The ‘naked’ wedding cake is a hot trend for a very good reason

Some people see so-called “naked” wedding cakes on Pinterest and think it’s a cute trend. Others see the cake and see dollar signs — as in, dollars in your pocket. The naked wedding cake is a rare pastry that’s both easy(-ish) to make and impressive to look at.

More:51 unique wedding cakes for the most adventurous couples

You can make this cake. You just need a little insider know-how to pull it off, and we’ve got that in this video. Watch and learn, and save mucho moola, young lovers.

More:How to spend way, way less on that beautiful wedding cake

DIY naked wedding cake recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 20-30 minutes | Frosting: 1 hour | Assembly 45 minutes

Yields 1

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 5 boxes vanilla cake mix
• 15 eggs
• 1-2/3 cups melted butter
• 5 cups milk

For the frosting

• 2 tubs vanilla frosting
• 1 (8-ounce) tub cream cheese, at room temperature

Supplies:

• Waxed paper
• Nonstick spray
• 3 dowels
• 6-inch cardboard cake platform
• 8-inch cardboard cake platform
• 12-inch cake drum wire cutter
• Yellow food marker
• 1 round 6-inch cake pan
• 1 round 8-inch cake pan
• 1 round 10-inch cake pan
• Piping bag
• Off-set spatula
• Cake turntable

Directions:

1. Make your batter. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Make your frosting by mixing the 2 tubs of frosting with the cream cheese.
3. Cut out waxed paper circles to line the bottoms of the pans. Spray each pan with nonstick spray, and then place the waxed paper cutouts in the pans.
4. Place the this amount of batter into each pan: For the 6-inch cake pan, 2 cups of batter; for the 8-inch cake pan, 3 cups of batter; for the 10-inch cake pan, 4 cups of batter.
5. Bake the cakes for 20 – 30 minutes. (You will need to bake two cakes in each size, so it may save time to have two pans of each size.) Use a toothpick to test that the centers of the cakes are fully baked. Let the cakes cool completely before removing them from the pans.
6. Once you have 2 cakes of each size, you can start assembling your cake. Starting with the 6-inch cakes, level them to the same height with a serrated knife, place a dollop of frosting on your 6-inch cardboard, and place the first layer onto the cardboard. Use a piping bag to frost the top of the cake, place the second layer of the 6-inch cake on top, and then frost the top of the cake.
7. Using an offset frosting spatula, lightly frost the sides of the 2 cakes. Set this tier aside.
8. Using a serrated knife, level the 8-inch cakes to the same height. Place a dollop of frosting on your 8-inch cardboard, and place the first layer onto the cardboard. Use a piping bag to frost the top of the cake, place the second layer of the 8-inch cake on top, and then frost the top of the cake.
9. Using an offset frosting spatula, lightly frost the sides of the 2 cakes. Set this tier aside.
10. Using a serrated knife, level the 10-inch cakes to the same height. Place a dollop of frosting on your 10-inch cardboard, and place the first layer onto the cardboard. Use a piping bag to frost the top of the cake, place the second layer of the 10-inch cake on top, and then frost the top of the cake.
11. Using an offset frosting spatula, lightly frost the sides of the 2 cakes. Set this tier aside.
12. Place the dowels into the 10-inch cake, using the yellow food marker create a line so you know where to cut the dowel using the wire cutter. Remove the dowels, and cut below the yellow line. Place the cut dowels back into the cake. Place your 8-inch cake on the center of the 10-inch cake.
13. Sharpen the tips of the larger dowel pieces. Carefully but firmly place the dowels into the cake and through the cardboard into the 10-inch cake until the cake drum stops the dowels. Mark with the yellow food marker. Remove the dowel, and cut below the yellow mark. Place the 6-inch cake on top of the 8-inch cake.
14. Hold the dowel next to the cake, and cut it an inch shorter than the total height of the cake. Place the dowel into the center of the cake, and push it down using another piece of dowel until the cake drum stops it. Fill the hole with frosting, and resmooth the top of the cake.
15. Decorate your cake with fruit and fresh flowers.

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