Want to have a simple but memorable home wedding party? Try baking your wedding cakes to complete the event. Many people now choose to bake their cakes than spending a lot of money on wedding formalities. Unfortunately, many people with celiac disease will not be able for them today, because of all the gluten in the flour.
Luckily, there are many great homemade wedding cakes out there that don’t use gluten. You and your guests can enjoy delicious cake without digestive problem during the honeymoon. Start from this basic recipe to make your dream chocolate wedding cake.
Chocolate Wedding Cakes with Cupcakes
You’ve heard about wedding cupcakes, but with this recipe, you can make both cupcake and wedding cakes. The cake is small and designed for an intimate home wedding (with around 20 to 30 guests). You can adjust the ingredients to make a bigger cake.
Ingredients (for cake)
1 ¾ cup of gluten-free flour
3 eggs
2 cups of sugar
¾ cup of cocoa powder
1 cup of milk (dairy or nondairy)
1 cup of hot coffee (unsweetened)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
½ cup of vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoon of baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of xanthan gum powder
Ingredients (for frosting)
4 cups of icing sugar
¾ cup of cocoa powder
½ cup of vegetable fat
½ cup of softened butter
3 or 4 tablespoons of cold coffee
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Instructions (for regular wedding cakes)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (around 180 degrees Celsius)
- Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder) in one bowl. Whisk or beat with mixer.
- Add milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Beat again until everything gets mixed.
- Add hot coffee and beat again. You will end up with smooth, chocolate-y, runny dough.
- Pour batter to two 8-inch cake pans — Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Take out the cake. Stick a toothpick into the cake. If the toothpick comes out dry, the cake is cooked.
- Cool the cakes on cooling rack.
If you want to make cupcakes and wedding cakes, use 6-inch cake pans. Pour the rest into cupcake tins (leave 1/3 of the top part empty in each cupcake tin). Bake the cupcakes for 22 to 25 minutes. The regular cakes will be baked in 25 to 30 minutes.
Instructions (for Frosting)
- Place butter and vegetable shortening in one bowl. Beat with mixer until they become mixed and fluffy.
- Add cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Beat again.
- Turn down the mixer speed. While holding the mixer in the cream, alternate between one tablespoon of coffee and one cup of sugar. Beat until everything become soft and fluffy.
- Cover the bowl with plastic. Keep in the fridge if not used immediately.
The results of this recipe are simple-looking chocolate wedding cakes (or slightly smaller cakes with cupcakes). They are your canvas to create cute wedding cake decorations.
Chocolate Wedding Cake Baking Tips
There are several baking tips you can try for variations in this wedding cakes adventure:
- Use other vegetable oil
If you have a problem about using vegetable oil, replace it with any oil you like, such as canola or coconut oil. Coconut oil is especially great for cakes because it creates moist texture with a subtle aroma.
- Do baking check with certain gluten-free flour
If you never use gluten-free flour to make chocolate cakes, you probably encounter certain brands that create “grainy” cake texture. Buy a small package of a brand and try baking a small cake with it to see the texture result.
- Replace coffee if necessary
Some people cannot tolerate coffee. You can replace hot coffee in the cake recipe with hot water. For the frosting, replace cold coffee with milk.
After creating successful cakes, it is time to decorate them. While cake decoration may be simple (unless you are an expert), you probably face problems even when trying something simple.
How to Decorate Your Wedding Cakes
You don’t need to use elaborate decorations for homemade wedding cakes. Here are several ideas to try:
- Wooden board floral delight
Use a large wooden board to place your wedding cakes. Surround them with the cupcakes. Add wildflowers in small mason jars or milk bottles, surrounding the cake. Sprinkle the cakes with edible flowers, which have similar colors with the glass jar ones.
- White roses and embroidered cupcake tins
Add several sugar white roses on your chocolate cakes. Place strawberry slices around each other, to the contrast between the chocolate and white colors. Place the cupcakes in white, embroidered, custom tins.
- Abstract lines with seasonal flowers
Use frosting pipe to create squiggly lines on the surface of each cake tier. Add several non-pesticide seasonal flowers, ranging from top to bottom. Place several smaller flowers between the big ones for contrast.
With these simple ideas, your gluten-free cakes will look delicious, even if you make them at home.
Conclusion
Making your wedding cakes is not difficult if you master the technique. Grain-free, gluten-free chocolate wedding cakes make sure that everyone can enjoy the day. Have a happy wedding with delicious, moist, gluten-free chocolate cakes.