This homemade Wedding cake consists of bundt cakes in different sizes, that create an intricate-looking cake tower design. Perfect for a wedding - and easy enough to make at home. This way you can incorporate your favorite flavors into your wedding without breaking the budget. Also there is a choice of cakes for all the guests!
When I was asked to bake the wedding cake for my sister's wedding I was a little daunted. I do not like working with icing, and the naked wedding cakes are all the rage. Also for traditional German wedding cakes, you use German buttercream, which is very sensitive to hot environments.
This was my Wedding cake - a traditional German Wedding cake covered in German butter cream.
However, I was lucky! My sister does not like cream cakes. She wanted a wedding cake without cream- and I have an abundance of German cake recipes to fit the bill.
The advantages of a bundt Wedding cake
- they are easy to make. You do not have to create different layers of cake. No cream or icing, so less chance of it going wrong.
- No need to cool and easy to transport. Cakes with cream have to be cooled. They are also not easy to transport. Whereas these cakes are sturdy.
- Prepare in advance. I made the cake the day in advance, but I think you can even prepare it up to two days ahead.
How to make a wedding bundt cake
My wedding bundt cake recipe is a compilation of popular cake recipes from the blog. I have adjusted the quantities to fit the different bundt pans.
Bundt pans for this wedding cake
I used a mixture of bundt and Gugelhupf / Kugelhopf pans. The difference between a bundt pan and a Gugelhupf pan is that the Gugelhopf are slightly taller but less wide.
- Top Tier - USA 6 inch/16 cm Kugelhupf pan (affiliate link)
- Second Tier - USA 9 inch/22 cm Kugelhupf pan (affiliate link)
- Third Tier - USA 10 inch/ 26cm Kugelhupf pan (affiliate link)
- Fourth Tier - USA 10inch/ 26 cm ring cake pan (affiliate link) (I used my Frankfurt Kranz Cake Mould)
Which cake mix for the Gugelhupf Wedding cakes?
There is an endless choice of cakes to pick from. I suggest using different flavors for variety. Family recipes do very well.
- The bottom cake was a Hazelnut Chocolate cake - which is a family heirloom from the Groom's Grandmother.
- The top and pre-ultimate cake was my German Lemon Cake. You can never go wrong with lemon cake in summer.
- The third cake is a German Red Wine Cake - which is a delicious boozy cake made from red wine, chocolate, and a hint of cinnamon.
Here are more cakes on my blog work for this alternative wedding cake.
Bundt Wedding Cake Decoration
- Icing - I decorated the cakes alternatively with lemon icing and dark chocolate. I used the drip technique to create a pretty pattern.
- Flowers - On the day of the wedding, my and my sister visited a florist, and I asked which flowers I could use that would not immediately wilt. I picked the colors and she gave me a selection of roses, baby's breath (gypsophilia), and carnations. We picked a pink and white color scheme.
- Cake Topper - I ordered a personalized cake topper from Etsy with the names and the date of the wedding on it. There are different designs to choose from but it is also an inexpensive way of making this cake tower look special.
How to create the bundt cake tower
Once the cakes have been baked, cooled down, and iced, you can start creating the tower.
I transported them to the venue individually and then assembled them there. I stacked the smaller cakes onto the larger ones. If you like you can secure them with wooden skewers, but I did not bother (perhaps it is better to be safe than sorry though)
How to serve
Once the couple cuts the first slice, you can take the cake tower apart and serve it on individual cake platters. The guests can then choose their favorite cake.
Storage
These cakes are stored very well. Keep leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days. The cakes also freeze very well. You can freeze them whole or already cut them into individual slices for up to three months.
Recipe
Homemade Wedding Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake- For the 6" and 8" Kugelhopf pans
- 300 g (1 ⅓ cups) butter
- 400 g (2 cups) sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 medium eggs
- 600 g (5 cups) flour Germany type 405, UK Plain Flour, USA all purpose or cake flour.
- 100 g (1 cups) almonds
- 2 pinches salt
- 4 lemons
- 160 g (¾ cups) oil
For the Lemon Glaze
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) powdered sugar / Icing sugar
- 6 tablespoon lemon juice
Red Wine ChocolateCake
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 pinch salt
- 250 g (1 cups) butter 1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 100 g (½ cups) dark chocolate chips (affiliate link)
- 280 g (2 ¼ cups) plain flour
- 200 ml (1 cups) red wine
- 200 gr (1 cups) caster sugar
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
- 1 pinch salt
- 350 g (1 ½ cups) butter
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 225 g (8 oz) semi dark chocolate
- 270 g (2 ¼ cups) flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 300 g (2 ⅔ cups) ground hazelnuts (affiliate link)
Chocolate Glaze
- 300g Semi Dark Chocolate Glaze
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180 °C / 350 °F.
- Place the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract (affiliate link) in a bowl and mix with a paddle attachment using a hand or stand mixer, until creamy. Add the eggs one, by one and whisk until combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ground almonds (affiliate link), salt, and baking powder (affiliate link). Add the dry mixture in small portions to the egg mixture and mix until combined
- Wash the lemons and remove the skin of the lemon using a zester. Squeeze the juice out from one lemon and add to the zests from both lemons. Pour into the batter and mix. Now pour in the oil.
- Coat your Kugelhupf form or loaf pan with butter. Pour in the batter and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes. To test if the cake is done, prick the middle with a skewer. If it comes out clean it is done.
- Remove the pan from the oven and cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Do not let the cake cool too long in the pan or it will stick. Place a wire rack over the cake pan and invert the cake onto the rack. Cool the cake for 60 minutes.
Red Wine Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 160 °C or 320°F
- Grease your cake form with some butter and a handful breadcrumbs (optional)
- Using a hand or stand mixer whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until you achieve some stiff peaks
- In a separate bowl add caster sugar, vanilla sugar or extract, egg yolks and butter and mix until you achieve a nice creamy consistency.
- Add the cocoa powder, chocolate chips (affiliate link) and cinnamon to the bowl and combine everything to a homogenous mass.
- Mix the flour and baking powder (affiliate link). Little by little add the red wine and flour to the cake batter, alternating between the two. Mix until everything is combined.
- Lastly, carefully fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Pour the dough into the prepared cake tin and place the tin into the oven.
- The red wine cake has to bake for about 60 min. Check after an hour with a knife or skewer if the cake is done. If the knife/ skewer comes out clean it is done. Cool the Cake for 60 minuts.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/356°F top to bottom heat.
- To ensure that the bowl is uncontaminated, wipe it with some lemon juice or vinegar. This will ensure that your eggs will be nice and stiff. Now place the egg white in the bowl.
- Add a pinch of salt and then using a hand or stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Set aside in the fridge until needed.
- In a separate bowl whisk the butter, sugar and milk until creamy.
- Prepare a water bath and melt the semi-dark chocolate. (To make a water bath: place a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Chop up the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the bowl. Stir occasionally to avoid bubbles forming. When the chocolate almost melts, carefully remove the bowl from heat and place it on a towel. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and ready to use. )
- Add the flour, baking powder (affiliate link) and hazelnuts to the butter mix. Pour in the melted chocolate. Mix to a smooth cake batter.
- Finally, add in the stiff egg whites. Carefully mix until combined. You do not want to mix too long otherwise the egg whites will deflate and the cake might not end up as airy.
- Prepare a cake form or a bundt cake form by greasing it with butter and dusting the metal with flour.
- Pour or spread the cake batter in the form and place in the oven.
- Bake for approximately 60 minutes. Test the cake by piercing it with a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean the cake is ready.
- Leave to cool completely.
Chocolate Glaze
- Melt the chocolate in a water bath and pour over the cakes
Lemon Icing
- Sieve the powdered sugar and combine with the juice. You will want the glaze to be quite thick. Pour over the cake.
cammy says
What a clever idea for a wedding cake! Beautiful. I'm curious if you used wooden rods to keep the layers atop each other. I'm sure it was delicious on every level!
Marita Sinden says
Hi Cammy, I did not use the wooden rods in the end because the cakes are quite heavy, so stable. But you can use them if you need to.