold navy for the bottom tier. I really like this combo!
Here comes the moment of truth – stacking the cakes. Laurie tells us the secret to stacking cakes is the support. She uses thick boba tea straws, but other similar objects work just as well.
Once the cakes are securely in place, Laurie moves on to the final stage of decorating. She uses edible gold leaf paper and fresh roses and orchids. Pro-tip: When decorating food with fresh cut flowers, make sure to cut the stem short and wrap it in floral tape.
The finished cake is absolutely gorgeous, don’t you think? Laurie sent a picture to a local bakery and asked for a quote to see how much they would charge to make it. Believe it or not, they said it would cost $450! I’d say this project was a huge success.
