Wedding Cakes
Professional Three Tier Square Stacked Wedding Cake Recipe
This architecturally stunning three-tier square wedding cake features a robust yet moist vanilla bean Madeira sponge, engineered for perfect structural stacking. Each tier is encased in a professional white chocolate ganache and finished with velvet-smooth sugarpaste for a contemporary, sharp-edged aesthetic.
- Prep
- 240 min
- Cook
- 180 min
- Serves
- 100
- Level
- Advanced
- Per serving
- 480 kcal
Method
Preheat your oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Grease and double-line three square cake tins: 10-inch, 8-inch, and 6-inch with parchment paper, ensuring the paper rises 2 inches above the rim.
Cream the softened butter and caster sugar together in a large stand mixer until pale, fluffy, and significantly increased in volume. This should take at least 5-8 minutes.
Beat the eggs and vanilla bean paste together. With the mixer on low, gradually add the egg mixture to the butter and sugar, adding a tablespoon of flour if the mixture begins to curdle.
Sift both flours together and fold into the batter in three batches using a large metal spoon or spatula, alternating with the milk to maintain a dropping consistency.
Divide the batter between the three tins. The 10-inch tin will require roughly half the batter, the 8-inch a third, and the 6-inch the remainder. Smooth the tops with an offset spatula.
Bake the cakes: the 6-inch will take approximately 60-70 mins, the 8-inch 80-90 mins, and the 10-inch 110-120 mins. Test with a skewer; it must come out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely in the tins overnight to firm up for carving.
Prepare the white chocolate ganache by heating the double cream until just simmering, then pouring over the white chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Allow to set at room temperature until it reaches a peanut butter consistency.
Level each cake tier using a large serrated knife or cake leveller. Cut each cake into two layers and fill with a thin layer of ganache. Crumb coat the exterior of each tier with ganache, using a square set-square or acrylic disks to ensure perfectly vertical sides and sharp 90-degree corners.
Chill the crumb-coated tiers until the ganache is rock hard. Apply a second, final layer of ganache, smoothing meticulously with a bench scraper. Chill again.
Knead the sugarpaste until pliable. Roll out and drape over each tier. Use two cake smoothers to work the fondant into the square corners, creating a 'sharp edge' finish by gently pinching the top edge between smoothers. Trim the excess.
To stack, insert four plastic dowels into the 10-inch tier in a square pattern slightly smaller than the 8-inch tier. Trim dowels flush with the cake surface. Repeat for the 8-inch tier to support the 6-inch tier. Stack the tiers carefully using a small dab of ganache to secure each level.
Notes
Always use a Madeira-style sponge for square cakes; the higher flour-to-fat ratio provides the structural strength needed to support the weight of multiple tiers.
For perfectly sharp corners, use two acrylic smoothers simultaneously—one on the top and one on the side—to crisp up the fondant edge.
If the white chocolate ganache is too hard to spread, microwave it in 5-second bursts, but be careful not to split the oils.
Ensure your square tins have sharp, not rounded, corners for a modern, architectural wedding cake look.
