Wedding Cake FAQ’s…

It is best that you order your cake as soon as reasonably possible. I would advise you to order no later than 3 months (ideally at least 6 months) before your wedding date.

As a rule, book your cake creator as soon as you have found the right one for you.

As an artisan cake creator, I only have a limited amount of time available and so the number of commissions I can accept each week is limited.

The longer you delay in ordering your cake, the higher the risk that my time will be fully booked for your wedding day.

I don’t work to a standard price list for my cakes as every wedding cake is unique.

The price of a wedding cake will vary depending on the size and complexity of the overall design.

I feel that your wedding cake budget depends very much on how important your wedding cake is to you. Do you want a wedding cake just because you have to have one? Or is this cake of huge importance to you in how it looks and tastes and you want it to be the crowning glory of your wedding when you come to the cutting ceremony. 

How I work is that I will build up a brief of your ideal cake, from which I put together a detailed quotation.

The size of cake will depend on how you intend to use it and/or how much budget you wish to allocate to this part of your ceremony.

Traditionally, the cake is cut and served to all of the guests. As such, the cake needs to be sized to achieve this.

The formula we work to for round cakes is based on wedding-size portions of 5cm x 2.5cm. The following portion yields can be expected:

• 15cm diameter tier = 10 portions
• 20cm diameter tier = 28 portions
• 25cm diameter tier = 42 portions
• 30cm diameter tier = 56 portions

The cake tiers can thus be selected to match your guest numbers.

A growing trend is to commission a “cutting cake” to fulfil the photogaphic and cutting elements of the ceremony, but not to be served to guests.

A “cutting cake” is commonly made up of a top tier of cake and the lower tiers are decorated blanks.

Often, the cutting cake is accompanied by pre-portioned decorated sheet cake that can be served to your guests so that they can share in your cutting ceremony.

This approach lends itself to larger guest numbers, but can only be adopted for fondant covered cakes.

Each cake is unique and will never be exactly the same as the photo that you’ve found on the internet and it shouldn’t be.

I will certainly take inspiration from these photos in creating your bespoke wedding cake that’s unique to you as a couple. 

All cakes do better in an airconditioned environment – a nice comfy temperature of 22C.

In our very hot months (November through to February) it is wiser to opt for a fondant covered cake as it can stand up to the heat a little better than buttercream. Buttercream will start to soften as soon as it leaves the fridge and once the thermometer reaches 30C there is a real danger of slippage.

Before I cover my cakes in fondant, they are iced with a white chocolate ganache that provides a nice firm undercoating. Chocolate starts to soften at 30C, but should not melt like buttercream.

Yes! Each tier can be a different flavour / filling combination

Your wedding cake will be made in the week leading up to your wedding.  This is normally a three day process depending upon the type of cake chosen. Using a fondant covered cake as example:

Day 1: bake cake and make fillings

Day 2: tort, fill and ganache the cake

Day 3: cover cake in fondant, decorate and add details if possible before delivery

Day 4: deliver

So if your wedding is on a Saturday, I will begin work on the Tuesday or Wednesday of that week depending on the amount of work involved.

Yes, absolutely.

When it comes to decorations such as flowers, foliage and topper, I always recommend that you source these items yourself and leave them for me to arrange on the cake at set-up.

The best approach is to ask your florist/décor provider to set some flowers aside for use on the cake. Doing it this way ensures that the cake will tie in to the overall theme of the room, plus it is much more cost-effective.

The most important things to remember regarding fresh flowers are:

Do not use any toxic flowers on your wedding cake.

Do not use overly scented flowers on your wedding cake.

Do not use any flowers with pollen stamens that might drop onto the cake.

Make sure the flowers are added to the cake in a food safe manner. This is why it is usually better for your cake creator to arrrange the flowers as they should have knowledge regarding food safety.

As an alternative to fresh flowers you may wish to consider wafer paper flowers. A benefit of using wafer paper flowers are that you are not restricted to colour or availability of a particular flower. I am able to make these to match your brief. 

If you decide on a topper, then it is much better for you to source this as its choice is a very personal decision.

Cake toppers are a personal choice, so we do not carry a stock of these.

We do have a limited stock of cake stands that you are welcome to hire.

Once you have an initial quote, if you subsequently decide to change any aspect of the brief, I will send a revised quote to reflect the changes.

Sometimes several revisions are required and sometimes the first quote is exactly right. The important thing is to get your cake exactly how you want it.

Please note that you cannot make changes after 30 days prior to your wedding day.

Yes. When you place your order we ask that you pay a Save the Date Fee. 

Payment of the Save the Date Fee enables me to add you to my work schedule and importantly to ensure that I don’t accept any other commission that would conflict with yours. 

The amount of Save the Date Fee payable will be detailed on your quote. 

Please note that the Save the Date Fee is non-refundable in the event of cancellation.

 The balance of the cake is due 30 days before your wedding.

Yes! I actually prefer to deliver and set-up your wedding cake myself.

This way I know that the cake has arrived at your wedding venue in its best possible condition.

I will gladly (and I love doing this), decorate your wedding cake with the flowers that your florist has put aside for me.

I charge a set fee for delivery to the West Coast towns between Velddrif and Langebaan.

I’m very happy to deliver to other West Coast destinations beyond these two points, and I then calculate a delivery fee based on the round-trip mileage.

I would prefer to deliver and set-up your wedding cake myself.

This way I know that the cake has arrived at your wedding venue in its best possible condition.

But should you prefer to collect your cake, please ensure that you have a clean, flat surface for transportation. Vans, sports utility and other vehicles with folding back seats and airconditioning are the best for travel.  If you are in a car, the floor is generally safer than the seat for cake transportation.

Please understand that we are not responsible for any damages to your cake once it leaves our premises.