what is that you say? you're getting married soon and you want to make your own desserts too???? i say do it! here's how i did it and some tips that might help you:
first, i determined what my top priorities were and then chose some easier recipes that would help bulk up our dessert table, to ensure we had enough. the sprinkle cake, moose mousse cake, and pies from my blogger friends were all priorities. i did a rough estimate for how many people those would serve (here's a good cake serving guide) and then filled in the rest with less involved items, like the cake jars and cupcakes.
the freezer was my best friend. (in fact, any time i make cakes, the freezer is my best friend.) i baked all of my cake--four sprinkle cake layers, four chocolate layers, a batch of red velvet, and a few batches of coconut cupcakes--about a week in advance. once they cooled fully, i leveled the layers, wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap and stuck them in the freezer, making sure not to stack them until they were totally frozen. i know some people who bake their cakes even up to a month in advance. if you bake them more than a week in advance, i would recommend adding a layer of foil outside of the plastic wrap, to further help prevent freezer smells from getting into the cake. 99% of the time, i frost my cakes and cupcakes right out of the freezer because they're easier to work with, and then keep them out at room temperature for a few hours, until they're served.
i learned that cakes can be frosted in advance. i get nervous with this because i'm always afraid to mess up the frosting, but i did it with the moose mousse cake and since the wedding i've had more success in this department. here's the method i use for cakes frosted with buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or whipped ganache: once the cake is frosted, freeze it uncovered until the frosting firms up, but try your hardest not to leave it in there uncovered any longer than it needs to be. then, cover the cake with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap touches the surface of the cake. make sure it is fully covered. if you want to be extra careful (like, if there are really intricate designs or doodads sticking out of it), you can then place it in a box before replacing it in the freezer. otherwise, you can just stick it back in the freezer. to defrost, transfer it to the fridge overnight with the plastic wrap still on. then, remove the plastic wrap and let it defrost for a few hours at room temperature before serving. this whole process is easiest if the cake is on a cardboard cake board, rather than a plate. for the moose mousse cake, which was frosted with whipped cream, i did not keep the plastic wrap on as it defrosted, since the whipped cream gets super soft super fast. i just unwrapped it straight from the freezer and defrosted it at room temp. i don't have a lot of experience with freezing cakes that are coated with powdered sugar glaze or a fondant/marzipan coating, but i'll update you once i do!
luckily, most of the desserts that we wanted also happened to freeze well. cakes, cheesecakes, cookies, brownies, macarons, biscotti... for the most part, these guys freeze pretty well and can be prepared in advance. things like custard pies and ganache pies do pretty well if you prepare them a few days in advance and keep them wrapped well in the fridge. i didn't have any fruit pies at my wedding, but here is a great tutorial on freezing fruit pies. doughnuts and other fried foods are things i've yet to be able to prepare well in advance. so i've got nothin for you there. i'm sorry :(
i had help! tons of it. i come from a family of bakers. and i picked my bridesmaids based on how good they were with frosting. (kidding, although they did whip out some mad skills.) just like i had priorities with what to make, i also had priorities with how to make them. decorating the wedding cake could only be trusted in the hands of stoop. mum was chief pie maker. and the rest of the tasks, like frosting cupcakes and setting out bars, were easier jobs that anyone with a free hand could pick up. ok, confession: my wedding was just a big excuse to have a weeklong baking party. in the event that i didn't have as much help as i did, i would have either focused on just a cake or two and had my caterer fill in with the rest, or i would have just done even more advance prep, and maybe swapped out a few of the cupcakes for desserts like brownies that don't need to be frosted.
here is a timeline that i recommend. prior to one week in advance: bake all of your cakes, cookies, brownies, biscotti, and cheesecakes, and freeze them (see note above about freezing cakes). prepare your fruit pies per this tutorial. do a mock up of your dessert table with all of your cake plates and other dishes. determine if you'll have enough space on the table for all of your desserts to be set out, or if you'll only be able to put out some of them and have to restock during the wedding. if this is the case decide who would be doing the restocking. if you're short on cake stands and serving plates, either have a cake stand-centric bridal shower registry (like i did :) or buy/borrow some. organize frosting recipes and purchase frosting ingredients. one week in advance: if you're going to be frosting cakes in advance and freezing them, i'd recommend doing that now. up to 5 days in advance: you can make buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, and/or ganache, and refrigerate them. 2-3 days in advance: make custard/ganache pies, refrigerate. 1-2 days in advance: soften frosting overnight at room temp and/or defrost any frosted cakes and prepared fruit pies in the fridge. day of or 1 day in advance: bake fruit pies. give any pre-made frosting an extra beating with an electric mixer to freshen it up and/or make any frosting that still needs to be made, frost cakes and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator until it's time to set them out. purchase any fresh berries or flowers, if you're using them. day of: add fresh berries and/or flowers. set the display table! unless you're having a super short ceremony and no dinner, there's really no need to factor in extra time to let your cakes and other desserts come to room temperature, since that can happen during the ceremony and dinner.
a word about transporting your desserts. for my wedding, i had a gravel road to cross, so we didn't have to worry about boxing up our desserts. but i have done my fair share of transporting desserts, and it is definitely something to plan for. for cakes, i buy cake boxes and cake boards of the same width/diameter. that way, the cake box holds the cake board in place. if i end up with a smaller cake board, i tape it down with a loop of masking tape. ideally, i keep the cake in the fridge (either in its box or not) until it's ready to be transported, so the frosting remains firm. for cupcakes, get some inserts for cake boxes like these guys. if you don't want to order online, i think michael's sells them, or your local bakery might be willing to spare some. i don't have a whole lot of experience with humongous tiered cakes, but i've heard of people transporting the tiers separately and then stacking them up onsite.
we served our own desserts! we had originally planned to have our helpers serve the desserts, but at the very last second, eggboy and i decided to serve our desserts and it was one of my favorite moments of the evening. we got to spend more time with each of our guests, i got to personally thank eggcousin for the jam that went into the moose mousse cake, and i loved seeing everyone's reactions to our desserts. our helpers cleared away empty plates and wrapped up our final piece of sprinkle cake, and that was that.
did i miss something? do you have tips of your own? leave them in the comments!
