Tutorial Preview
Bride and Groom
with Paul Bradford
Skill level:
Intermediate
HD Lessons:
23
13:59
1. Icing the Cake
Paul starts off by showing us how to create a sharp edge while icing the cake. Due to the hot weather, Paul opts to use dummy cakes and gives advice on how to use different products to attach the dummy cakes to the board to steady them. If you’re using real cake then there’s help through the following links for icing cakes and stacking cakes.
06:17
2. Adding the Stripes
In this lesson, Paul shows us how to prepare, measure and cut the stripes for the striped design on the middle tier. 40 stripes are cut in total using pale pink and cream sugarpaste. Tylose powder is used to firm up the sugarpaste (this is very useful especially if working in a hot climate!)
06:44
3. Placing the Stripes
Once we’ve created your stripes (covered in Lesson 2), we can move on to attaching them to your middle cake tier. Paul talks us through the methods of getting the stripes attached to the cake in as straight an alignment as possible.
03:46
4. Bottom Tier Flowers Part 1
The bottom tier of the cake is painted using a lustre dust and alcohol mixture. This is the same technique we saw in Faye Cahill’s supporting lesson available at the foot of the page.
03:44
5. Bottom Tier Flowers Part 2
Paul continues the painting of the bottom tier which follows on from Lesson 4.
08:50
6. Flowers Part 1
First, icing the board is covered in this lesson, then Paul shows us how to create the three tone flowers using a blossom cutter and a bone tool.
02:58
7. Flowers Part 2
After creating the flowers in Lesson 6, we now add the pink core to the centre of each flower to finish off the layered effect.
05:19
8. Placing the Flowers
Starting by measuring the cake and marking out equal sections as demonstrated by Paul, we can now add the flowers to the bottom tier using royal icing. The ribbon is also added to the base of the cake tier and fixed on using royal icing.
If you need any help working with or making royal icing you can learn all about it here.
04:24
9. Adding the Leaves
With some slight design tweaks in regards to flower layout, Paul continues the floral decoration of the cake by adding some leaves created using pale green sugarpaste and a small tear drop cutter.
03:06
10. Finishing the Tier
Paul adds a ribbon to the top tier of the cake and follows a design element from the bottom tier by adding a royal icing dot design.
Tip: A green leaf can be added to the royal icing dot design.
10:37
11. Modelling
In this lesson, Paul begins to create the models starting with the bride’s dress created using carved sugarpaste and textured sugarpaste strips to create a ruffle effect.
Tip: Use tylose powder to make a strong figure.
17:22
12. Making the Upper Body
In this lesson Paul shows us how to make the arms, the torso and a belt to hide the division between the upper and lower body.
13:11
13. Bride's Head
The face, eyes, eye brows and smiling mouth of the bride are created in this lesson.
Tip: Make nice big eyes as it’s the most important thing for a cartoon style.
03:51
14. Bride's Hair Part 1
Start by making ears for the bride model which will help to get the correct alignment of the hair. Paul then creates curled hair for the model using intertwined and tapered brown sugarpaste pieces.
Tip: Try to match the colour of the actual bride’s hair.
08:16
15. Bride's Hair Part 2
In this lesson, Paul attaches the hair to the model and shows us how to create the fringe.
04:54
16. Tiara and Dusting
Paul shows us how to make a lovely tiara and how to put a little colour over the mouth and the chest to get a more realistic tone over the figure.
Tip: You can use diamantes for the tiara but remember, they’re not edible!
22:52
17. The Groom Part 1
Paul creates the groom figure over the next few lessons by first creating the body, legs, jacket, shoes and even a bow tie. You may find searching for groom pictures on the internet will help as a reference point when creating the jacket. Don’t forget to get the bride and grooms relative height correct as if it’s wrong, it may cause some issues on their big day!
25:28
18. The Groom Part 2
We continue to make the groom and show you how to make the arms and jacket detail. Following this, Paul creates the grooms face and facial detail.
Tip: Leave the pieces out to dry overnight to strengthen them.
12:19
19. Groom's Hair
The groom’s hair is created in a lighter coloured sugarpaste (remember to try and match this with the actual grooms hair colour) Paul uses tapered sugarpaste sausages to create the hair style using a similar method to the bride’s hair. Paul also attaches a flower to the groom’s jacket which adds a nice touch.
Tip: You can also use a garlic press for the hair strands, it’s quicker but doesn’t look as nice as the handmade approach.
04:53
20. Finishing Touches
In this final lesson, Paul shows us how to place the models on to the cake and adds a beautiful ribbon bow to finish – and we’re all done!
02:00
21. Other Ideas
Paul shares some other ideas that can be used when creating this style of cake. We would love to see your take on the Bride and Groom Cake – please share your photos with us on our Facebook Page!
03:36
22. Pro Lesson
The Pro Lesson covers the time scales, pricing and marketing tips for this cake.
13:47
23. Supporting Lesson
This is a Lesson from Faye Cahill’s popular Shimmering Lace Wedding Cake tutorial, where Faye goes through her painting techniques.
The Bride and Groom Cake by Paul Bradford is a three tiered wedding cake featuring a striking striped middle tier and elegant floral details. This is combined with an adorable bride and groom topper for a quirky and bespoke look. This cake will take two to three days to complete and is recommended for an intermediate level cake decorator.
We would love to see your take on the Bride and Groom Cake – please share your photos with us on our Facebook Page!
